hogge said:
I want to answer your direct question but it is open ended. What are YOUR guidelines for classification of a "significant historical" find? Would my "Royal Irish Artillery, cartridge box sling belt tip" qualify as such? It's tied to one of the greatest battles in our nations history, The Battle of Saratoga. Or what about the 1783 CFT. KG III half penny? That's a significant historical find as it shows where these coins circulated to. (too bad on this one, as it's already been sold)
. .........
It wouldn't matter if it had been sold or not if you had GPS recorded the artifact dispersal at the site.
I think your fear stems partially from wanting to be bull-headed, but more than that it's about the money for you. (Which is plain as day through your posts here over the past year.)
But I really think you (and others) are not so much concerned about a museum or archaeologists stealing your finds without compensation as you are worried that property owners looking online will find their own properties' GPS coordinates and see what was found that you didn't show them. If you're worried about the cost of such little things as postage and a $50 GPS unit, I have a question for you: Did you show the owner of the land your Rare King George Copper? How about the Vermont Copper? Or the Rev War Sling Belt Tip? You would have a Serious time fighting a lawsuit against them over something like that, because these are not Mercury dime finds we're talking about here. Those three finds total what? $8,000? More?
In the UK detectorists notify the property owners of their finds--and if the find is purchased for a museum, and the detectorist is compensated, then the owner is as well--right? Here in the U.S. there is no provision nor funding available to buy at fair market value anything we find. But posting finds and doing maps here might open up that type of funding in the future if enough detectorists started logging their finds. And museums might start looking on this forum regularly for locally found items to add to their collections, and make independent offers to the finders (if enough detectorists started logging their finds). That would be a win/win for the detectorist And the museum, which would rather have an item of local interest than an item with little provenance.
But back to issue #1, the issue of hogge and the property owners... The issue is simply this: that there is no mechanism in place to protect the property owner as it is, and likewise nothing to protect the detectorist from being sued, except for the policies of oral agreement, written contract, or just plain old-fashioned honesty--which many, it's sad to say, do not practice.
Issue #2 is establishing criteria for "significant" finds here in the U.S. Obviously this could be difficult, since a 1700s large sized flat button might not be as significant in New England as it would be in Nevada. But I think a sense of this would come in time, with some feedback from open-minded archaeologists.
The last issue appears to be the nighthawking one, but to be honest it shouldn't be. A person could submit the coordinates, log, and maps when they were finished hunting out the site. And no need to get up in arms about this. Cru said that 1 in 10 do this in the UK where there Is a system in place, perhaps flawed though it is. If 1 in 50 members do this here, then that's a start. It enables us to be in a position of knowledge, it makes us more immune to attack, and it contributes to the common history of us all.
Some of the finer points...
I don't know whether it is a bad or good idea to have archaeologists marked in some way with a badge or symbol in their avatar. On the one hand, it might create more strife and in-fighting, or some might think "they are taking over the forum." But on the other hand, it might create a more even balance here--hopefully with less of the "archie bashing" attitude that I have seen in the past!
BUT...for an archaeologist to Want to be a part of this site, there must be Real, Usable information for them here, and enough of it to justify putting up with the attitudes and expending the energy to try for a compromise. So I believe that the egg must come first in order for there to be a chicken or two. (In other words, we need to be creating useful information here first. Only then will doors start to open.)
I would like to see an open discussion led by the administration about how this new section of the forum will look, who exactly will be able to see our GPS coordinates, and how the administration will be able to confirm that anyone who is viewing such material is in fact a member of the archaeological community. (Sorry to put you on the spot, Marc. You may need a while to think on this, or some feedback from the members here first.) I do think it is Very important that the author of posts in a new section be viewable and contactable by the archaeological community so that questions can be asked if needed. I also think that the number of posts accumulating in the new section should be visible to other members (maybe not specific GPS coordinates or anything, but sheer numbers of posts)--in the hopes that folks who chose Not to do this will see the Numbers of posts being made on the rise. I also wonder if there would be more "takers" if such a section were a separate part of the forum (much like the "hot topics" threads) where folks could maintain their anonymity under another username or Tnet "identity."
And yet this also raises an issue or two... I would also like to hear from the administration of this forum about the ramifications of internet inquest by the legal system about one's identity or personal information. In other words, I have faith that anonymity could be "created" here--but can it be maintained?
These are all important questions, and some food good for thought.
Best Wishes,
Buckleboy
Gotta go to Wal-Mart (my favorite store) 
, But I'll be back 
Hogge
, who have taken many a good treasure site away from the legitimate finders 
.
