Uwharrie Mountains Find (15 pieces, concentrated)

[OutdoorOG]

I'm discouraged at the temperament and culture of this site. Administrators, members and moderators alike have been borderline rude as I attempt to ease into my new hobby. There is an ego, and a holier than thou attitude when it comes to identifying artifacts, here, that makes newbies like myself feel dragged for literally just trying to learn. I've bent over backwards getting information for this group in an effort to share a passion and transfer knowledge.

In just this thread alone, members have written denial posts with admittedly not examining the evidence, which were "liked" by administrators and moderators of this site. I know all I need to know about what kind of help I'll get here. And this isn't what I had hoped would be a result of "hundreds of years of experience examining artifacts." Clearly this environment is too toxic for a new hobbyist.

The videos are still up on the Google drive and will remain there for another week. I would encourage you to watch them, THEN form an opinion, as that's how science works.

[tomclark]

Whiner. lol "Did you watch the videos?" No.

[UpNorth]

Another one bites the dust… I came in late and left early..🤐

[OutdoorOG]

Not sure what you mean here. Did you watch the videos?

[antmike915]

We're not trying to discourage you Outdoor, it's seems like you're the one getting discouraged by not getting the answer (about your items being artifacts) you want. If they're artifacts we would say they are, if they're not - there not. I watched your videos.

[OutdoorOG]

I appreciate your attempt to be diplomatic here, but unfortunately a single body can't be the arbiter of science, that's not how it works:

"They're artifacts if we say they are."

Is this site a joke? This is the best among you?

[A.pflueger]

This thread should be locked.

[OutdoorOG]

This site should be overhauled. I found 33 console errors in just my short time here.

Shouldn't we wait for somebody respectful/knowledgeable to watch the videos and then respond?

[CMD]

I'm discouraged at the temperament and culture of this site. Administrators, members and moderators alike have been borderline rude as I attempt to ease into my new hobby. There is an ego, and a holier than thou attitude when it comes to identifying artifacts, here, that makes newbies like myself feel dragged for literally just trying to learn. I've bent over backwards getting information for this group in an effort to share a passion and transfer knowledge.

In just this thread alone, members have written denial posts with admittedly not examining the evidence, which were "liked" by administrators and moderators of this site. I know all I need to know about what kind of help I'll get here. And this isn't what I had hoped would be a result of "hundreds of years of experience examining artifacts." Clearly this environment is too toxic for a new hobbyist.

The videos are still up on the Google drive and will remain there for another week. I would encourage you to watch them, THEN form an opinion, as that's how science works.

Well, I watched them. But you did not show us any genuine artifacts. We’ve been at this so much longer than you. You are hardly the first to arrive here with rocks, mistakenly thinking they are artifacts. When told the truth, some accept the truth, and attempt to learn how to recognize artifacts. But some lapse right away into denial mode. They believe they are right, they have artifacts, even though they state right out that they are “new to the hobby”. This attitude is the antithesis of an attitude open to actually learning. You are mistaken about your rocks. Would you really learn anything if we simply lied to you and told you “wow, splendid artifacts?”. Why would you ask us to support your mistaken interpretation of your rocks? How can you expect to learn if you are that close minded. Collectors like ourselves, 60+ years of collecting in my case, actually usually have more hands on experience than professional archaeologists.

You are basically saying you will not be happy unless we lie to you and agree with your misinterpretation of your rocks. But what good reason do we have to lie to you? This is a great site for educating newcomers on artifacts. Check out our Information Center. You are asking us to damage our good reputation as a source of both help, and good information on artifacts. And you want us to just toss that aside simply to support your errors? Can’t you see how very, very wrong that would be? That somehow your feelings and your opinions are greater than the educational value of this resource and forum?

[CMD]

I'm discouraged at the temperament and culture of this site. Administrators, members and moderators alike have been borderline rude as I attempt to ease into my new hobby. There is an ego, and a holier than thou attitude when it comes to identifying artifacts, here, that makes newbies like myself feel dragged for literally just trying to learn. I've bent over backwards getting information for this group in an effort to share a passion and transfer knowledge.

In just this thread alone, members have written denial posts with admittedly not examining the evidence, which were "liked" by administrators and moderators of this site. I know all I need to know about what kind of help I'll get here. And this isn't what I had hoped would be a result of "hundreds of years of experience examining artifacts." Clearly this environment is too toxic for a new hobbyist.

The videos are still up on the Google drive and will remain there for another week. I would encourage you to watch them, THEN form an opinion, as that's how science works.

Take some time to look through our Information Center. Take a good amount of time. It was created by the experienced, knowledgeable members of this forum, primarily by our moderators. Look at the wealth and depth of information contained therein. Ask yourself: are the people who were able to create that archive of information on artifacts, and related subjects(such as rocks mistakenly identified as artifacts), themselves incapable of telling the difference between a rock and an artifact? What are the odds that we cannot tell the difference, that we are clueless in that single most fundamental ability of any experienced artifact collector: the ability to recognize the very thing we hunt for and collect: artifacts? Do you see the absurdity of concluding we must be clueless, that you are correct and we are mistaken? The “likes” that upset you were left because the response was appropriate. How silly to lecture people on “how science works” in this instance. It is you who are being close minded, and none of the interpretations in your videos have any basis in scientific fact. You are certainly not practicing what you are so insistent on preaching to us. And it never had to come to that. Of your own free will, and based on your own mistaken beliefs, you have brought it to that point. We have seen this before. Some folks cannot handle the truth. You can learn, but you have made up your mind to not learn.