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GeneralWhy is mindat important to you?
23rd Jul 2015 12:52 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder
Can you sum up, in one sentence, why mindat is important to you? Whether you are a serious collector, an educator, a professional mineralogists or just an interested amateur every view is valid. If you're using mindat for a specific task I'd love to hear about that too.
Now is time for me to rewrite my fundraising documentation and I'd like to use attributed quotes taken from these replies in this document. The document will be available free to download here once it is ready.
Mindat.org receives no public funding to continue its mission, we rely on the generosity of our supporters. Anything you can say to help improve our message to potential donors and supporters is greatly appreciated!
Thank you all in advance!
23rd Jul 2015 13:49 UTCMatt Courville
The work that goes into this site is much appreciated,
Matt Courville
23rd Jul 2015 14:25 UTCKeith A. Peregrine
23rd Jul 2015 14:28 UTCChristian Auer 🌟 Expert
23rd Jul 2015 14:32 UTCOwen Melfyn Lewis
23rd Jul 2015 14:41 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert
23rd Jul 2015 14:57 UTCBill Cordua 🌟 Manager
23rd Jul 2015 15:19 UTCTimothy Greenland
Mindat is like having a comprehensive library and a bunch of librarians and commentators (sometimes adversarial) available in one's own home; right next to the collection.
Thanks Jolyon, the managers and the many participators. I really appreciate you all!
Cheers
Tim
23rd Jul 2015 15:58 UTCKyle Beucke 🌟
Thank you Jolyon!
Kyle
23rd Jul 2015 16:44 UTCRui Nunes 🌟 Expert
23rd Jul 2015 16:58 UTCChester S. Lemanski, Jr.
Mindat fulfills a concept that I had as a young amateur collector long before computers and the internet - a comprehensive mineral and locality database. That dream is now realized through Mindat and I am pleased to be a part of it as a regular contributor and manager!
Keep up the great work Jolyon & all my fellow Mindat managers and contributors!!
23rd Jul 2015 17:36 UTCJerry Cone 🌟 Expert
It is so much more, but that's my one sentence.
Thanks Jolyon and all the managers and contributors.
23rd Jul 2015 17:58 UTCChris Rayburn
Mindat is the best single source of information available to mineralogists, mineral collectors and anyone seeking to answer a question or expand their knowledge related to minerals.
Thanks to all who make Mindat the remarkable resource that it is!
23rd Jul 2015 18:07 UTCRolf Brandt
23rd Jul 2015 19:05 UTCScott Rider
My Topaz finds from Devil's Head has spearheaded my new business, and without the knowledge and help from the forums, I'd probably would not have found a topaz pocket, or worse yet, found the pocket, but through inexperience, I probably would have broken many of the Topaz crystals without help... So as I stated before in many of my responses, I thank you all for the experience you bring to the site, but also from the various help I have received with identifying minerals, learning about finding pockets of crystals, cleaning them, etc...
So, sorry, one sentence truly is not enough to express my gratitude and love for this website!!! I just wish I could donate more than just a penance...
23rd Jul 2015 20:18 UTCRonald J. Pellar Expert
23rd Jul 2015 20:47 UTCRichard Gunter Expert
23rd Jul 2015 21:39 UTCJeff Weissman Expert
"Mindat is the go-to resource for researching, learning, discussing, and yes, bragging about minerals, mineral occurrences, and mineral collecting - ultimately resulting in significant improvements to the mineral community at large and individually"
24th Jul 2015 00:00 UTCRick Dalrymple Expert
24th Jul 2015 00:57 UTCAndrew Debnam 🌟
24th Jul 2015 01:02 UTCSteve Federico
24th Jul 2015 01:10 UTCDoug Daniels
24th Jul 2015 01:11 UTCKeith Compton 🌟 Manager
I am an amateur collector and I use MINDAT because it’s the best source of FREE reliable information on minerals in the world.
Cheers
Keith
24th Jul 2015 02:31 UTCWayne C. Leicht
24th Jul 2015 02:33 UTCWayne C. Leicht
24th Jul 2015 02:35 UTCTony Charlton
24th Jul 2015 03:46 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
Mindat provides a way to list not only the rare mineral occurrences, but also occurrences for common minerals from throughout the world. With the availability of references, mindat can provide a starting point for those wishing to learn more about a specific mineral or locality. It also has the ability to link photos to specific localities. It provides a place to save information about a particular locality where there really isn't enough information to warrant formal publication.
The forum is an important place where amateurs and professionals can share information.
