How is it a double standard? There's a difference between someone starting a tune and someone trying to learn a tune. It's fairly common at sessions I've attended for tunes to be launched into without any announcement as to what the tune is or what the tunes that follow it in the set will be - at a regular session attended by experienced players most folks will be able to hear the first few notes and know what the tune is and join in. At a slow session it may differ where the sets are announced prior to launching into them.
Something else to consider is that if a session is held in a pub, part of the attraction is that people sitting with a pint can enjoy the music. It may be less enjoyable for them to sit and listen to a few people trying to learn a tune. Most of the "learners sessions" I've seen advertised tend to be held in upstairs function rooms at a pub or in community halls, so that folks can learn without the added pressure/distractions of members of the public surrounding them whereas the slow session/regular session would take place downstairs in the pub itself since the tunes are just being played rather than parts being repeated, pauses while people try to figure out what note is next etc., stuff that your average pub goer may not have much patience for.
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