Bert, and Spaw, I took the bait, and I'm suitably embarrassed. If I didn't like you guys so much I'd probably tell you both to go folk yourselves. [Responding to a familiar question with an equally familiar pun.]

Actually, the original question Rana raised reminded me of my first response to a "what is folk?" thread, when I was new to Mudcat and didn't realize that each new thread on this topic just served to pull the scab off the last one. My opinion was that one defining element of "folk" music was portability -- the ability to create the music without benefit of an "infrastructure" provided by corporations, governments, or academia. I still think that's a viable definition, similar to Rana's "homegrown" concept. But I will not defend it further, lest I be drawn into yet another dispute.