Twenty Years on Still Going Round in Circles

The cancelling of the Southwest Detectorist UK commercial artefact stripping rally was announced on Facebook at the eleventh hour last night by Wiltshire Museum (11 godz.), the news was followed by a comment by one Alex Bliss (now not visible) and he was answered by another detectorist. I'll answer it here, to save group members there from untidy debate:

Stephenie Hughes As with Alex, I am also a detectorist, and have been for over 35 years. I find that fact that this dig was planned, and even after discussion, was still going ahead, extremely disappointing to say the least. Yes, it is now cancelled, but only after a lot of pressure from many different organisations.
99% of detectorists, are respectful, and have a genuine passion for our heritage, and the preservation of historic sites and artefacts. Things like this give us all a bad name, spoiling it for the rest of us. I am personally, ashamed, and wish I could convey the hobby in a good light, unfortunately bad news travels fast, but the good, very slowly.
We often hear of unscrupulous individuals, breaking the law, and causing damage, but for everyone of them, there are many hundreds of people who add to our knowledge and help to fill in the pieces of our heritage. Information that would otherwise have been lost, or worse, destroyed by modern farming techniques.
I’m not trying to dampen down the severity of risk that these thing can cause, I am merely trying to offer the better, more constructive, and positive side to this hobby. It is only by all of us working together, that we can create an environment that promotes understanding, and total respect. Education is a great place to start.
Sorry for the long post, I really hate hearing of things like this, and I really want to show that not all of us should be tarred with the same brush.

bear in mind this is on an archaeological body's FBpage. The reason why it was going ahead is that it was a commercial event (making money for the organisers and landowner). I do not know how Stefanie reconciles in her mind  the notion of "preserving artefacts [ripped from sites]" and "preserving sites", I really do not. Can PAS explain to somebody who's already been doing it for 35 years, just what it is they are doing? Can they? That is what they are paid for (2003 aim number two).
Stefanie cannot with a straight face, I hope, claim that 99% of detectorists record their finds to a degree that would constitute mitigation of the damage to the archaeological record of the exploited site. Because self-evidently (and whether she sees or admits it) they do not.   

Playing the victim: unfortunately bad news travels fast, but the good, very slowly.
There is no 'good news', collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record irrevocably damages it. Again self-evidently (whether she sees or admits it).

Playing the victim: We often hear of unscrupulous individuals, breaking the law, and causing damage, but for everyone of them, there are many hundreds of people who add to our knowledge and help to fill in the pieces of our heritage. 
It is pretty amazing that she can write that right under the reported remarks of the FLO that I highlighted a few hours ago that the problem is not any law-breaking, but precisely what is acceptable and collection-driven exploitation of a finite and fragile resource is not one of those things that in a civilised country should be happening at the hands of those who (actually, not declaratively) care about our ability to understand the past.

I am not going to even bother about the parroted-mantric 'destroyed by modern farming techniques'. These are, of course, techniques we've had since the modern age of farming began (K-fertilisers 1860s, N-fertilisers 1930s, mechanical ploughing since the 1920s at the latest), and yet those artefacts are still there in collectable condition for these people to invent justifications for greedily filling their pockets and eBay with them.

Stephanie should by now be aware that archaeology generally (leaving aside the backward, insular form of a little island off the coast of Europe) does not see this "better, more constructive, and positive side to [collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record]". We have names (and jails) for it on the continent.

And yes, "it is only by all of us working together, that we can create an environment that promotes understanding, and total respect. Education is a great place to start". When is the PAS (or its successor) going to blooming well start? Twenty years it says it's been doing it, but still Southwest Detectorists UK and all its members (the FB page has 3835 members) saw absolutely nothing at all wrong with what the rally organisers were planning to do. Slow learners, obviously.