Peter Blood, RUS editor told me awhile ago (he's sort of a distant in-law of mine) that it will still be a couple of years in all likelihood before RUS II comes out. Also mentioned that he's aware of the criticism of RUS for excessive PC-ness, and there will be somewhat wider scope, more bawdy and rowdy material, in "Gender-Neutral Offspring of Rise Up Singing".

As for the chord notation, it works pretty well given that you have to learn the tune somewhere else anyway--and folk music SHOULD be learned primarily by ear! It takes a few minutes to get onto it, but it's well worth the effort. (You do have to learn to count bars, another invaluable skill.) I don't think they could go any lower-common-denominator with their available resources. I do find that the chords presented are often oversimplified and sometimes just wrong--but try telling a "by-the-book" devotee that...

Willie-O