iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

First of all, thank you for providing this excellent forum. I am a big fan of this software having administered it in some instances and been a moderator in several others. phpbb software rocks!

My question is (actually two) there seems to not be a place on the forum (or is there?) dedicated to introductions? A place where new users introduce themselves to each other and we all get to learn a bit more about each other as people. Maybe that was decided against by the administrators - if so , sorry just asking

I wanted to post something which has long been a concern of mine, but I'm unsure of the proper forum to bring it up. That is rumor control. I hear a lot of wild stuff! And often when I investigate further I find that the story is purely resulting from a misunderstanding of the truth. Sometimes though, when I investigate further the entire thing is simply 'invented' by someone. Here is an example :

I met a very reasonable and nice seeming young lady who plays the didj
and attends lots of gatherings and festivals. In other words, she contacts and interacts with many people both in and outside the didjeridu communities. She told me this about a local to me didjeridu maker who I will not name.

"The yolngu children no longer have good quality instruments to play because there are so few of the sticks that the yolngu make now are of good quality [sic]." She continued to describe this local maker as somehow saving the day by exporting his sticks to Australia so that the tradition of playing could be saved for future generations.

I was too gobsmacked by what she was telling me to offer more than a few "hmmm, that's interestings" and an occasional nod or shake of the head.

I feel that she quite obviously misunderstood something she was told, or has a flair for fiction herself. I found this story disturbing on many levels, but I know from experience that this is the kind of thing that gets turned into uban legend and will be repeated, embellished upon and used to elevate this didj maker to didj-guru status.

I'm quite curious if I am the only one who hears wild things like this? I mean I've heard quite outrageous things, this one is actually relatively tame to be honest. So I was thinking to post a topic called 'rumors' or something of the sort to collect and debunk these stories. I'm just unsure of the proper forum to place it.

Thanks,

Ed

Good idea indeed.
I hear lots too, as I think everyone must.
Good to see/read you here Ed.

cheers, Martin

Hi Martin, thanks. My thinking is that if we are aware of the rumors out there we can be better prepared to nip them in the bud. I'm thinking of collecting them and debunking them for an article on my ever so out dated website haha. I did one such article many years ago and I don't know how well received it was but it was mad fun just to vent about the subject

Ed

Hi Ed,

I've created 2 new sections. Check 'em out

Thanks for the suggestion too buddy. If there's something else in need, let me know.

Guan

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the forum my friend. I think we've all encountered situations like this, some more than others. I often mention that this misinformation and lack of education leads to much confusion! Unfortunately these urban legends tend to propagate wildly!