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[m76steve]

I was recently thrown off another web site, this one is Gemonline, run by barbra voltaire. Im finding out this small club of people thrown from this site is growing with members, I was on the site @ 2yrs or so & did enjoy picking up a little info once in a while & posting pics of the gravel/pendents as a starting point for discussion. Every now & then barbra would chime in to tell me what I was showing could not be as described or values were not possible, or my appraisals were out of line. In every instance I was able to justify why my statements were correct or if I misspoke, why I made sure my appologies were known. When I was corrected by barbra, it was usually like I was a stupid know-nothing, just pulling info from the air, If i was corrected by her, there were always some of her tight followers who would jump on the bandwagon to get their digs in, a few of these people seemed to warm up a little before i was offed the plank, as if i was always on probation. After a while I was just tired of walking the egg shells on her site. I still question her certification to do anything with colored stones in the way of setting value, appraising or up to date goings on with colored stones. After 40 some yrs in the business, you might think she would have some tact & people skills & more knowledge in the industry. Im going on 69 yrs suckin air & in my short time in the gem hobby ive met some real gems as on this site, & lots gravel on several other sites. If one has a question, ask. If one makes a mistake, admit to it & move on. When someone corrects you & then rubs ur nose in the works, that isnt helpful & just sours the situation a little more. I think I made my point, Im glad I walked from the site & I recommend anyone really interested in anything gems to do the same-sorry for the rant, good to be here-steve...

[Jenador]

Sometimes it takes us a while to work some people out Steve, however when we do actions speak louder than words and if were smart enough we walk... and walk you did! well done. The great people that are here have always been supportive of any requests I have made for assistance, advice, etc and I truly value it.

[Rockranger]

[PinkDiamond]

Yeah, they've left a bad taste in a lot of peoples' mouths who have either left, like myself, or were banned for no valid reason, like simply asking an innocent question. They look down on people and consider many outside their group to be beneath them. It's mind boggling that in a very small group of people I found 5 who had the same or similar experiences over there, so when we get the rules for the forum written we will not allow links to that site to be posted on the board, so people don't think we recommend them (the information posted is wonderful but the attacks on people are uncalled for), and click thru only to be insulted or blindsided by them, so we made the decision to only allow quoted posts without links to the site to be posted here. I'll never understand people who are like that, and I can't in good conscience refer people there because it can be like entering a lion's den if they say or do the wrong thing, and you never know when what you do is wrong until they come down on you.

So sorry they got you too m76, but IMHO you're in good company, and we're delighted you found a home with us.

[gingerkid]

I am sorry to hear that you were banned from GO, Steve.

I lost count of how many of my posts were deleted from GO, and received a private message from Frank that I did not appreciate.

Some of the GO forum members from Georgia met at one of the Martin Zinn Expos a couple of years ago and we had a great time. Most of the members do not participate on GO any longer.