Just thought I'd swot up on the work of one of those 'patronising academics' and I came across a quote in a collection of essays by Alan Lomax which had made its way onto the shelves only partly read (thanks for that folks).
He opens an essay entitled 'The Good And The Beautiful in Folksong' with:
"Since a folksong is transmitted orally by all or most members of a culture, generation after generation, it represents an extremely high consensus about patterns of meanings and behaviour rather than individual significance".   
One could quibble about the 'all or most', but, for me it sums up what I believe to be the communal nature of folksong; I've never believed that the phrase 'voice of the people' was randomly chosen.
SS
"Jim - please read my post of 13 Apr 09 - 04:32 AM will you?"
I had read it and to some degree I sympathise with your point; however....
I came through the door marked 'folk' nearly half a century ago. Even then, it was a term recognised for what it was, albeit not particularly pleasantly, by a fairly large number of the population via 'Miss Pringle and her school upright'. The folk boom to some degree warmed up that image a little and we fought for our place in the sun by setting up and performing at 'folk' clubs. I now have a foot in both camps and am involved in 'folksong, folklore, folktale, folkmusic, folk dance and folk custom' where the term is still current and is being used to document and research constantly. In order to shift my position on the term, it seems I would have to become both Norman Bates and his mother at the same time (which he did of course - and look where it got him).
I am now being asked to give up my seat to a bunch of squatters who couldn't find their 'folk' arses with both hands, and who haven't either the energy or the imagination to find a name of their own - sorry, I'd rather fight my corner a little longer (like, for the rest of my life).
Your point about the debasing of the term is a valid one (one I have been making to the hoots and catcalls of 'folk police' and 'finger-in-ear for a long time), but for the life of me I can't see the point of debunking a still workable definition (as I said, much in need of updating), apparently in order to accommodate the debasers - sorry.
Thanks for the reminder of the lovely 'Pissing In The Snow' collection Don.
A well known 'dusty academic' collector from Ulster once assembled a similar collection of bawdy tales from his area and, after some difficulty, found a publisher to handle them. The publisher spent a long time dissuading your man from calling them 'F****** In The Frost'
Jim Carroll