I have really struggled for collecting motivation recently, that coupled with the handling of the sets issues by the admins has made up my mind to withdraw from this site altogether.
I have contacted Jarcek to remove me as the New Zealand referee, there is a French member who was co-referee but I don't think he is very active on the site, so if someone who is keen on New Zealand coins would like to take over the responsibilities, please feel free to put your name forward.
Also someone else will need to take over the mantle of Most Popular Coin Competition organization.
You have a lot of friends here who are going to be very upset over this. I get the frustration part, better than most I think. Take a break by all means, but don't delete your account. Coin collecting is a lifelong thing.
If not, then let me say a huge thank you to you for the advice, the kindness and most of all, for your valued friendship over the years. Things just won't be the same.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Can't say I'm shocked considering the recent events. But it is definitely sad to read your post Neil. As Phil said, don't delete your account, take a break and hopefully we'll see you back one day. Not having you around here (virtually) will be a huge loss. Even though you may not have heard how much people appreciate what you've done here and just your presence please remember that it is greatly appreciated, at least by some.
Although I am rather new on this site, I can appreciate the hugely beneficial presence of Neil on the forum. I second Phil to "take a break by all means, but don't delete you account"!
Very sad to see another knowledgeable and respected member fall by the wayside.
Neil has become someone I regard very much so as a friend. There are a few members who live in the category including members of yesteryear. im hoping we can learn from what has caused this. As there aren’t all that many “regular” long running members left !
Neil, I know you aren’t likely to see this but thank you ever so much for all the advice, swaps and conversations over the years. It’s been a pleasure !
He was the source of a lot of information for me, I definitely was the student continually hassling the master. I hope he returns, this site does not seem the same if I don't see his participation in the forum on a regular basis.
Neil, if you ever do come back - if only to read this thread - thank you for all your contributions. I've been reading the forum's archives since I joined, and your posts were not only educational, but also extremely well written. The numismatic world is better because of your involvement.
To quote Lord Byron, "Fare thee well, and if forever, then forever fare thee well."
Quote: "Mark240590"im hoping we can learn from what has caused this. As there aren’t all that many “regular” long running members left !
Actually, we're not. The gap between administration and referees is huge and this gap was not created suddenly. Very often administration acts childish and forgot that those referees might have probably twice their age and experience and also they work from their free time to improve the catalog.
It's sad that Neil left Numista but I am not surprised, since many respectable users left Numista. I was in a similar situation when I quit being referee on Numista. Why I am still on Numista? Not because we have a great catalog or something like this but because I met here nice people and I have here good friends.
For your contribution and kindness, Neil you have all my respect.
Quote: "Mark240590"im hoping we can learn from what has caused this. As there aren’t all that many “regular” long running members left !
Actually, we're not. The gap between administration and referees is huge and this gap was not created suddenly. Very often administration acts childish and forgot that those referees might have probably twice their age and experience and also they work from their free time to improve the catalog.
It's sad that Neil left Numista but I am not surprised, since many respectable users left Numista. I was in a similar situation when I quit being referee on Numista. Why I am still on Numista? Not because we have a great catalog or something like this but because I met here nice people and I have here good friends.
For your contribution and kindness, Neil you have all my respect.
I am sorry to see Neil leave but it was his decision. He was an experienced and trusted member of this community and the one who entertained us with the Most Popular Coin Contest. Anyway, disrespecting the administration won't give you much trust or understanding. There are a lot of things which hurt me on Numista, like lack of ability to have few separate collections on the same profile or that Alderney and other entities are regarded as countries and not as issuers under the UK, but I still stick to the reality and the life goes on. Removing the sets was a bad decision and it wasn't my decision, yet the decision has been made and the life goes on. Calling someone childish just doesn't make sense, nor the age comparison. You can be seasoned numismatist but this site first of all requires motivation and a lot of effort. I don't care if someone is three times older than me, what I do care about is that the work is being done and the catalog is getting better. Being referee is an honour and a hard work. It requires a lot of free time and even work time. I have spent thousands of hours adding the damn Palau or Tonga coins to the catalog because I want Numista to be a better place. I have never disrespected anyone on this forum and I hope that I won't anytime soon. What I do need as a master referee is trust and respect. I am always ready to help out with the requests or research or whatever. I have no impact whatsoever on our 'dear leaders' decisions but I do have a great impact on the most precious part - the catalog itself. And what I have to say about the referees is that for the last year half of the referees had requests pending for few months. If someone doesn't have enough time to be a referee, he should resign. I helped out a lot of referees by silently processing their requests pending for two or three months and what did I get instead? Hate in PM. On the other hand, members who are trying to contribute to the catalog, they don't read the guidelines in 50% of the cases. Is it that hard to enter the weight, metal and photos? Then I just sit down and do it all myself. We need to work hard together, members, referees, administration. The easiest way is to complain and do nothing, to resign and to leave the website and let it be, but I won't do this anytime soon because I have a dream - to make Numista the best numismatic catalog ever.
