malfeces said:
Hi all, I have been on this forum for about six months now and have a very quick question to ask people here. I am not trying to cause a fight, insult anyone, or create any problems but I do have one burning question to ask the people of the GRF. My question is this, why is there such a negative reaction to people who ask questions of the forum members?
Do you have specific examples of this? What I see is people saving others from making life threatening mistakes. If someone posts a question, and the answer has to do with something dangerous that could lead to serious harm or even death, the person asking the questions needs to be told in no uncertain terms how dangerous it is, and directed to learning or reading the proper material before they start attempting to process.
malfeces said:
Just because it is common knowledge to one person does not mean it is to everyone, nor does it mean the person asking is ignorant or incapable of scanning the forums threads. Not every seemingly simple question is meant to be a shortcut or way out of researching. As a medical professional, one method of researching IS in fact reaching out to colleagues for their oppinions and knowledge.
The key word you used was "colleagues", meaning other people who have a base understanding and knowledge. A heart surgeon asks another heart surgeon about heart issues, they are not asking a foot doctor, and a heart surgeon wouldn't tell a foot doctor how to operate on someone's heart. If there were a forum of doctors who were exchanging information, and a layman came along, someone with no background at all in health sciences, and they started demanding heart surgeons to explain to them how to perform an operation on their wife, nobody would help them. I hope you understand my point. Before even playing around with any of these processes, a person should at least have some base knowledge, a basic understanding of chemistry, a basic understanding of how dangerous these processes are. You don't just hand people information like that. I for one don't want to be the cause of anyone's mistakes, or worse help them create a situation where they are doing someone else harm, or worse causing someone's death.
malfeces said:
There is so often the comment that if a person would put more energy into searching than asking they would know the answer by now. These forums are not always easy to navigate, the search function does not always help find what you are looking for, and so much of the threads are filled with intellectual snobbery that it takes at least twice as much time to get through a thread just to find the information you are looking for.
These forums are far easier to search for information than attempting to find books on the subjects. It is far less expensive also. As well, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of years of accumulated information here. If you cannot at least attempt a search, if you cannot do the most simple of things on this forum, how do you expect to ever be able to understand the information you read, let alone apply it to what you are doing? And just because you cannot understand something in a thread, does not mean it's intellectual snobbery. Maybe if you put forth a little effort and learned the language, it wouldn't sound like intellectual snobbery to you. People are told to read Hoke, not just for the information on how to process, but also to understand the language we use on this forum. It's far easier to help someone if they understand the lingo the "intellectual snobbery" as you put it. If not, you have to first explain what the terms mean, then explain what they are seeking help on. If people refuse to help themselves and sign up here "expecting" people to donate their time, effort and energy to help them, they should at the very least, the bare minimum, understand the language so that they understand what is being taught.
malfeces said:
Why is the line "Refiners helping one another" written under the forums logo if not to promote a sense of goodwill?
If you really want an answer, look to your own question. "Refiners helping one another" means REFINERS helping one another. It doesn't mean or say refiners helping everyone that has no idea how to refine, learn to do so, for free, on our time, at your convenience. Can you even begin to understand how offensive your sense of entitlement might be to someone who has spent the time, read the books, learned on their own how to do these things? How about you answer all the people who donate, for free, all the time they do helping people on this forum. And all the time they spend away from refining to help new people why you seem so smug and entitled about them helping new people?
malfeces said:
I understand that there are a lot of new people coming here who do not know as much as the pros however the pros were not born pros, they had to learn somewhere as well. If a post strikes you as being basic, why not just ignore it? Let it be, if you do not have the patience to direct or help someone then let someone else do it. You are not obligated to respond. Why be nasty and negative under the guise of "just making sure they realize how dangerous this stuff is" and "Its for their own good." If a person starting out gets that kind of reaction, they may be more likely to avoid the forum and proceed on their own without learing all the safety precautions and hazards.
