Frank:

Before we abandon the word "folk" I think we have to know what it means.

I disagree. Unless there's some agreement as to what it means, it doesn't mean anything in a discussion. What I meant with my earlier post comes down to what happens when two people try to discuss ballads, when one accepts definition 1 and 'tother goes by definition 2.

Why not just pick a neutral term (like Glub music), define it and go on from there?