Jim, what you appear unwilling to accept is that there is a large body of fairly recently composed songs which don't always follow traditional forms but which are not "pop". They were widely accepted as falling within the broader understanding of "folk" and have been a normal part of the folk club repertoire for several decades, without being seen as a threat to traditional music. If I understand you correctly, you appear to regard most of these songs as falling into the category of "pop" rather than folk.

Your pessimistic view of the future of folk music seems to be at least in part affected by a somewhat narrow view of what you consider to be "near-folk",ie not traditional but close enough to be acceptable. Even at the height of the folk club boom, this would have excluded the vast majority of clubs, most of which had a broader policy which would allow most contemporary folk whilst still not (as a rule) including pop.

This thread and others like it can never reach a conclusion because we are permanently at cross-purposes. Most of us have a wider tolerance of what can be expected in a folk club (even though it may not be to our own taste). You are of course entitled to your own views but most other contributors see a wider folk scene and one which is in far better health than you would have us believe, albeit one which is changing to meet new times and a new generation of enthusiasts.