I've not been as active lately due to a family bereavement, but was sad to read today of Neil's departure. Another great contributor lost. I don't know what it was over or what happened but I think it is a real shame!
I am sorry as well to see Neil go. Sad thing, we lost a good person and collector.
Sad thing is that I must defend the team here as well. When he added sets, he apologized for overstepping referee authority by adding something that did not belong there. At the time, I left them be personally to put pressure on Xavier to add some good format for sets.
As the time progressed, I even "accidentaly forgot" the admin decision to remove sets about half a year ago.
Even when sets appeared in UK recently, we wanted to keep them for additional pressure. Because Xavier sidelined sets format in favor of country list rework, we had to act before there would be many of them. We archived all those pages, so no data is lost and can be added back easily once sets format is created.
For the gap between referees and admin team, I think that we are good contact with most of them, and we are planning to do monthly bulletin meant for all referees. Some of them are happy for contacts, some hardly write few words back and some were even rude and angry for needing to respond on such message.
Some are angrily asking why we removed the rights, two months after we send several messages and half a year since some of the master referees started to do all their work. Like really? Referee and master referee rights come with some work and responsibilities. And it is ny responsibility to check all of them, teach them, correct their mistakes, praise them or kick them out when they are not doing anything or when they do not abide by numista rules or good morals. (https://en.numista.com/conditions.php)
Hereby I would like to praise Neil's work on the catalogue, forum and MPCC! There was no need of quitting over such little thing.
I agree with Jarcek that I think referee / admin relations are great. I agree that they were bad (horrible) a few years ago, but since Jarcek (and pejounet) came on board, things have been steadily improving, and still are. I couldn't be happier.
Quote: "Mark240590"im hoping we can learn from what has caused this. As there aren’t all that many “regular” long running members left !
Actually, we're not. The gap between administration and referees is huge and this gap was not created suddenly. Very often administration acts childish and forgot that those referees might have probably twice their age and experience and also they work from their free time to improve the catalog.
It's sad that Neil left Numista but I am not surprised, since many respectable users left Numista. I was in a similar situation when I quit being referee on Numista. Why I am still on Numista? Not because we have a great catalog or something like this but because I met here nice people and I have here good friends.
For your contribution and kindness, Neil you have all my respect.
Sorry for Neil. Hope it is not only a negative decision.
As for the team and Cie, having witnessed the tokengate period, the long absence of Xavier 3 years ago, I must admit it is now muuuch better than it was, and I thank the current team for the work done. Indeed I also have disagreements but also plenty of satisfactions and lots of niches where I can fulfil my will to help the coin community.
Great tool for collecting.
Quand l'Histoire et la Géographie se croisent sur nos pièces de monnaie ...
Horrible thing to read, regardless of what has happened (I have no knowledge being away due to ill health) Neil was half the reason I stayed on Numista above all other sites. He was helpful and very respectful even though I was a complete novice at the time.
To see some kind of breakdown is bad enough, but a seasoned Numista member feel the need to actually go this deep and fully leave has to have more meaning than druzhynets post which is sharper than he thinks, seems said with bad emotion. I do not have the time to referee, but I still do it. Should I have resigned as well because I may be struck down for a week or two with illness and not have the time?
Your words sir are much sharper than I assume you intended them to be. It sounds like something was done with zero thought from what I gather. Almost like a set was just removed without thought nor care? is that about right?