24th Jul 2015 04:32 UTCJuan Ángel Tort Figueroa
24th Jul 2015 09:27 UTCMax Merlo
Is like enter the Alibaba cave filled with mineral natural treasure, but organized, so you can easily find your best gem!
24th Jul 2015 09:28 UTCMonika Kertowska
Monika
24th Jul 2015 09:57 UTCVachik Hairapetian Expert
24th Jul 2015 11:59 UTCDale Foster Manager
24th Jul 2015 12:09 UTCGary Moldovany
24th Jul 2015 17:04 UTCGemma Kerr
I also really enjoy the discussions and am blown away by the expertise of many Mindat members.
Yours gratefully,
Gemma
24th Jul 2015 18:29 UTCFrank Ruehlicke 🌟
24th Jul 2015 21:52 UTCDana Morong
To realize why no internet site can be perfect for learning about minerals, is because this is a hands-on field. Back in Peter Zodac’s day, when he was editing Rocks and Minerals magazine (which was to serve a purpose similar to that served by the better websites today, at least in some respects) he sometimes editorialized about how to start out in the hobby. In one article, “Do It in the Right Way!” in the September 1942 issue, he told of people who wanted to identify minerals by simply comparing them to photos in color: “We have tried and tried to inform amateurs that the color of a mineral is no definite indication of its identity. True a few minerals can be identified by their color but it takes one with some experience to do this.” He went on to tell people to get some representative specimens, and some good books, and visit collections, and so learn. He may have had in mind the good example of Walter Sachs, who wrote, in the June 1937 issue, “Recapitulation” telling of how he got interested in minerals about a year before, and got some specimens, and some good books, and viewed collections, and really learned – quite in happy contrast to some others who refuse to get and use good books, never learning, and therefore stay beginners for years. Just as one cannot learn many things by internet (such as cooking, or fixing knife handles, or even much of anything else of a hands-on nature), one cannot rely upon it to learn the basics of mineralogy – although the better sites can be a great help to those who already have some of the basics. Altho a site may have tons of data in lists, there is nothing quite like all the descriptive information found in experience, in descriptive books (such as Pough’s Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals – it doesn’t have much due to its limited size, but its proportion of descriptive information is good), magazines, and other sources of information, such as tell associations, environments, interesting habits from various localities, etc. – all of which may be largely missing from websites simply because it, like experience, is so large a field that it would be difficult to include it all in even the best website.
The three aspects of mindat.org that I think are most useful, are its photos, its locality database, and its message board. I got reminded of its great photos when I read Peter Zodac’s editorial, in which he said that he kept on getting inquiries regarding a book with color photos. Collectors had to wait until 1953 when Pough’s Field Guide was first published, and even then one could not identify a mineral solely upon photos. In fact, for decades after this was true. However, this has forced many, those who really loved minerals, to learn mineralogy without the aid of good color photos (with the exception of some excellent photographers such as J. Scovil). But now, with the ubiquity of digital cameras, with their great resolution and color, and the means of sharing the images, now color photos have a real use – at least for those already experienced in minerals. And mindat.org is a very useful site to share them.
Its locality database can be incredibly useful in research, just to find out what is or has been found where. And the format of such on such a world-wide network is superbly available to people all over. True, it doesn’t have every single detail, but if it did, it would approach the world in size, and not be quite humanly possible. However, this combined with the use of the messageboard makes getting information so much easier.
I read somewhere that back a century or two ago there was a magazine that served, in its day, like a messageboard. People with questions would write in, and it would be published, and eventually someone else who subscribed to that magazine would answer. This took a lot of time, but it was the best that they could do. I think the publishers made indexes every now and then so that people (perhaps at the library in London) could research past entries by subject. I forget just what the name of this magazine was, but it was quite a voluminous one in its day. And the mineralogists of the 1800s used to keep in touch with each other a lot, usually by letter, some of the time connected by journals such as American Journal of Science and other like publications. How else would they have been able to keep up with the most recent discoveries and advances. And a lot of this was before the typewriter was invented, so they had to write with pens, ink, pen-nibs, on paper. They even sent specimens to each other through the mails. All of this took a lot of time, effort, and some money, but those who were determined to learn did it any way they could. Back in the 1930s, Peter Zodac, editor of Rocks and Minerals magazine (which started in 1926), had columns to help those who wanted information. Someone would write in, and later someone else would answer. One of these columns was called Mineral Localities Information Department. The Message Board in mindat.org is a modern version. I think that Peter Zodac would have been very interested in mindat.org and its information-sharing services.
25th Jul 2015 00:39 UTCSteven Kuitems Expert
Steve.
