Farewell and thank you

[Rob MacKillop]

Sorry to hear this place is closing down, and also that Ian is unwell. Best wishes to you, Ian. We’ve crossed swords in the past, but I always had great respect for you, and this site is magnificent. 

Is it not possible to arrange for someone else to take over? It’s seems a shame for it to disappear altogether. 

And farewell to many other members. Without this forum it is unlikely I will be in touch with you again. 

Rob MacKillop

[Alan Jones]

First of all, Ian, thank you for the hard work you have put into this site. Sorry to hear that your health is not as it should be and I wish you well.  This site was my introduction to the classic style of banjo playing and I am afraid don't really work hard enough on it being so busy with my Irish Tenor banjo stuff. The resources this site as offered me has been amazing. It will be sad to see it go, so I do hope someone has the ability and is willing to take it on. Thank you.

[Ethan Schwartz]

Jody -- I trust Ian's judgment if he thinks the present site is too messy/complex to hand off. And Ning is not exactly a cutting-edge platform. So it would come down to building a new site and populating it with whatever can be saved. At some future time, that might be something I could take on, but I just don't have the capacity for it right now. Again, I think we should find a way to download everything first and worry about what to do with it later on. 

[IAN SALTER]

I've contacted Ian directly and thanked him. As I didn't want him to take the time to explain this, I hope somebody else can; what exactly is required, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, to manage this site? I really do not have any knowledge or understanding of this.

Thank you.

[Adam Tracksler]

I have my own web server. I could most likely migrate the site over and host it. If you'd like to discuss it - please reach out. I know i'm not a huge poster, but this is definitely the only place in the world wide web for this beautiful corner of the banjo world. 

[carrie horgan]

Thank you Ian for sharing your passion for classic banjo and making it accessible.  It's given me such pleasure discovering the music and learning to play (some of) it (well, the more approachable stuff).  Also, the CE Special is still going strong.  Funny enough, it turned out to be my favourite banjo for playing classic-style.  Out of curiosity, I kept buying other banjos and would then sell them on but the CE Special is the one keeper.  I wish you all the best with your health and a happy future. 

[Byron Thomas]

I wish you well Ian. I'm sorry to hear of your ill health but hope that each day in hand is manageable and that you can still find some laughs throughout the day. This site is a treasure in the banjo world and it's such a shame that it is slated to close. I appreciate your contributions to the banjo community at large. Behaving more like a Silk Road of sorts, this forum has really allowed for a deeper understanding of classic banjo and the world of banjo before Earl with the wealth of information having been exchanged here. Your intro videos on classic banjo are what got me to really start reading music for the banjo and being able to handle playing full page instrumentals starting with the Sunflower Dance. Thanks for being "The Really Nice Man" and giving classic banjo and the rest of us to have a digital home.