That was decades before I heard of K Zildjian and Drumaholic timelines. So I would tend to give more general credit to the scientists who actually invented these ideas many decades ago. After that credit is given, I give credit to Drumaholic for getting people interested in certain scruffy old cymbals from Istanbul. Drumaholic put in the hard yards to make it happen. I do think it remains a pity that the final "virtuous cycle" of science remains broken. Results need to be published, along with methodological details, so that others can review and contribute to the ongoing understanding. Break this process (as has happened in this case) and one person carries the burden of doing all the work, and they also carry the information to their grave. Then archaeologists get involved centuries later... :cool:
While I understand your point with regard to the altruism of sharing knowledge gained through research, Drumaholic is neither a scientist nor professional historian. His research is his own and he has no obligation to share it with anyone. His real career, which I will not divulge, is just about as far from researching the history of cymbals as you can get. While many of us would wish he was willing to publish his findings online, I can attest to the fact that he once did.
As I pointed out, I have paper copies of his A. Zildjian, K. Zildjian and K. Zildjian & Cie timelines, complete with photos and descriptions, from April 2005.They were available until a few years back on another very prominent cymbal webste here in the USA. I am aware of some of the issues that occured on that site and some of the reasons he is currently less willing to publish all his findings. I for one, am just glad he did the reseach in the first place.
His knowledge goes far beyond knowing when a particular cymbal was manufactured. And, with regard to the 24" Intermediate you mentioned, he is the first to admit when he learns something new, and is eager to share that knowledge with us. If this sounds like I'm the president of his fan club, I'm not. But..if someone starts one, I'll join!