25th Jul 2015 02:34 UTCJason Evans
25th Jul 2015 04:49 UTCMatt Ciranni
25th Jul 2015 07:17 UTCRalph S Bottrill 🌟 Manager
25th Jul 2015 11:24 UTCGeorg Graf
mindat.org is very helpful for determining spezimens, esp. by the photos and the forums.
Much thanks to Jolyon and all other involved!
Georg
25th Jul 2015 12:46 UTCDon Swenson
25th Jul 2015 14:54 UTCCarsten Slotta 🌟 Expert
Mindat is simply my priceless everyday workmate!
Cheers,
Carsten
25th Jul 2015 15:02 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
25th Jul 2015 15:44 UTCJim McGlasson
In summary - Mindat is a very well done and reasonably accurate compilation of data for minerals (including antiquated and varietal names), It is extremely useful for all levels of interest in mineralogy and crystallography.
More detail - Mindat represents thousands of man-hours of work compiling and checking mineralogical data. It must ALWAYS be viewed as a "work in progress" as new information becomes available at any moment. As a professional geologist, I understand that nature (and all science) is dynamic with respect to our understanding and knowledge at any given time. The addition and verification of data included in this great database must be continually monitored and verified, that is where the countless hours spent by the contributors and managers (including future volunteers) is critical it the future of Mindat.. As I said in my summary I feel the data is reasonably accurate, and the contributors have done an excellent job of trying to include all data that is relevant. The physical properties (visual, chemical, optical, and X-Ray) are as up to date as possible because that data is published in several journals monthly. However, in the compilation of locality information is a far different problem. Many collectors have obtained specimens with locality labels that are inaccurate (unintentional mistakes, mixing up labels with specimens, poor knowledge of exact location, fraud, etc.) and collectors, more than professionals, tend to perpetuate this inaccuracy. There are some collectors vehemently refuse to listen when an inaccuracy in their labeling is pointed out by someone that is intimately familiar with specimens from that locality. I fully agree that there are new localities where the list of known species is unknown or incomplete. This is good because it entices us as field collectors to search for new locations, and think about what chemical associations are possible. This is where new to science species are discovered. You must remember that being in a constant state of change is what scientific disciplines and scientific knowledge (including mineralogy) are all about. Therefore, as a collector when I use Mindat to help with a location of a specimen, knowing some data, one must consider that the information as to location may not be accurate. What one needs to do is first, try to find the location based on the information provided, in many cases this may not provide specific enough information to single out a specific locality (only a district or area). In using Mindat to get more specific locality information than provided may cause inaccuracies and therefore be unintentionally perpetuated to others. To me very accurate and specific locality information is the single most important thing connected to the specimen. The identity of species can always be checked, but if the locality information is inaccurate, there is little that can be done to correct this with absolute certainty. Please, as collectors, dealers, and professionals, take any comments concerning your locality information as helpful comments (not as criticism), as most errors are probably made unintentionally. Try not to perpetuate inaccurate locality information. The database is only as accurate as the data that is available, and it is the responsibility of all to attempt to keep this accuracy as high as possible.
Jolyon and the dedicated team of administrators and contributors deserve our full support and tahnks for a job well done - but it MUST continue.
25th Jul 2015 16:46 UTCD. Peck
The interchange of ideas and information between knowledgeable professionals, academics, and amateurs in the forums is more rewarding than I get from magazines and journals.
Jolyon, you have spawned a monster . . . but what a fantastic monster it is !!!
25th Jul 2015 17:48 UTCJohn M Stolz Expert
25th Jul 2015 20:14 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder
Jolyon
25th Jul 2015 21:35 UTCDana Morong
It is true that I do not have Hintze's books (said to be very difficult to obtain, as well as costly), but I do have pdf copies of V1pt1 and V2pt2 (they didn't know when scanning that they were missing V1pt2 and V2pt1, so those didn't get online), and also I do not have Goldschmidt's Atlas Der Krystallformen (a very useful reference) in paper - although I have seen and handled an original set in a college library - I do have a DVD disk of Goldschmidt's Atlas published by mindat.org (Thank You, Mindat.org for this and many other wonderful things), and actually may prefer it that way, as those paper books are kind of big and heavy and would have used up a lot of shelf space, whereas the disk uses only a little, and crystal diagrams are superbly suited to pdf format anyhow.
