"I've never been to the British Isles. I would love to go for a whole variety of reasons. But if my reading on the folk clubs (derived from what has been written in these threads by people on the scene) is correct, I would undoubtedly visit just to see for myself, but if they are, indeed, as described here, I probably wouldn't hang around very long."

Don, I assure you that you would be very welcome!

As for these slightly ridiculous 'definition' threads, I have a feeling that they are partly to do with our very British reserve. We all attend folk clubs, and all applaud each other very politely, but inside we're all ABSOLUTELY SEETHING - and have been for years. You see this conflict has very deep roots, some of which, I suspect involve the personality and politics of Ewan MacColl (he may have been dead for 20 years but some people have never got over him - even some of us fans).
The other problem, I believe, is related to the nature of British folk clubs 30 or 40 years ago. At that time folk clubs were very popular and provided an easily accessible platform. Certain artists and agents, who couldn't get platforms elsewhere, began to colonise the clubs and some people became alarmed at this and began to fear that the music that they liked to listen to in the clubs (i.e. traditional folk music) was being displaced by a mish mash of singer-song writers, comedians, guitar heroes, pop-based material etc., etc. When some of us protested (usually in a very mild-mannered, typically British fashion) we were accused of being 'folk policemen', 'folk fascists'etc., etc. Since then our folk clubs have become polarised between clubs which have a traditional policy and others where 'anything goes'(and whose members and organisers, I suspect, don't really like folk music).
Even now any hint from people like me that folk music might be a definable and limited genre is met with howls of outrage and hysterical, and completely baseless, accusations of authoritarianism. In actual fact I've never heard anyone dictate to anyone in an actual folk club what they can or can't sing - and I've been attending British folk clubs for over 40 years. I'm sure that lots of wild anecdotes, about being beaten with rubber truncheons for singing a Bob Dylan song at the Singers' Club in 1968, will follow - complete bullshit, of course.

In conclusion just ignore our silly arguments and come on over. In my experience American guests are very well received.