Neil is a tragic loss for this community, I for one will not feel the same here without his presence.
Andy + 1
Restoration addict : Verdigris Removal : Zinc White spot removal : Iron Rust Removal : Silver brooch/necklace mount Removal
My words were intended to be as sharp as they are (not more, not less) and with a smile on my face. I'm sorry if you got hurt sir, that is my opinion.
Regarding the absence, you can always notify other referees and Numista members on the forum about it and no one would crucify you for that. We are all human beings and despite spending most of our spare time here, we do have family, work, other interests. My words were dedicated to the referees who were constantly idle.
Talking about the removed sets, I didn't do it. I was against it all the way.
Quote: "Mark240590"im hoping we can learn from what has caused this. As there aren’t all that many “regular” long running members left !
Actually, we're not. The gap between administration and referees is huge and this gap was not created suddenly. Very often administration acts childish and forgot that those referees might have probably twice their age and experience and also they work from their free time to improve the catalog.
It's sad that Neil left Numista but I am not surprised, since many respectable users left Numista. I was in a similar situation when I quit being referee on Numista. Why I am still on Numista? Not because we have a great catalog or something like this but because I met here nice people and I have here good friends.
For your contribution and kindness, Neil you have all my respect.
My dear Andy, I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment regarding Neil and 'm very happy that you decided to stick around. I am surprised though to read that the conflict between administrators and referees continues into the present. I honestly thought it had improved since the kiddies were purged and replaced by adults.
Never having been a referee I'm reliant on what those who have tell me - and that's largely positive. It's not that long ago that one of the spiteful adminkiddies was publically referring to one of the referees as a "piece of shit". It's a measure of how far we have improved things that such loutish behavior would now be unthinkable.
It's my impression that the admin team is made up of the right people, filling the right roles. It's a far better team than the one we endured a couple of years ago.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
It will be a shame to lose Neil as he was a real asset to the Numista team, and a wealth of knowledge
I am upset also, as I spent hours researching the data and submitting info for the NZ sets, only to have it all removed by a new administer with no trade history and no coins to trade This guy did not even bother letting me know that he was doing it,and I only found out from Neil after he finished
I support Neil all the way on this matter, and feel that a apology is due to him- I hope that after a break away, that he will change his mind and resume his duties
I am shocked to find out that Neil unsubscribed two days ago.
I don´t know what to say. We wouldn´t have any MPCC this year and man, how cool it was. I feel like a large portion of Numista have vanished.
With saying that, I must also admit that collecting bug is not with me for few months, but I really hope that it will essentially come back. Not that I am an integral part of Numista as Neil was.
EDIT: I had not an opportunity to arrange a swap with Neil. That´s what I regret most.
Sad to hear all of that, Fluke please take a break and hope you get well soon.
I have been away for a while now from here as well due to someone passing away in my family and just yesterday a close relative now in hospital after a heart attack.
Health is much more important than collecting coins or Numista and much more important than Numista. Never forget the importance of your health and of the people close to you.
Hope you get well soon and that we will also see Neil return to Numista with so many members here who valued him dearly as a role model and for his great personality.
Wishing you best of health and kind regards,
Paul
If you like coins, medals and tokens with ship motives follow my new instagram account with regular updates @numisnautiker
From time to time I sell some coins on Ebay make sure to follow me @apuking on Ebay.
Pity to see Neil leaving Numista...
Thanks for all your contributions to the site Neil,as well as for the wonderful coins that you gifted to me(and probably to many more members too)
All the best,and hope you still will be back one day:)
What's so bad about Oggy? The way I understand it, the dispute was over the handling of NZ sets by admins. Oggy's the forum moderator, I can't see why he would be involved in any of the decisions.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
As a forum lurker as opposed to an active member on the forums, I would always see Neil's threads and he put a lot of his time into making the off topic forum a fun place to chat about off topic things. I only hope for the best for Neil.
Quote: "pnightingale"What's so bad about Oggy? The way I understand it, the dispute was over the handling of NZ sets by admins. Oggy's the forum moderator, I can't see why he would be involved in any of the decisions.
