Winter Dodges Issue

John Winter refused to accept my comment to his post about the Creslow Burial. We differ in our perception on why its excavation is significant and he's really not interested in discussing the issue with anyone but his guffawing empty-head mates. But he could not resist boasting how he'd resisted putting the find in a wider context. Apparently he now regrets it because a fellow tekkie insultingly suggests that the root reason for my concern bout the depletion of a finite resource is that I have mental issues...

Metal detectorist Dick Stout from Texas (20 July 2015 at 8:12 pm)suggests:

You did the right thing John…the gentleman from Warsaw needs to be banned from posting on any and all detecting and collecting sites. He has nothing good to say about our pastime, or for that matter, anyone who doesn’t see things his way. I have long wondered of he pays Mr. Swift to comment from time to time?

So there we have it, a call for censorship of all "detecting and collecting sites" to attempt to blot out alternative views. It is this approach to public debate that has led to the isolation of the collecting community from the rest and decisions  - like the recent treatment of the PAS - are taken behind their backs.

Meanwhile, this is the comment I posted in reply to Winter's own:

"only after posting that I had been abusive …" No, I did not, that is a lie, as anyone who checks can see.

What the issue is, and you do not discuss, was that the results of the  detecting rally placed a huge strain on the county's resources, as I DID point out (twice) and it would have been more satisfying to see that (and possible remedies for the future) discussed instead of "wotta lotta nice stuff we got".

Now whether you regard raising such issues "beyond contempt" is neither here nor there, the fact is that Mr Steele's find gobbled up the resources that would otherwise have been there for Weekend Wanders' Lenborough (targeting another known site). The Lenborough "carrier bag" fiasco  has undoubtedly had a HUGE effect on opinions about artefact hunting in the wider community.

What actually, Mr Winter do you regard as "responsible detecting"? Just handing a problem to somebody else to deal with and waltzing off and digging up more, and more? Whose responsibility is looking after your hobby?

I guess if one publishes lies, and tries to dodge the issue, it is a bit uncomfortable having people point it out.

UPDATE 22.07.2015

John Winter is grateful for the attention his blog gets when I link to it. He fantasises that people are coming there to admire the wit and erudition of his fellow detectorists displayed there for all to see (here). Apparently though he still thinks that second century cremations are really rare in Roman Britain. 

In answer to his attempted exegesis, the term 'slack jaw' is descriptive of the sort of facial expression which is commonly understood to express a lack of comprehension. I think from what they write it is clear to many of us that many people engaged in the hobby of metal detecting in the UK have severe problems in that area when it comes to the context of what they do. The problem is that in the Lava-PAS these are the main group of people from which the recording volunteers seem to be drawn. What effect will that have on the quality of the records in the PAS database in future?