Wow - this thread started with a tempest, it seems to me, in a tea cup. Is it not as simple as Folk music is that which appeals to the Folk audience; thus it includes contemporary tunes written in the traditional style, and'or appealing to the Folk music lovers? Who cares how old it is? I would certainly never object to Greg Brown, Bill Staines or Norman Blake calling themselves folk singers, and their songs folk songs! Traditional folk is an adequate moniker for 'old' folk songs. Or am I making this too simple?