For once, I find myself agreeing with Suibhne, at least in the context of this thread. Not only does Conrad ignore (perhaps deliberately) the hobby context in which folk music now exists, but he seems to have a highly selective and romanticised idea of how it used to exist, one which is tailored to justify his own behaviour.

Suibhne of course accuses all of us "GWTMC Folkies" of having our own romanticised view, and he may be right.