zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Feb 17, 2012 13:51:55 GMT -5
Someone told me that they haven't been able to get onto gemstone.smfforfree4.com for a couple of days. I called George (TaoGem) & he says he's moving on from rocks & lapidary. Other things in his life are taking his time & energy. Too bad.
It would be great if someone could take over the site from him. It would be even better if all of the old posts could be moved here to RTH! I've often posted the same post to both sites in the past.
Lynn
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Post by helens on Feb 17, 2012 13:54:17 GMT -5
Oh wow... it's just gone? I wondered what happened to them too. There's a treasure of photos and posts there about rocks:(
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Feb 17, 2012 13:58:48 GMT -5
George did outstanding lapidary sad to hear that!
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Post by Toad on Feb 17, 2012 14:02:21 GMT -5
There is a season for every purpose under heaven
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Feb 17, 2012 14:20:15 GMT -5
That explains why, when I registered a month or so ago, I never got confirmation....
Too bad.
I build web applications. If someone else wants to take over day-to-day moderating (or whatever his active role is) I would help out.
I am so new to this hobby it would be a shame to miss possible learning that is hidden in that forum.
As a last thought, if George is not planning on deleting the content, that just means that NEW content can't be added, which is a bummer but not a total travesty in that whatever is there would stay preserved. Do you know if he is planning on letting it lapse/get deleted?
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Feb 17, 2012 14:45:00 GMT -5
I was wondering what was going on...wish he'd put an announcement or something up there, all his long term loyal members deserve at least that. I think he could easily get someone else to take it over, there are plenty of members who are webmasters or have forum admin/mod experience. I'd be interested, at least in the short-term.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Feb 17, 2012 15:10:55 GMT -5
John,
George hasn't deleted the content, but you can't read the posts. He'd like to hand it over to someone else. If you'd like to contact him, PM me & I'll give you his phone #. If you have html experience, that's a plus.
I still think the best solution would be to migrate the threads to RTH, I don't like the fact that I have to spend time on both sites to share info. Both sites are so similar, they should be merged.
Lynn
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Post by parfive on Feb 17, 2012 18:06:01 GMT -5
Blarney had the decency to let his forum know what was up when he closed his site.
Given Zarguy’s explanation, this was a chickenshit move.
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 17, 2012 18:46:45 GMT -5
I emailed George too, but never got a reply. I gues he has had something big jump in his way.
looks like taogems.com is no longer on the internet either. So it is not just the forum, but also his business website that is gone.
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Post by Rockhobbit on Feb 17, 2012 19:42:31 GMT -5
George is a really nice guy. Maybe something big happened and he just couldn't give notice? I would be hesitant to judge so quickly, I imagine he has had many calls and emails. Lets give him a little time to settle and catch up.
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hulagrub
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2009
Posts: 256
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Post by hulagrub on Feb 17, 2012 20:28:30 GMT -5
Well, sounds like something in life has overwhelmed him. Hopefully, you can get it combined here, which sounds like a good idea, as so many members here were members there. Time to go forward, as all things are subject to change. One door closes, then another opens!
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redrummd
starting to shine!
Member since July 2009
Posts: 38
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Post by redrummd on Feb 17, 2012 20:38:31 GMT -5
Wow....
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Enchantra
starting to shine!
Member since February 2012
Posts: 49
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Post by Enchantra on Feb 17, 2012 20:55:34 GMT -5
I don't know a lot, but I remember back over the past month or better George commenting about health problems with either his girlfriend or a member of his extended family. Depending on the severity of the situation, it could take away his time to take care of his store and the forum. He did put a huge amount of time into the forum.
I've been trying to contact him as I need to pay him for some stones he was cutting for me. Last I knew he had them almost completed.
I agree that someone needs to take over the forum. I would do it but I already basically admin on another forum devoted to bonsai, work two jobs and have a jewelry business. To that end the best I could do is at least offer to moderate but I certainly cannot take over the every day control of the site.
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 17, 2012 21:26:09 GMT -5
This is too bad.
I enjoyed his site. There was overlap between the two, but there was also a difference of 'personality' if you will. Like rock clubs, both forums did the same type of things, but they did it differently enough with the people involved to make it worthwhile to visit and be a part of both.
I hope it gets resurrected.
Lowell
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Post by Woodyrock on Feb 18, 2012 1:09:25 GMT -5
I too have been wondering what happened since I was getting a ''maintenance'''message.
The difference be-twine the two forums really added value to our obsession.
Woody
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nuevomundo
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2010
Posts: 222
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Post by nuevomundo on Feb 18, 2012 1:17:59 GMT -5
Well folks, I have good news! The Gemstone forum will be back up shortly. There will, of course, be changes in the administration and moderation of the forum, but it looks like we can count on it as a resource for a long time to come.
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Post by catmandewe on Feb 18, 2012 1:27:31 GMT -5
Good to hear!
Tony
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Post by kk on Feb 18, 2012 2:18:08 GMT -5
Wow you guys are really great, judging by all the messages and emails that I got, there must have been a ton of people working on solving the problem.
parfive: While not a good move; your words "Given Zarguy’s explanation, this was a chickenshit move" are not warranted.
Personally, I can't be to harsh on George (so far the reason behind it are known to only few) because I owe him operating the forum everything I do today. Plus I found you guys and many more friends that have nothing but enriched me on so many levels.
I think a lot of us have been there, done that. Got crushed by events in our lives and then picked up the pieces, we persevered and got so much richer for it in the end.
The only beef I do hold against him is the suddenness without warning. Keep the forum open for a week on notice, so everyone can get affairs in order; that's all I would have expected.
If George wanted to avoid facing everyone, he got just about the opposite, because as far as I can see, people talking and writing to him now, who have not even been visible on the forum, plus a lot more that we are not aware of. So, he must be swamped with inquiries in any form of media.
So, lets face it and move on with the best intentions, tomorrow a new dawn is waiting for us, lets see what it will bring.
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Post by helens on Feb 18, 2012 2:23:45 GMT -5
Poor George:(... but, I'll bet he got 1000 emails today:P.
I'm glad you guys stepped up to the plate to keep it open!! There were contributions from sooo many different people that it would have represented a real loss to the rock community to just let it vanish.
So glad to hear it was all resolved!!
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Post by parfive on Feb 18, 2012 4:41:45 GMT -5
kk - Unless he got run over by a bus (and even that wouldn’t cause a site to go dark), I see no reason to pull the plug on all his members without so much as an adios.
[FWIW - Tao was a member here on RTH (quit, basically hassled off) before he started his own forum, and not that it matters, but I was on his side back then.]
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