WOW... I am floored.... of the 90 plus posts by 30 to 40 different posters, there is only one poster bent out of shape by the term amateur. And you're the one.

I looked at the initial post as the proposition that to be a bona fide folksinger you had to take a musical vow of poverty - you couldn't make it your livelihood. I do not find myself in agreement with that notion & presented reasons why I feel that the need to label people is counterproductive... especially for those folks who are involved in many different musical forms and also that people have different goals in their lives...

To survive as a professional, very few locations can support you, you have to "hit the road" and maybe do different types of gigs to make it work.   

I've done the occasional paid gig... but consider myself to be an amateur... so I definitely DO NOT regard the term as a negative. And am more than little irked by your negativity.