show and tell

[Little gem hunter]

Hi everyone I'm the little gem hunters dad how about a bit of encouragement support praise or even just a couple of words of encouragement toward the younger users of this group. As my daughter is going to a lot of effort to find and show what she has found and not getting any replys to her photos of what she has found as this will make them feel good and make them want to go out and look for more.my daughter is getting to the point where she wants to leave the site as she has been judged by some other users of this site. Witch if you want this hobbie to continue you will need to look out for the younger users as this is the next generation and I think that its great to see younger users on this site and out there looking and sharing there finds as it keeps them off the game consoles, out of police trouble and keeps out and about. Don't want to offend anyone just trying to get a point across.
Thanks
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Moderator Edit
This little person is truly a Gem Herself.
I have spoken to her Mum so people please encourage her.

 

[dam it]

well done .
hows that .

 

[DropBear]

Sorry dad, can't say i have seen many of the posts.

If they pop up i will be sure to say something

(i bet she is super embarrassed her dad has come on now...)

 

[Little gem hunter]

Sorry dad, can't say i have seen many of the posts.

If they pop up i will be sure to say something

(i bet she is super embarrassed her dad has come on now...)

Sorry she put them in gold prospecting and no not embarrassed she asked me if I could. thanks

 

[GaryO]

."my daughter is getting to the point where she wants to leave the site as she has been judged by some other users of this site."

Really ? She has only been here a week ! and to be honest i havnt noticed any negative judgment. :|

 

[Lefty]

Replied just then - but did not see them until your post here because I rarely look at gold prospecting .

Get her to post her gemstone hunting posts in this section where they will more likely be noticed by people with that particular interest. It's great to see the young taking an interest in fossicking rather than sitting in front of a gaming screen. My niece is 11 and we took her to Lowmead chasing amethyst crystals. She was stoked when she found some nice specimen crystals and one flawlessly clean little smoky quartz crystal which I faceted for her. It will make a nice pendant stone when her mum gets it set.

 

[DrDuck]

I note that those pics went up between 8 and 9 pm, and you are complaining here at 9:50 am the next day.

Sometimes it takes a while for comments to be made, although I suspect that some likes would have appeared pretty quickly.

As some have commented, posting the pics in the most relevant section might help.

Personally, as a 58 year old criminologist with daughters, I am a bit reticent to interact closely with very young people on the forum. My interest is in gold rather than gems, anyway.

Still, your girl is very enthusiastic, and good luck to her.

My best advice would be to take her to a meeting of the most handy lapidary society or club. They are generally very friendly groups, and in addition to cutting and polishing, often have field trips to areas where there is good prospects for finding some good stuff. The expertise and experience of such groups is readily shared, especially with young people, and would maximise the chances of some good finds.

I don't know where you are, but the first post mentioned Castlemaine. The closest gem club would probably be this:

http://www.gembendigo.org.au/

Regards
Doc

 

[DropBear]

Yup i'm with you DrDuck...

The internet is a dark dark place... I'm not even 100% sold that we are actually talking to a child, but someone that is using this as a way to find out more information about those secret spots.
But hey i might be wrong...

As what DrDuck said, take her to a Lapidary club, meet other kids. Who knows you might get some awesome camping trips out of it.

 

[Jukebox]

Yup i'm with you DrDuck...

The internet is a dark dark place... I'm not even 100% sold that we are actually talking to a child, but someone that is using this as a way to find out more information about those secret spots.
But hey i might be wrong...

As what DrDuck said, take her to a Lapidary club, meet other kids. Who knows you might get some awesome camping trips out of it.

I am 100% in your mind mate - and respectfully to the poster I would not interact with a 9 year old child on the internet, without the parent being the main poster / recipient or at all.

I think the forums need to clarify the rules in terms of the forums as i looked them up and it does not speak about minimum ages of users or the sites stance of engaging with minors on a forum such as this.

I am not telling anyone how to raise their children, but wouldn't the best place be at a lapidary club for children? They all do these on weekends at reasonable hours of the day and often for free or reduced fee. Interacting with children her age would be most appropriate form of encouraging a child in this area.
.
Moderator Edit.
Checked this out personally myself.
All Good.
She is being monitored by her parents and,
That is what we Mods are for.

