We're not talking here about audiences discussing the music, which of course I love to do. We're not talking about asking about the interpretation of the song and making friendly comments, which is often fun and educational.

Here's an example of folk police behavior that was neither: we finished the first set with a Bulgarian tune played on the hurdy-gurdy and guitar. During the break, we were sitting on the edge of the stage talking with interested audience members about the music and the instruments when a loud voice interrupted to say, "I hope you don't tell people you play Baltic music, because that's not how they do it!". It was nasty heckling, and was rude to the audience members who were having the nice experience of hearing new music and new instruments. It put a dark cloud over the entire conversation that was going on, which made it completely inappropriate during an evening of folk music.