[meteorite-list] Some thoughts on find coords

From: Mike Miller <meteoritefinder_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2012 09:59:14 -0700
Message-ID: <CAH=f52Eh-xa=Go76zA-G_vYiDJV+6JQ1xU1VJG1rk3-9JbdROA_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hello all first of all old habits die hard, so even if there is less
reason to be secretive we will tend to lag behind in making the
change. Now yes the radar is awesome and puts us close enough to find
the strewn field. It even gives us a very good idea where to look for
more pieces. There are still things learned with hard work inside the
strewn field, that if published could bring a swarm of hunters into
your little area. Or if you find information that defines the line so
you can push out and locate the bigger pieces.You don't want to
publish this line so that the whole world can stretch it out with you,
at least not in real time. Most hunters do not want the world inside
there heads thinking the same thing they are. We are individuals and
approach the strewn field in our own personal way. Some are successful
over and over and will have a following soon if information is exact
and in real time. All anyone will have to do is follow their favorite
hunter around and that would be very annoying. I do not mind sharing
real information, but I prefer there be a lag in time, so that I can
chase my line and do my thing. Then tell all, now having said that
there is a small group of people I do share with in real time. Even
when they have that information they most of the time are doing their
own thing. They don't want to follow me, they want to do their own
thing.
 Now even if you missed it there were a couple groups in Sutter's mill
who changed (lied about their finds) their information to keep others
from following them. I was not one of those people, but giving up my
coordinates in real time felt like I was in public with no pants on.
So I much prefer people withhold coordinates rather than lie about
them. In my opinion unless there is a time lag some groups will simply
give misinformation, so they are still on the good graces of the
scientists.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 9:13 AM, Bryan Couch <abcouch at verizon.net> wrote:
> Hi Marc and list,
> I think your right with the
> Radar pin pointing the field of fall I think there is no need to hold back cords of finds. We all know that they are there and for the most part we all know that if you find one the finder will search the whole surrounding area so what's the point. And Marc great work on your radar data you for sure have a new customer.
>
> Bryan Couch Wildomar Ca Dare to fail
>
> On Sep 7, 2012, at 8:12 AM, Marc Fries <chief_scientist at galacticanalytics.com> wrote:
>
>> Greetings all
>>
>> I've been talking with a few people about logging the Battle Mountain meteorites, and I'd like to start some discussion on the topic of find coordinates. This is NOT directed at any one person, but I would like to editorialize a bit. I'm getting a lot of push-back about printing find coordinates and I'd like to open the topic to general discussion.
>>
>> Historically, the locations of found meteorites have been a closely guarded secret. That made a lot of sense when meteorite hunting relied most heavily on eyewitness reports. A hunter could easily put in many, many miles of walking before coming across a meteorite. For finds that are made with weather radar, however, I don't think its the same situation. When I post radar analyses, it is like posting a treasure map that says, "Go Here". At that point everyone knows where the meteorites are, and it seems to me that the locations of individual stones aren't nearly as important as they were in the past. (Strewn fields without detailed radar data are another matter, of course.) Where those locations do matter are to A) the science behind describing the meteorite fall, and B) the value of the individual meteorite since a well-documented meteorite should be worth more than a random stone from a given fall.
>>
>> I am a scientist, and my first instinct is to collect, analyze, and -share- data. I understand where that is at odds with the level of secrecy needed in the past, but I think that that level of secrecy is no longer needed and actually works contrary to the value of meteorites, both monetary and scientific. On the Galactic Analytics website, I'm willing to go against my better instincts and hide find locations, at least until a scientific paper is released describing the fall. But to be honest, I think that's a little silly - I'll basically have a table showing meteorites with the find locations redacted, and then you can scroll down the page a bit and see a map showing where the meteorites are.
>>
>> So let me throw this out there as a general question - is it really important to hide the find locations?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Marc Fries
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-- 
Mike Miller  Kingman Az 86409
www.meteoritefinder.com
EBay ID flattoprocks
http://www.ebay.com/sch/flattoprocks/m.html?item=330705933783&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&_trksid=p4340.l2562
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Received on Fri 07 Sep 2012 12:59:14 PM PDT