It was nothing to do with me indeed. [obviously]
Hamster is just being hamster and trying to stir stuff up. Apparently "I dont know what that set issues was but i know he was upset about oggys rude behaviour and powermadness. At least he told me via email."
The idea that 1. Hamster and Neil would be emailing and 2. That that's the super secret reason he quit after saying otherwise in his farewell post - is so outlandish and ridiculous I didn't even bother to respond to it.
Quote: "Jarcek"I am sorry as well to see Neil go. Sad thing, we lost a good person and collector.
Sad thing is that I must defend the team here as well. When he added sets, he apologized for overstepping referee authority by adding something that did not belong there. At the time, I left them be personally to put pressure on Xavier to add some good format for sets.
As the time progressed, I even "accidentaly forgot" the admin decision to remove sets about half a year ago.
Even when sets appeared in UK recently, we wanted to keep them for additional pressure. Because Xavier sidelined sets format in favor of country list rework, we had to act before there would be many of them. We archived all those pages, so no data is lost and can be added back easily once sets format is created.
For the gap between referees and admin team, I think that we are good contact with most of them, and we are planning to do monthly bulletin meant for all referees. Some of them are happy for contacts, some hardly write few words back and some were even rude and angry for needing to respond on such message.
Some are angrily asking why we removed the rights, two months after we send several messages and half a year since some of the master referees started to do all their work. Like really? Referee and master referee rights come with some work and responsibilities. And it is ny responsibility to check all of them, teach them, correct their mistakes, praise them or kick them out when they are not doing anything or when they do not abide by numista rules or good morals. (https://en.numista.com/conditions.php)
Hereby I would like to praise Neil's work on the catalogue, forum and MPCC! There was no need of quitting over such little thing.
This really puts it into perspective, thanks for sharing, Neil made a decision, its was no ones decision but his own. Its nobody's fault but Neil's, however I hate to see him go.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
I have always been a nuts and bolts type of guy. I have never concerned myself with leadership because it just never appealed to me. Neil seems to have got caught up in the website leadership. I can understand that, and I recently had some issues that he helped me through, but when he came across an issue that was important to him, I just could not see the perspective through his lens, through a leadership position. I suppose he felt the same about the problem I had.
Either way, I do believe Numista lost an important contributor. Thanks,Neil.
It's a huge shame Neil had to go. Even though I'm mostly a lurker around here I've constantly seen really good quality advice and content coming from him and it's a pretty big blow to a community like ours.
Quote: "apuking"Sad to hear all of that, Fluke please take a break and hope you get well soon.
I have been away for a while now from here as well due to someone passing away in my family and just yesterday a close relative now in hospital after a heart attack.
Health is much more important than collecting coins or Numista and much more important than Numista. Never forget the importance of your health and of the people close to you.
Hope you get well soon and that we will also see Neil return to Numista with so many members here who valued him dearly as a role model and for his great personality.
Wishing you best of health and kind regards,
Paul
Really Sorry to hear that Paul, I know how that loss can feel with another following without a breath. Thank you for your kind words. My family come before anything, having them gives me the fight I need.
Quote: "druzhynets"with a smile on my face
That is a little tactless in my opinion, but your opinion is your own and I can respect it regardless if I agree how you put it or not. After all, I am very over opinionated and anyone who doesn't like it can..... well, you get the point.
Neil wasn't just a veteran member, he alongside Phil was the reason I felt at home on this very website and forum. I wouldn't be here now to have experienced and come as far as I have in the world of numismatics without their help and advice. Neil will leave a very big tear in the community for me personally, so I can only hope he does return after a break.
I have stepped down as referee now as I feel it is the best way to go as I need to focus on upcoming health battles to do with medications and some stints at the hospitals. I wish the best of luck to those who follow in making numista a better numismatic source and community as referee or any other means. Numista exists because of the member base, lets hope that is always remembered.
I sincerely hope Neil does see just how many people think of his value to this community, regardless of what actually happened to cause this.
Restoration addict : Verdigris Removal : Zinc White spot removal : Iron Rust Removal : Silver brooch/necklace mount Removal
Even though you may not have heard how much people appreciate what you've done here and just your presence please remember that it is greatly appreciated, at least by some. 
