Ahhhh - Were that it was that simple, Jim! I think your key phrase there is 'should they be encouraged to'. To which the answer should be a resounding maybe:-) If you mean should they be encouraged to continue as they are - absolutley not. If they are that bad and incapable of improving then I see no reason why they should be denied the joy of singing altogether. But it should be on the very strict understanding that they limit their performances to where they can do no harm to the reputation of either the club they attend or folk music in general. If you mean should they be encouraged to get better, then yes, of course they should.

There is of course an alternative readily available for the naturaly untalented. Karaoke:-D

Cheers

DeG