Well, I disagree, Jim. There is no performer, alive or dead, that deserves that god-like status. If someone does not like them they are entitled to say so in whatever manner they chose. I have not been on the folk scene as long as you but it has been over 40 years and I have never heard of such an 'unspoken convention'. Maybe Guest, pseudonymous has not heard of it either. The same, I suspect, as most people in or out of the folk scene. Maybe it was just amongst collectors?

If I did not like someone I would just say they are not my cup of tea. I would not have phrased it as Guest P did but neither would I say that anyone was a mish-mash of over-amplified sound, totally lacking in musical and narrative interpretation or were in it just for the money!