Plastic in typewriters, in a big way, at any rate, started in the late 50s/early 60s, I think. At least, that's what I've observed. 

I'm really not a fan of dividing things up by years. It's problematic for a number of reasons:

1. Those new to typewriters will be less familiar with the chronological nuances of what they're looking at as opposed to the brand name which is clearly written on the front of the machine. Many may not even know which year the machine they're thinking of buying or have already bought was made in. 
 
2. No matter which years you use as a dividing point, you will always end up splitting a model run in two and add confusion to where content shuold be posted. For example, say you used 1950 to sub-divide a category and I wanted to discuss my 1952 Smith-Corona. Do I post it in the pre-1950 group because that particular model design was first produced in 1949, or do I start my thread in the post-1950 group. How much overlap would this create with some Super-5 posts being created in the pre group and others being discussed in the post group? 

The reason I used countries of origin to divide everything up is because I  believed that most people sort their own machines by brand first and then by year. New collectors/buyers wouldn't necessarily know the origin of a brand, which is why I provided examples of all the major makes for each country. I know it's an assumption, but I'm sure the examples from the more obscure brands are for the most part in the hands of more knowlegable collectors who know their country of origin and consequently which sub-forum to use.

Imagine for a minute this was a car forum. Would it makes sense to clump every single manufacturer together and categorize discussion by pre- or post- specific years? Don't most people discuss cars (motorcycles, watches, straight razors, etc...) by manufacturer and then further identify them by year?

I tried to imagine how someone new to typewriter buying would approach the subject as I wanted this forum to be unintimidating and approachable to everyone, especially those new to typewriters.

I can sort of understand dividing everything by portable and desktop, but again, if you know your machines and you're only interested in portables, you'll aslo know when you're browsing the American forum for an Underwood to ignore the heading for an Underwood No. 6.

Those are a few of my thoughts and reasons on how the sub-forums should be structured, but I will certainly respect what the majority would prefer to see. Maybe the best way to approach this issue is to collect a few more opinions, and then create a poll containing the different possibilities so everyone can vote for what they'd like to see?

I suppose another reason against dividing by country is the fact that many companies were bought out by foriegn concerns. For example the US 'Oliver' that became the 'British Oliver'.

Uwe wrote:

I see that most discussion here about changes only concerns the Type Talk section. Am I safe in assuming that the other sections are alright, other than the one suggestion to add a non-typewriter discussion area? 

My suggestions have to do with the six forum divisions under TYPEWRITERS:

  Type Talk
  Asian
  American
  Electric
  European
  German.

Looking at those subdivisions I would probably suggest just these four with some possible additions as asked for by members:

  Type Talk
  Electric
  Desk Typewriters
  Portables

Dividing by the letter of the name of the manufacturer would probably get me to not bother looking at the forum or, perhaps, I would get used to it and embrace it.  With the Desk Typewriters sorted into their own segment I could see all of them on one forum.  The fewer forums the better but it will take a number of different categories I think to work best.

Should there be another category for the early index typewriters and other early rare machines and oddities?  Franklins, Blicks, Hammonds and so many other typewriters that do not follow the normal convention for typewriters.   I would think so to cater to those interested in such typewriters.

Steve Stephens wrote:

Should there be another category for the early index typewriters and other early rare machines and oddities?  Franklins, Blicks, Hammonds and so many other typewriters that do not follow the normal convention for typewriters.   I would think so to cater to those interested in such typewriters.

What would you call this sub-forum? 19th Century Typewriters? Non-traditionals? Pre-QWERTY(Z)?