Glueman,
I'm not sure exactly what you were saying there. Are you saying that lack of skill is, or shouldn't be, a deterrent to taking part in folk music? If so, I agree with you with some reservations. I think people who are out singing in public ought to take the time and effort to get good at it. Until then, I wish they'd stay home or be an audience member. Come to think of it, I feel the same way about all music, not just folk.

A big part of the appeal of punk music was the fact that it was a much-needed backlash against the disco/corporate rock that dominated the popular music scene at the time. The severe lack of musicality on the part of some of the practitioners was, for me, more a part of the message than a celebration of lack of skill. I also noticed that a lot of the punkers went on to actually become good musicians.