Richard, I tend to agree with most of what you say and have always been a great defender of the 'amateur' in folk music. Whether people wish to perform in a polished and slick manner or in a 'warts and all way' is up to them and those who listen to them. It did, however, come as a salutory exercise when I acquired a portable digital recorder and discovered that my lovely, sonorous performances were often .....well, ghastly caterwauling. It's a great tool for discovering what's wrong with your own performance (not yours, Tom!)and, if you're that way inclined, doing something about it. Maybe more amateur performers should invest in one and ask 'is that really how I want to sound?'.