Several times I've started legitimate Folklore Threads on Mudcat only for some Elf to come along and remove the Folklore Prefix. For example, the Slang Words for Female Masturbation thread carried a Folklore Prefix for the first 39 posts before it was mysteriously excised and the thread bounced down below the line. I did ask why (on the 8th February 08 - see Here) but no explanation was forthcoming (no pun indented). I mentioned it again on the 25th of July (Here) and Bill D (an Elf? It might be helpful if we knew who these people were) offered the following:

Because...if some innocent researcher (especially young ones) does a search for thread titles involving the usual idea of musical 'folklore', this is not what we'd like to pop-up! We can't protect everyone from everything, but a bit of editing may help. It's possible to do a 'specific' search for masturbstion, if that's what you want.

By way of an immediate response I formulated a BS: At what age did you start masturbating? thread, but, alas, it got no further than the planning stages, though I might reveal that I had my first full blown wank at the age of... no, on second thoughts I won't reveal that because that shocks even myself, though at the time it seemed perfectly acceptable; some 40 years on & I remember it vividly...

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Anyhoo, in the light of the above and other recent brouhaha (in which one esteemed 'catter was of the opinion that external Christmas house illuminations couldn't possibly be Folkloric because they are shop-bought) I though some discussion on the nature of this beast we call Folklore might be in order.

Is there, for example, anything like a 1954 Definition of Folklore?
What is the relationship between Folksong and Folklore?
It has been suggested that Folksong is dead; can the same be said of Folklore? If not, why not?
What is the more Folkloric - proper Morris Dancing or fluffy Morris Dancing?
How much Folklore is there in the world today - and are we in danger of losing it (it being Folklore as a whole rather than specific instances)?
What, if any, are the limits of Folklore?
Is Folklore confined to the sort of things we're likely to see in the Museum of British Folklore or is it more widespread? Or, indeed, mundane?
What makes it Folklore?
Does Mudcat have its own Folklore?
Do you have your own Folklore? Is that even possible?
Assuming it has such a thing (and the evidence would suggest that it does) what is Mudcat's policy on what is and is not Folklore?

Don't treat this as a questionnaire, the above are just a few things off the top of my head to hopefully set the ball a-rolling. Now I'm going back to bed to sleep off the rest of my Harry Potter Hangover - late night adult-only screening / huge vat of salted popcorn / peanut M&Ms / quart of diet coke to wash it all down / disappointingly plot-less movie in which the only remotely sympathetic characters were Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix, though Professor Flitwick always manages to raise a smile if only because he's played by Warwick Davies who also stars in the so-bad-they're-brilliant Leprechaun films...