If you honestly understand how extremely dangerous this type of work is, how can you tell someone that cares, that honestly wants to help, to keep people safe, not to post in response to things that new people post, that could get them into a really bad situation. On the one hand you ask why people don't help, and then on the other you are suggesting they don't help. What is it you want from people who are knowledgeable? Why would anyone who does understand the dangers, encourage someone to process with acids and chemicals who has no clue how dangerous these things are. Do you even understand what you are suggesting?
malfeces said:
I realize that this post may REALLY iritate many of you. I understand that and accept the consequences of my post. This will likely be the last time I visit this forum. I just hope that it reaches some of you who leave the unpleasant posts and reminds you of the old saying, "If you don't have anything nice (or helpful) to say, don't say anything at all."
Thanks for your time.
I took the time to read some of your posts. Here are some excerpts of things you have said or asked in the past:
malfeces said:
So sodium nitrate and distilled water solution can not be used to remove silver from keyboard mylars. The sodium has to be removed first. Is that correct? I am trying to find a more cost effective way to recover silver from several lbs of mylars at the moment. Sodium nitrate is MUCH more affordable ...
OK, so now that the batch of fingers is completely done, I need to disolve the gold in HCL and clorox then precipitate with SMB. I will have to wait until i can get a hold of some SMB for that. Any suggestions where to get SMB cheaply?
Thanks Joem, great thread!!! So far here is what I have pulled out of my first batch of processing fingers. After reading and performing the aquaintance proceedure described by Lasersteve and your thread and by watching LS's vids I can clearly see that I need a better set up. This was an excellent l...
Great thread!!! I love your set up! having a hard time finding some things though. My set up is very....VERY basic, but is working none the less. Thanks for the great thread!!
Hi all, I wanted to thank the creators of this forum for all the great information. I have been scrapping ewaste here in Maine for about a year now and have been very interested in learning the process of extracting PM's from electronics scrap. After loads of reading....Hoke takes a while, its not a...
Thanks Geo, knowledge IS power. This is just a hobby for me. This will remain small as I simply do not have the time or space to get any bigger and having two kids with special needs I need to keep a day job that has good health bennies. I do recycle everything. All the plastics I get from electroni...
I am speechless. Rereading over and over... This is phenomonal info...
Thanks LS!
Excellent thread Geo!! I have read it many time and watched your videos over and over. I am a major visual learner. I am wondering if you know roughly what temp your bath is at? I have a stainless steel electric skillet I was thinking of trying with sand. It only hits 450 though...
OK, clear example of how new I am, what is SMB? I am stil trying to keep track of all the acronyms but my notebook is already full after only 4 days of reading and taking notes off the forum!! lol
Oh my god.....so many of my questions answered in one post!!! This forum ROCKS!!! Now I just need to find the thread that has a list a description (pics maybe) of the componants that are worth keeping!!! Thanks Lazersteve!!!!
Oh My God......soooo much info..... brain cramping...... its times like this that i remember that I was a C student at best in high school and college chem classes. Speaking of classes, I am way out classed here. I am starting this as a hobby. From what I am reading the easiest method I can see to s...
Hey all, great site!! Lots of great info and from the looks of it great people too. I am very new to gold refining.....very very new... I have been interested in starting this for about a year now and have been stockpiling up what i have access to, basically gold from electronics. From what i gather...
It seems that you not only were able to find the information you need and were looking for, but that many many MANY people helped you along the way. I think you should go back and read your posts, and see how much people have actually bent over backwards to help you. All the visual aids, all the direction, all the compliments you have given people for helping you so so much.
And I would like to make one more point while I am at it. You have learned a lot on this forum, and in your 6 months time being here, I did not see one post where you were offering to help anyone. Not one. Not in any of your posts. How do you have the right to complain about how people help other people when you not only have not posted any help for anyone yourself, but have learned so much since being here and have thanked so many people?
I am just shaking my head right now, because I honestly do not understand how you can feel so indignant or offended. So if I understand your post correctly, you are threatening to leave because you don't like the way people who know and understand how dangerous all this is, point people who do not understand in the right direction. And before you can give back just a tiny bit of what you have taken from this forum in the form of knowledge, learning, understanding, friendship, etc. You are going to leave?
Your post didn't irritate me, it outright offended me. You who in your six months being here, have never even attempted to help anyone or give back anything you have learned. Nothing. Nada. Zip. And you are going to complain?
Well I say, if you really are going to leave like this after so many people have gone out of their way to help you, go kick rocks!
Scott