 

[shivan]

I find this forum a funny place at times.
A kid has shown some enthusiasm on a supposed family forum, on a subject it sounds like the parents don't know a lot about. Its not like they asked for everyone's secret spots just some general information.
The girl got a little upset that no one had said anything about her pics ( it may not have been a long time, but kids can be like that. They like instant feedback), so dad came into ask us to have a look and show encouragement, again not asking for anything else, just trying to keep his daughter happy.
He mentions her getting upset, well it was only 9 reply's to her post before she was getting questioned about her age and grammar?

If you are worried about people infiltrating the site to steal your spots, just don't talk about them on a public forum, its that easy.
There are already posts about public spots in most areas and states that can be recommended to all newcomers that is already common knowledge.
Not everyone has used a forum before and not everybody is computer savvy. Yes there is a search function at the top, but if you don't know its there then it doesn't do much good.
Isn't this place ment for people new to the hobby to come and ask questions? Or is it just the old boys club?

 

[Heatho]

This is a family friendly forum, children are more than welcome to participate in the conversations on here. Though people must have patience when looking for answers to questions and also when seeking comments on their photos and/or prospecting adventures.

It seems a few young people have been getting quite impatient recently when asking questions, one young bloke recently asked the same question in about 9 different threads all in the space of an hour......

Little Gem Hunter is more than welcome to be here and interact with the other forum members. No one has said anything untoward and if they had they would get a stern warning about forum etiquette.

Young people should be encouraged to participate in this wonderful hobby though always under parental supervision.

We have another young man who participates on this forum quite actively in the metal detecting sections, he makes some fantastic video's and turns up to quite a few group detecting sessions.

 

[Heatho]

I'm also right now going to move Little Gem Hunter's other thread into this gemstone section.

Cheers

 

[Little gem hunter]

I note that those pics went up between 8 and 9 pm, and you are complaining here at 9:50 am the next day.

Sometimes it takes a while for comments to be made, although I suspect that some likes would have appeared pretty quickly.

As some have commented, posting the pics in the most relevant section might help.

Personally, as a 58 year old criminologist with daughters, I am a bit reticent to interact closely with very young people on the forum. My interest is in gold rather than gems, anyway.

Still, your girl is very enthusiastic, and good luck to her.

My best advice would be to take her to a meeting of the most handy lapidary society or club. They are generally very friendly groups, and in addition to cutting and polishing, often have field trips to areas where there is good prospects for finding some good stuff. The expertise and experience of such groups is readily shared, especially with young people, and would maximise the chances of some good finds.

I don't know where you are, but the first post mentioned Castlemaine. The closest gem club would probably be this:

http://www.gembendigo.org.au/

Regards
Doc

Dear Doc
Little gem hunters mother here just wanted to let you and everyone one else that either myself or my husband sit beside her while she is on this site,we're not out there to take anyone's special spots we only wanted to support our daughter interest ,she looks forward to getting up in the morning and seeing what people say and again after school.We are now posting on the gem part of the forum.

 

[Little gem hunter]

Yup i'm with you DrDuck...

The internet is a dark dark place... I'm not even 100% sold that we are actually talking to a child, but someone that is using this as a way to find out more information about those secret spots.
But hey i might be wrong...

As what DrDuck said, take her to a Lapidary club, meet other kids. Who knows you might get some awesome camping trips out of it.

I am 100% in your mind mate - and respectfully to the poster I would not interact with a 9 year old child on the internet, without the parent being the main poster / recipient or at all.

I think the forums need to clarify the rules in terms of the forums as i looked them up and it does not speak about minimum ages of users or the sites stance of engaging with minors on a forum such as this.

I am not telling anyone how to raise their childre, but wouldn't the best place be at a lapidary club for children? They all do these on weekends at reasonable hours of the day and often for free or reduced fee. Interacting with children her age would be most appropriate form of encouraging a child in this area.

