Thanks for the plug Steve, but not even I check that board LOL.
Sometimes I'll look in every 2 or 3 days, but there have been times I've not checked it for 2 or 3 weeks.
My initial hope for my board was to get a few Aussie collectors to post info & pics of aussie off-brand machines. There are sub-forums for US & UK machines etc, but I wanted to concentrate on our home grown machines more, so as not to distract from the US & UK forums.
However, Australian membership is pretty thin on the ground, and there was hardly any interaction between members.
It kind of put me off a little, because I felt like it was an "ask Shane" board, where someone would post, and in most cases, I was the only person that would respond to anyone. My knowledge of gramophones & phonographs is poor at best, so a lot of the time, I felt I was not really qualified to answer certain questions, or to attempt to carry on a conversation that I know little about.
It also appears that Aussie collectors aren't too keen to share information anyway.
One member mentioned an Aussie magazine that I never knew existed, which was being published in the 1980's or 1990's (I think from memory). I asked the member about the magazine, whether they were being reprinted for sale, or if there was an online source where the magazine could be viewed.
I was then told in no uncertain manner, that the couple authors put a lot of work into the magazine, they have to make money off them, and if any of the information was to appear online, there'd be hell to pay! And I was told that the national library had copies on the shelf, so if I wanted to read them, go there.
Now, I can fully understand that the authors have every right to make something from all the blood sweat & tears that obviously went into them, but I couldn't quite understand how the authors would make money from a magazine that hasn't been published for years & years.
If reprints were available, I'd be more than happy to add them to my collect, & sure other collectors would too, but it would seem if I want to read them, I'll have to drive for 14 hours each way to do so
Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed that "sharing" doesn't seem to be on the Aussie menu.
For this reason, I really appreciate the US & UK boards & their members, and their willingness to share information with like minded collectors, instead of treating the hobby like some sort of Pandora's box.
I've actually thought about deleting the board once a week for the last 3 months, but it seems a bit of a waste after the work I put into it. I also thought about doing a copy & paste of some of the threads (mostly spotlight type stuff), and posting it here or on the UK board, but most of it would be of little interest to international collectors anyway.
Marcel's been the most active member as well, & I wouldn't really feel right deleting his work either, so the board is basically laying dormant.