Don, I very much sympathise with what you are saying. I have not been around as long as you have, I started singing in UK folk clubs late 1960s/early 1970s, but I recognise much of what you are describing.

At that time standards were self-imposed. People went to a folk club, but only stood up to sing when they felt they were ready and had reached an adequate standard. At the very least, they were expected to have learned the words. No one expected perfection, least of all from novice singers, but there was an unspoken assumption that anyone putting themselves forward for a floorspot should have put in the work beforehand. It was a question of respect for the music and the audience, if not for oneself

More lately, the idea seems to have grown up that the most important thing is for people to sing, whether or not they have any ability. We have had a number of people posting to this thread who admit that they are not good singers, but they nevertheless seem to believe that people should be prepared to listen to them, even though they son't seem to be willing to make the effort to improve.

Folk music shouldn't be about your own self-esteem, or your confidence, or even because you just want to sing. It should be about communicating good music to a willing audience. If you can't do that you're not ready to perform in public. Folk clubs can still offer you plenty of opportunity to sing, but standing up to face an audience when you're not ready to do so is sheer self-indulgence.

Sorry to sound harsh.