Umm, I'd never thought of it from Malcolm's angle before. I've only used the term in jest, e.g. a couple of months ago, I led The Red Haired Boy on bass guitar in our traditional Irish session and wondered what the "folk police" may have thought of it.

I've no dobut though that you can get either side being stupid and that people who are making valid comments getting called names. I guess much depends on circumstances. In the folk clubs I was involved with, I wouldn't have been too happy with somone telling me "this song is not traditional, it's not folk, why is he singing it?" on the other hand, it may be quite in order in a club dealing only in traditional material (which is perfectly reasonable if that is what they want) to pass comment if I did a modern song...