And I have possibly spent a thousand dollars, over the years, at college libraries which I also sometimes use as 'back-up' libraries for books and articles I either don't have or seldom use, or cannot get - but I do appreciate the pdf versions, when they are available anyhow. But although I appreciate the electronic versions of information, I also appreciate the paper versions for the basics and for quick reference (when one wants to find out without having to log in to somewhere, and I find it often easier to use the index in a paper book, and to compare things on different pages) - these also are handy at a summer cottage I sometimes visit, which does not have electricity, but a paper book still can be helpful in such a situation.
26th Jul 2015 00:37 UTCNorman King 🌟 Expert
In 2011 I began a thread in a Mindat discussion forum on the minerals occurring at Lookout Pass, Utah. We (the discussion group) concluded that mineral occurrences reported at that time were unreliable, and that chemical analyses would be necessary to sort out the confusion. I offered to commission such analyses if someone could send material to me for that purpose. A reader who had not contributed to the discussion up to that point made such an offer, and I received enough material to order more than 50 analyses. I uploaded all of the analytical results to Mindat, accompanied by photographs of the material analyzed. I also reported on my findings in a formal presentation at the National Meeting of the Geological Society of America in October of 2014. Since then, this information has been noted and followed by those owning and trading this material. Among other things, I found that a rare mineral, parapierrotite, previously reported as not possessing cleavage does indeed have excellent cleavage (some observes suggest there is also parting). This was confirmed by four different kinds of analysis, all of them showing that the identity of the cleaved mineral is indeed parapierrotite. The existing misinformation was, in fact, one of the reasons for the confusion as to what minerals are present at the Lookout Pass locality.
Mindat is known world-wide for its database on mineral localities. Some finds reported in various venues are dubious, and others are outright incorrect, however. The suspect reports in Mindat are flagged by users who have expertise and experience on the questioned occurrences. Often, it is the photos that have been uploaded showing particular habits or mineral associations known to occur elsewhere that triggers commentary by others. The result is that mistaken locality “information” is corrected (in addition to mistaken habit information such as mentioned above). Thus, Mindat offers an effective means for scientists, professional and amateur alike, to engage in the self-correcting process of science-–something that is otherwise effectively prevented in the more formal venues where scientific results are normally treated. I am pleased to continue working through Mindat, as I am an educator (now retired, except for my work through Mindat!), and I have always viewed this kind of out-reach as among my most important roles in that capacity. Mindat allows me to dwell on my presentations (no time limits; no space limits!), expanding them as seems desirable in order to make them understandable for everyone.
26th Jul 2015 00:43 UTCDon Swenson
That's very reassuring.
Don
26th Jul 2015 01:13 UTCMike Royal
thanks to all that have helped in building jolyons monster
mike
26th Jul 2015 09:08 UTCMario Lazzerini Denchi 🌟
To me Mindat is important because is the more comprehensive database for minerals and localities worldwide and I like the fact that everybody can contribute to this very useful tool by sharing his own knowledge and material.
Thanks again for the great job you are doing.
Regards
Mario
PS: The only regret is that I would like to give my little contribution by sponsoring a couple of pages, however I don not know how to do it, being an European citizen I cannot pay online throught the web.
26th Jul 2015 11:34 UTCErik Vercammen Expert
As a 'greenhorn', we have all been helped by more experencied collectors and/or scholars. Mindat offers us an opportunity to transmet our meanwhile build-up knowledge, experience and informations to other people, around the world, to help them in our turn.
26th Jul 2015 14:12 UTCChris Stanley Expert
bws
Chris S
26th Jul 2015 23:17 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert
Thanks to a thoughtful organizational concept that ensures the ongoing openness, growth, refinement, and integrity of the site, Mindat has become both the leading online resource for mineralogical data and a lively community of interested individuals, each part being continuously enriched by the other through an open exchange of questions, data, and opinions among individuals ranging from hobbyist to professional scientist and from neophyte to seasoned veteran.
27th Jul 2015 00:30 UTCNorman King 🌟 Expert
One sentence?? Come on!
27th Jul 2015 00:58 UTCHolger Hartmaier 🌟
27th Jul 2015 02:39 UTCDoug Daniels
27th Jul 2015 16:36 UTCDana Morong
28th Jul 2015 03:48 UTCD Mike Reinke
30th Jul 2015 04:27 UTCHeath McWade
30th Jul 2015 04:52 UTCRock Currier Expert
30th Jul 2015 05:31 UTCDoug Daniels
30th Jul 2015 17:45 UTCCarl (Bob) Carnein 🌟
30th Jul 2015 19:49 UTCHenri Koskinen Expert
Henri
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 25, 2024 18:49:01
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 25, 2024 18:49:01