[Yak] Asking for resources

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hsqueenc@aol.com,

I know this is Yak, but I feel this needs clarification.

None of us were saying that people should not ask for
We’re not claiming there are stupid questions, or
wrong questions, either. If I made those people who are new to
computers feel awkward, my apologies.

Perhaps I should have given out a short primer on searching for
online instead, so here goes:

If you only know the general category of service you’re looking
for, by all means, I think that the orchid list is a great place
to ask. The recommendations you get here go a long way toward
saving you the time and trouble of trying and rejecting
services.

However, if you already know the name of the people you’re
trying to contact, it’s much more like using the whitepages (as
opposed to the yellow pages).

The easiest way to do this is to go to a search service, such as

http://www.excite.com
http://altavista.digital.com
http://www.hotbot.com

These three are my first choices when I’m looking for something
specific. There are many other services, they all are a little
different, and it will be worth your time to find one you like.

Type in the name of the service you’re looking for.

For example:

When I looked for the site for Peruzzi, I tried just “Peruzzi”
and got results for soccer players and racecar drivers. I changed
the request to “peruzzi +jewelry” and got the right
site…remember that spellings may vary, too.

I hope this makes it a little clearer.

Kat Tanaka
kht@vincent-tanaka.com
webmaster@tahitiperles.com

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2

Thank you for the clarification, Some times when searching for an
item, it is hard to narrow down a subject to a reasonable amount.
When I seconded a question re: smoky quartz resources, I had done
searches. I went to many sites, and ordered and recieved a
number of catalogs. These did not contain the type of smoky
quartz I was looking for, so when I saw another persons request,
I seconded it. The remark I took offense at was the one about
asking for on a silver spoon. This seemed rather
insulting and intimidating to a newcomer like myself. It
intimated that a person was inappropriate to ask for help.
Information is not, in my opinion, something a person need “pay
their dues” to obtain. I state again, that trading
is what forums like orchid seem to have been created for. I also
would like to remind those who feel questions they already have
the answers to, are questions they too, needed answers to at one
time. Everybody has to start somewhere. It is not appropriate to
make anyone who needs help feel slammed, or afraid to ask for
help when they need it. I would like, at this time, to extend
thanks to all the nice folks, (like yourself) who have taken
their time to answer questions. I do wish to offend or hurt
anyones feelings. My intention is to share my experience and
offer a gentle reminder that we all need help sometimes. Our
level of experience and knowledge comes from seeking out answers.
Thank you again for all the helpful suggestions. Orchid is a
very good resource available to all levels of experience. Working
hard to learn in muggy Oregon hsqueenc

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3

Hi–missed your post re smoky quartz so don’t know exactly what
you’re looking for, but if you care to contact me, either on
Orchid or offline at bootsie@NetMDC.com, I’ll see if I can help
you find a source for what you want. I’ve been playing around
with lapidary and silversmithing for about 30 years, and LOVE to
explore rock shops wherever I travel (and I travel extensively
since I retired–always bringing home a vanful of rocks, slabs,
etc.). Drop me a line with specifics and I see if I can help.

Sharon Holt

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4

On a related note,

What’s in the Orchid FAQ? I see “FAQ Compiled and Maintained
by: Eve Wallace evew@indra.com” at the bottom of each message,
but I can’t find any copies of it anywhere (please let me know
where I can find it if I’m just blind!)

I know it’s not strictly about Orchid or jewelry per se, but a
“down and dirty” guide for jewelers finding on the
net might be helpful. What I’m envisioning is a quick guide on
other resources, i.e. how to use them.

On the other hand, the search utility for the Orchid archives is
wonderful, and I forgot to mention that earlier. (Because I’d
almost forgotten about it myself!)

For people who don’t like the artificial syntax of the usual
search services, some friends of mine have a service at
http://www.electricmonk.com which will let you ask questions in
sentences rather than as queries. Be prepared to get some
strange responses from it, though.

kat tanaka
(who has asked “newbie” (rank beginner) questions herself…)

kht@vincent-tanaka.com

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5 
The remark I took offense at was the one about asking for
on a silver spoon. This seemed rather insulting and
intimidating to a newcomer like myself. It intimated that a
person was inappropriate to ask for help.

Ulp. I suspect I may have used that phrase. If my remarks
seemed to you inappropriate, then I sincerely apologize. I’m
quite ready and willing to share anything I can, especially with
beginners. I seem to do a lot of that.

But, please understand that there are also a lot of folks unlike
yourself, some not at all beginners, who will throw questions to
this list or a newsgroup who’s answers can be found with such
ease and speed that I find myself thinking they’re just being
lazy. As often as not, someone who asks for info will cause
those of us willing to share it to do so. Sometimes,
significant time is spent doing our own searches to find an
answer or source, or looking up exact facts or figures in a book
somewhere. Now, I may have a library that contains references
some others don’t have. And experience as well. Fair enough.
But when a simple search on the default web search engines finds
more links to an answer than you can shake a stick at, I find
myself wondering whether I should really be spending my time to
answer such a question, when the person asking it has all the
tools right there to find it on their own. If they have not yet
figured out search engines, well, then why wait to learn? All
the major ISPs offer reference material on line to help people
learn to use the net’s resources. I’m no computer guru, I’m a
jeweler. Yet I learned it on my own without too much trouble.
It’s one thing to ask for help when needed. It’s quite another
to ask others to do your own work for you cause you’ve not got
the inclination to do a little exploring on your own. I trust
you understand the frustration such suspicions can raise as well
as being correct that everyone was a beginner once, and that
questions should not be considered trivial just because they may
seem beginner level.

Peter Rowe

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