Thanks to those who commented on my post of August 6th and offered sympathy and encouragement! I'm going to need it!

Maryrrf: Indeed we do have some VERY enthusiastic singers in our group! In fact, I have been one of them!! Over time I've had to learn (sometimes the hard way) how annoying this can be to others. I think that the best thing in my favor, as I prepare to implement the club's new policy uber-diplomatically, is that the members know I will be fighting the impulse to sing along just as hard as they will.

To answer permanent guest Russ' questions:

"Why does your group NOT think that it is the performer's call?" It's not that the group thinks one way or the other; it's that factions within the group have different opinions on this. There are many folk music clubs in this area (a large US city and its suburban sprawl), each with its own unspoken rule about singing along, and many of our club's members also belong to one or more of these other groups. Then they come to our meetings assuming that they can behave as they do in another group's meeting. Therefore, our club's board has struggled over the years to make a "call" that most of our members will be comfortable with, and as the members come and go, the comfort level changes. In our recent meeting, we came to the realization that we can't let this decision be governed by comfort level or even by majority rule, but rather by rules of concert etiquette!

"Why does your group NOT simply tell performers that if they a preference they had best express it or live with the consequences?" We discussed that option but rejected it. Our members include all levels of performers, from professionals who tour internationally to first-timers who have to muster every ounce of their courage to sing in front of others. We welcome them all. Therefore, we want to avoid scaring off the timid souls by insisting that they be the ones to assertively tell the lustily-singing in-crowd to be quiet and listen. We fear that the timid souls have felt that they don't have the support of the club when they try to state their preference for silence. We have concluded that it's the responsibility of the club's officers and board to draw a hard line that should not be crossed (having lived with the consequences of not having drawn that line, and having found that those consequences are not acceptable).

The challenge, again, is to deal with those who cross that newly-drawn hard line without scaring THEM off! The tactic will be to remind folks that lusty singing is allowed -- nay, encouraged -- during the jam-session portion of our meeting, which follows the formal program... and to remind them that the formal program has formalities that we need everyone to respect!