When people are laying down the law, saying that this or that should be the case and generally being dogmatic, they would do well to reflect on the different types of situation covered by the term "Folk Club".

If it is a singaround, then it is not about entertaining the public at large, but it is a sharing of songs and a social evening where people who share an interest can get together to enjoy that shared interest and for the most part, anyone who wants to can sing a song in their turn. It is also worth bearing in mind that not everyone who goes to singarounds regularly performs before an audience nor, in some cases, do they have ambitions to do so.

If, on the other hand, it is a concert where someone is being paid to entertain, then it is reasonable to expect a certain minimum standard and the kind of standards that Jim Carroll argues for are entirely appropriate.

Please just show a degree of tolerance and when making your statements about what should and should not be and bear in mind the, to my mind, fundamental difference between a singaround and a concert type evening.