"More on what I like: I can enjoy an evening of listening to almost any kind of traditional folk music, from a wide variety of places and times. A whole evening of contemporary folk music, for the most part, leaves me cold, and in fact probably wouldn't happen. There seems to be a feeling here that I shouldn't draw distinctions between what I like and what I don't, and that I shouldn't have a club to go to that plays the kind of music I like. Why not? "

That is certainly not what I said (or others from what I can see). I'm genuinely trying to understand the distinctions that yourself (and Jim) are trying to draw, so I can more accurately describe the folk/acoustic/roots events that I put on (and the kind of music that my wife play professionally) . This is so that I can attract an audience who will appreciate any particular night we pull together.

You're perceiving attack where there isn't any. But I still haven't seen any argument that persuades me that there is a clear stylistic line between trad/tradalike/contemporary folky style music. And the 1954 definition does not apply to STYLE does it...... so it's no good for describing to people what they are going to hear.