Hi Jukebox
Little gems mother here and l think you need to be a bit more respectful of other user on this forum,we have found many members more then welcoming and more then helpful in seeing the next generation of hunters grow may it be via gold or gems .you and others like you don't need to worry about your special spots,we're not on here for that my daughter joined as she is very interested in gem fossils and like,we sit with her every time she s on here.what you and others like you don't know is that a few years back my husband fell down a 13 foot wall at our local spillway and was told he would never be able to walk he proved them wrong he still has trouble walking so we want be out there digging and swing at anyone special spots,we thought that by our daughter having this interest and us helping her it would be a great hobby for the family.We last night tried to add an avatar but couldn't resize it so have sent to admin it a photo of her for those who wish to not believe it's a nine year old page.So please reframe from commenting if you don't agree,
sometimes it's best to keep your comments to yourself .

 

[DropBear]

Don't worry mum

We will support, and give advice where we can. It's just strange thats all.

This is an open forum, so input from members is fine. We are just voicing our concerns.
Facebook is a minimum age of 13... just putting it out there.

Hopefully you can keep up to your daughters demand and get out there digging with her! We are mostly all grown men and love playing in the dirt! So youre never too old or too young to start.

Keep on digging!

 

[DropBear]

How to make diamonds out of peanut butter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CB74Y_p1G8

 

[Jukebox]

Hi Jukebox
Little gems mother here and l think you need to be a bit more respectful of other user on this forum,we have found many members more then welcoming and more then helpful in seeing the next generation of hunters grow may it be via gold or gems .you and others like you don't need to worry about your special spots,we're not on here for that my daughter joined as she is very interested in gem fossils and like,we sit with her every time she s on here.what you and others like you don't know is that a few years back my husband fell down a 13 foot wall at our local spillway and was told he would never be able to walk he proved them wrong he still has trouble walking so we want be out there digging and swing at anyone special spots,we thought that by our daughter having this interest and us helping her it would be a great hobby for the family.We last night tried to add an avatar but couldn't resize it so have sent to admin it a photo of her for those who wish to not believe it's a nine year old page.So please reframe from commenting if you don't agree,
sometimes it's best to keep your comments to yourself .

Excuse me - but this is a public forum and i can comment my opinion in a well-mannered and constructive way. I was voicing my legitimate concerns which is more than reasonable.

I think if you read the forums a little more closely my comments about Opal (and to a lesser extent gold) have been particularly helpful for beginners. Going into much detail of where to go and how to do it. Spending some good hours in posting in helpful material to the public and expecting nothing in return.

I wouldn't think you could possibly steal my special spot because I work on mineral lease claims (which i am more than happy to explain to you what they are if you ask).

I suggested you go to a lapidary club because it is the best place to go for anyone with an interest in stones - the people you meet and knowledge you are exposed to will be an incredibly right step in that direction. Hopefully making life long friends with for both you and your daughter. Its the best decision i have ever done in my life taking the leap and joining the club myself.

(Isnt this advice you joined for?)

I empathize with the situation you are in and applaud an amazing effort to get to this point.

If you want any information on Opal - where to find how to do - please ask i am more than happy to help anyone who wishes to know more about this fabulous stone and fossicking geology in general!

Jukey.

 

[Heatho]

There is very little in this thread to say now that will be constructive to the forum, if everyone has had their say I'm closing it.

Cheers

 

[Tathradj]

In respect of the original Post,
I have reopened the thread.
Go for it Little Gem Hunter.

 

[Lefty]

Yes, the internet can indeed be a dark place and you usually don't really know who you are talking to. A little bit of suspicion on some forum members part is perfectly understandable. A mate of mine had his name and the details of his business repeatedly taken by a strange and pitiful individual and posted to certain websites for a laugh - the nature of those sites I won't describe in the presence of a minor.

It's just a sad fact that some people can and do use the internet to indulge in things that would be socially unacceptable or even illegal and would lead to them being punched on the nose or maybe even arrested if they did it out in the real world so caution and even some scepticism are both understandable and warranted to some degree.

Had everyone met face-to-face, there would have been no hesitation and most people would probably have been falling over themselves to give LGH encouragement. The moderators have now confirmed that she is who she says she is and that her parents are monitoring her when she is online.

So post away Little Gem Hunter