Liaison ends in Bitterness in the US

Talking of archaeologists addressing the issues with artefact hunting... There is an interesting recent post where an archaeologist discusses his difficult experiences engaging with arrowhead collectors online ('A Note to Visitors from the “Arrowheadology” Website', Archaeology in Tennessee blog, September 6, 2013). Tracy C. Brown from  Tennessee had reason to register in 2011, with the "Arrowheadology" collectors' discussion list, "probably the largest and most visited of all Native American artifact collector websites".

While I was a member at Arrowheadology, I met some very nice, kind, and reasonable people who collect Native American artifacts. These were the kind of reasonable and knowledgeable people that no doubt show up at the meetings of the [...] Archaeological Society here in Tennesee. It was actually possible to have interesting discussions with these kind folks, and I thank them for the supportive private messages that they sent to me along the way. 

 However not all was sweetness and light. As seems to be inevitable, there are thugwits in this dugup antiquity collecting milieu too:  

I quickly learned that many more artifact collectors than I had imagined possible have incessantly open wounds as a result of the 60-Years War between professional archaeologists and artifact collectors. [...] many of these people “hate professional archaeologists with a perfect hatred.” To express any thought, however mild or reasonably put, from the professional archaeology side of the aisle enrages these people with bitterness and sends them off the emotional deep end—thus making any sort of meaningful conversation about the [...]  issues [...] next to impossible  [and ] ensuring that no reasonable or responsible conversations could ever take place. [...] At this point in time, as a direct result of my negative experiences at Arrowheadology, I do not think it is possible for many professional archaeologists and many artifact collectors to even have a casual conversation that does not immediately degenerate into a knock-down, drag-out supernova of hatred and negative emotion, much less any sort of meeting of the minds that might lead to peace or detente. 

This seems a bit deja vu. The archaeologist shows what a nice sensitive person he is by stressing that archaeoloolgy has its vehement critics of collecting too, so the blame is not on one side.  Anyway, the inevitable happened:

On Tuesday of this week, I was officially “banned forever” from the Arrowheadology website [...]  This was followed by an online note from one of their moderators saying that I had been banned temporarily but that I could come back if I “behave myself.” Basically, I take ”behave myself” to mean that I must avoid expressing any thoughts or ideas from the professional archaeology side of the aisle (no matter how kindly put) because hearing them just hurts too much in the artifact collector community and that I must roll over for a good butt screwing if one of their purveyors of hatred towards professional archaeologists goes on a highly emotional typing-finger rampage about any little thing I might say. I do not need that kind of abuse. No one needs that kind of abuse. Therefore, I have sent in a sincere and very serious request to permanently cancel my membership in Arrowheadology. 

He also asks that they remove all of his past posts, comments, and other information about him from the Arrowheadology website to prevent it potentially being used against him, by those who delight in personal attack and harrassment. It seems collecting is the same the world over.