Meeting up with members even where there is no sale

Well, I put up a post saying I would like to find other like-minded people for listening/social interactions. I was part of SMAC (Southeast Michigan Audio Club) for a few years, and this is what they did. Had meetings at people's houses.

I am willing to meet in a neutral spot to discuss with anyone about this.

I was part of Chicago Audio Club, but I never got the meeting invitations, etc.

I think there are enough people around Chicago to try this.

If peeps are at Axpona, this year, we can sit and chat there. I will be there all 3 days.

you can write an email to the admin and she will allow sharing contact info. Otherwise, just include a pointer to another forum where you can share contact info

I repeat: It is INSULTING that personal contact is blocked.

I have made many friends on DPReview, two of them in New York State, we plan to meet and take photos together, I stay at one's home.

Here, I have had to sneak like a thief to meet 4 friends close enough to meet at my or their place, listen to music, mess with each other's turntables, buying advice, share meals, go to record stores together, take joint trips to visit Steve and Ray at VAS.

There is great fellowship to be gained, blocking that for historic reasons borders on cruel!

Make a thread and sometimes you’ll get locals to contact you.

@elliottbnewcombjr it used to bother me but the fact is, this a business. If the web site's background color turned black tomorrow, and you couldn't read a thing, they wouldn't lose a penny, the forum is not generating income. 

Permitting sharing of personal contact info could be misconstrued in certain contexts as promoting it, and that could in turn generate liability for a website.

I can understand the website surveillance watching out for this and not allowing it. What I don’t care for is that you don’t know which members are potentially tasked with administrative oversight of private communication infractions. I once used the word “number” in a private message regarding speaker drivers, and the software interpreted in a way that put the whole convo “under review” as a possible violation, tattooed in red font from that point forward. Eew.

Point being, while their system probably won’t change such an overarching policy, it could still stand some technical improvements for operation within said design. 😁

Many forums have a PM page for private messaging between members for exactly that purpose. Or simply for dialogue with restricted viewing.

Just change up how you type your info and the bot won’t know the difference. Use words for some numbers etc. should work for giving out email and phone numbers. 

@jbhiller 

I’m in Chicago.  PM me

DPReview site,

I am guessing far more members, makes private messages easier, and allows full sharing of personal info.  there is NOT reasons not to allow it, except to prevent members making sales outside of Audiogon.

Historic perhaps, however today. people list here, eBay, Reverb, US Audio Mart ...

Actually lowering the price at sites with lower/no fees.

My friends, cameras and audio actually alert others about items listed here. Even then, the item might be available elsewhere.

@mahler123 & @jbhiller 

I live in Lake County, IL - PM me 

Willing to travel

Will be at AXPONA this weekend.

I will be at Axpona this weekend.  Geshelli labs will allow me to show speakers from my passion project to the community in their room on Friday from 6-7:30pm (after the official exhibit close).  My passion is to handcraft real wood speakers with local wood sources and local craftsman. 

The quick backstory is a local handyman came to me and said "I'm gonna have a new baby and need some work, do you have any extra jobs for me".  I replied... "wanna try building some speakers I was gonna DYI?"

All are welcome.  they are unique speakers (I think) and happy to talk to the community about their passions.  Here's a pic of the subwoofer to give some ideas...

How many times over the years did I want to go out and create a speaker to sell to audiophiles? Many. How about you? 

I thought it would be easy . . . it isn't. Takes a lot of work, sophisticated design and a host of bring-to-market ideas that I couldn't muster. I gave up.

Not b2colchagoff. I have known b2colchagoff for over 6 years and have been watching him create these new speakers to display at AXPONA for many months. I can't make AXPONA this year but would suggest you give the Geshelli labs' room a visit on Friday from 6-7:30pm to see what b2colchagoff has created.

He is using really sophisticated laser cutting to achieve finishes that would not have been possible just a few years ago. The speaker components are also of high quality with several twists with DSP that make them a very modern, high-performance speaker. 

i'm also in chicago and would enjoy the option of troubleshooting/meeting up with local fellow obsessives....

A lot of people have missed the point here. You can’t exchange phone numbers, email, or any contact info, even in a private message. a bot will block it.

Anyone going to Axpona could wear a tag with their user name. I will

Friday night have plans to see Billy Broom at AXPONA.

A lot of you guys are getting pm's confused with dm's.

There are no private messages here.

There are direct messages here.

@carlsbad2 

This is how I’ve done it before. Tee zero tee ,7sevven 2 , ate ate won won 

I will be out of town and unable to attend Axpona but I wouldn’t be adverse to starting a Chicago area audio club

Look for me at Axpona...I'm an old man with white hair.

@wolf_garcia: Aren't we all? 😉 I don't even recognize myself in the mirror anymore. But white hair's still better than no hair!

I'm an old man with white hair.

It's like where's Waldo! 

I will be there today, I have a white beard, wild eyes, and a hankerin' for the (musical) truth. I will definitely be checking out your gear,     
b2colchagoff - that is a beautiful piece of work and I'd love to see more. 

Looking forward to a fun day!

I would love to attend Axpona. Just landed a new DAC and it would have been great to hear others first. The brands I was considering appear to all be there. Thought about a last minute trip but couldn’t quite pull it off. I’m in SC and attended a small show in Dallas last year but, looking at the Axpona vendor list, it paled in comparison. Maybe next year! Like the idea too of a “co-op” to listen/compare/socialize. My golf is getting so bad I need a new hobby. 😆

They (Audiogon) don't want to be held responsible for a person's demise because they decided to meet up with a stranger from Audiogon. I used to meet up with people to make purchases years ago and was heavily criticized but not anymore. Consider the amount of cash you will be carrying.to make an audiophile purchase.