Defunct manufacturers that still have manufacturer-approved (i.e. locked) module pages

In short: I request that ModularGrid admins unlock manufacturer-approved module pages when users discover, with publicly available evidence, that the manufacturer is defunct.

I have come across a few modules with editing privileges locked, accessible by the manufacturer only, for which I suspected that the manufacturer had discontinued or otherwise abandoned support. Rather than start a new thread for each manufacturer, I figure that it would be better to create a dedicated thread for reporting defunct manufacturers with module entries locked for their exclusive editing privileges.

Now onto the first case. I just came across this particularly egregious instance. It seems Birdkids is now defunct, and has been since at least December of 2022. I point to this article to support this conclusion: https://synthanatomy.com/2022/12/birdkids-viennese-modular-synth-company-is-insolvent.html#:~:text=Unfortunately%2C%20we%20have%20to%20say,at%20the%20beginning%20of%20December.

Many modules of Birdkids provenance have entries that are locked under manufacturer-approved editing privileges. It behooves ModularGrid to unlock these module entries for editing by users at large.

I agree to the extent of allow users to request the 'availability' status be changed through some process. Nothing worse than the elation of finding a keystone module listed as currently available being turned to despair after finding a parked domain and astronomical prices on reverb.

I totally agree! A couple days ago I happened to post a similar request on the ModWiggler forum:

From https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4237599#p4237599

One gripe I have about module entries that are "Approved by manufacturer" locked is that many manufacturers are not very good at keeping on top of updating their modules on ModularGrid! And the method of getting the manufacturers to update changes or correct mistakes by sending a message is sort of tedious/cumbersome and no guarantee that the change will take place or the request even read, since ModularGrid is often a low priority for them or worse yet they've gone out of business or passed on. 😔

I think a better method might be to set up a "Pending Change" status so that end users can use the normal tools to make changes to a locked "Approved by manufacturer" module but the changes wouldn't take place until the manufacturer takes action on the pending request (approves, rejects, or doesn't respond for a certain period of time, at least a week but no more than a month?) While a request is pending no more changes/pending requests can be made on that module. This way it would be more streamlined for both users and manufacturers and modules that were locked by manufacturers that don't care or are MIA can still be updated in a reasonable amount of time. (which will also reduce the need to end users to create duplicate module entries that can be edited)