Rating the online Gem forums

The Internet is a fund of And, as some say, the
Internet is free; grass roots democracy, freedom of speech in action.
You can say anything about anything. The fact is, this so-called
freedom is somewhat illusory. Freedom of speech implies the freedom
to be heard. Without that what have you got or as the British
philosopher Berkeley once asked: “If a tree falls in the forest and
there is no one to hear it fall, does it make any noise”?

The freedom to be heard, aye that is the issue! Recently the search
engine, Google, kowtowed to the China’s Communist government,
agreeing to restrict content available through Google’s Chinese
search engine. What do you suppose a Chinese citizen will get when he
googles “free speech?” What a perfect segue into a discussion of
online gem forums:

Gem/Jewelry Forums have been sprung up all over the net like brown
fungi after a summer rain. The major forums are; Pricescope,
Diamondtalk, Gemologyonline and Pearl-Guide. Each of these sites
claim to be online communities advocating the rights of the consumer
and promoting a free exchange of ideas and Some are
part of for profit websites and some are non-profit. Are they really
all they claim to be? What’s a consumer to believe? The quick answer,
like fungi some are edible and others will upset your tummy, lets
try and separate the mushrooms from their less palatable cousins, the
toadstools. Read on:

I recently read a blog listing jewelry forums. This one (meaning
Orchid) was prefaced with a phrase to the tune of "self-proclaimed
repository of …

I left a comment…something to the tune of it was more than just
self-proclaimed-that it really was a wealth of because
of the quality of the membership and willingness to share

Later I thought about the comment, and laughed. Aren’t all websites
"self-proclaimed" repositories of in some sense? What an
oxymoron!

Miachelle

I recently read a blog listing jewelry forums. This one (meaning
Orchid) was prefaced with a phrase to the tune of "self-proclaimed
repository of .. 

I joined Orchid in 1997 and enjoyed getting the e-mails every day.
From what I’ve seen on the internet in the last 10 years, Orchid
stands above all when it comes to the exchange of jewellery etc.
techniques. The GemologyOnline.com forum for the exchange of
gemmological ideas and was started late 2005 and in my
opinion it is the best resource to be found on the internet for
gemmological professionals.

The internet of a great place for gathering but one can
never know which data to trust. Luckely the two spaces mentioned
above have plenty estude members to correct any errors almost
immediatly and the members are professional enough to accept new
concepts when needed.

Alain