As for people listening to each other - whilst I do not deny there is a place for this - ....
But it hardly does a lot for folk music IMHO.

IMHO it IS folk music.

Let's put this into context again.

I argued that folk clubs collapsed because far too many of them were of the "anything is good enough for folk music" school of thought. By accepting my Goth band you seem to be of this school too and you argued as above "it is folk music".

Lewes Folk Club - which is clearly well-run, successful and good luck to it - is successful because as far as I can see because it has week after week of well-practised professionals. Many of your professionals run workshop classes, an excellent idea - more of the remaining folk clubs should do it IMHO.

But it seems from what I read it is not a club full of unpractised people listening to each other, it is a place where you have residents and where you do your best to raise standards which I am in very much in favour of. Hardly a place where people are simply listening to each other playing their own teenage diaries, which is what I originally objected to and you supported.

But since I have not been there it is a bit hard to comment fully - I can only go on what the website tells me.