Welcome to the Mineral, Rock,Organic, Fossil, Sand, and Silt Database (MIROFOSS) Contact page. If you have a question, comment, compliment, or complaint about MIROFOSS, please use the appropriate emails which can be found below.

Before sending out an email to a MIROFOSS staff member, please make sure you check out our frequently asked questions (FAQ) section which can be found by using the link below or by: -clicking here-

 

MIROFOSS Contacts
foundation@mirofoss.com
Use this email if you have any questions about the MIROFOSS foundation, or you require assistance requesting scholarship information, or you wish to make a donation. More information about the MIROFOSS foundation can be found by: -clicking here-
   
editor@mirofoss.com
If you find a language error within one of our articles, or you find a link that does not direct you to the proper location, please report the error to the editor. When emailing the editor, please ensure that you include the page name, full url, and the location of the error(s.) We will work to get the issue fixed as soon as possible.
   
  images@mirofoss.com
If you have any questions about the images displayed on MIROFOSS, as well as images used in the various social media sites that MIROFOSS participates in, please email our photographer.
   
administrator@mirofoss.com
If you have any questions about the layout, design, and framework of MIROFOSS, or you have legal questions about the database, please contact the administrator. You can also contact the administrator if you are following up about careers with MIROFOSS or you have any other general questions or suggestions regarding the database. Please check the FAQ before making an inquiry because your question may have already been asked and answered.
   
MIROFOSS Foundation Forms
Form 40
Use form 40 if you are planning to sponsor an article within the MIROFOSS database. This form covers all types of sponsorship from small personal sponsors to large corporate sponsors.
Form 41
Use form 41 if you or your organization is making a simple donation to MIROFOSS without article sponsorship.
Form 44
Use form 44 if you or your organization is making a sample donation to MIROFOSS. Samples are non-perishable items which can be collected or sent using a postal system.
Form 49
Use form 49 to fill in your biography that will be placed on MIROFOSS when a user clicks you or your company's name.
   
  Careers @ MIROFOSS Forms
Form 24
Use form 24 if you are applying for a volunteer position within MIROFOSS
Form 23
Use form 23 if you are applying for a contract position at MIROFOSS
Form 21
Use form 21 if you are applying for a full-time or part-time position within MIROFOSS
   
  MIROFOSS Technical
Form 99
Use form 99 if you would like to report any type of technical, coding, or language error on a MIROFOSS page. This form will be sent directly to the editor.
   

 

 Frequently Asked Questions
Q
 — Who owns the samples which are shown on MIROFOSS?
A
 The samples that you see on MIROFOSS are loaned to the MIROFOSS database by two private collectors that allow their sample images to be used in each article. Samples are currently loaned from Omnizoom Minerals as well as Dynamo Research Concerns. MIROFOSS does not currently keep any samples at the organization office that are not currently being photographed.
   
Q
 — How do you capture the sample images?
A
 Samples are photographed at the MIROFOSS organization office using a white background studio. Samples are placed in the studio and various types of white light is used to best capture a quality image of the sample. We are currently using a Cannon Rebel T3 as well as a Cannon Power Shot to capture images.
 
Q
 — What kind of software do you use for MIROFOSS?
A
 We currently use Adobe for the majority of our software needs such as image editing, page design, and video production. We use Crystal Maker Pro to design atomic models of the minerals modeled after the images used on webmineral.com. In addition; we use Microsoft Excel and Access to organize the logistical aspect of our pages and we view and debug all of our pages on Fire Fox.
 
Q
 — Why did you use HTML for the database? Wouldn't flash look better and run smoother?
A
 We today agree that Flash could have created a more graphically pleasing atmosphere for our viewers but we decried to use HTML because it is universally recognized by computers regardless of their age or computing power. We decided in favor of quality research and dependable page loading, over 'flashy' design.
   
Q
 — Have you ever though of putting advertisements in the database?
A
 This question has come up a few times with page users and MIROFOSS staff alike. Although placing advertisements on our articles would create more inflow of money into the project, which would mean more money for improvements and scholarships. At this current time, we are still committed to keeping advertisements off our articles. We feel that placing advertisements on our pages will cause unneeded 'clutter' on our pages, increase the amount of time it takes to load pages, and jeopardize the validity of our work. We like to think of MIROFOSS as a library or an 'Earth Sciences 101' at a college. When you go to a library fast food restaurants do not place advertisements in the middle of a novel; so we do not want to do the same. We do have what you could call an advertisement for our social media outlets as well as our online photography gallery. However, these outlets were created by MIROFOSS and we control what content is displayed there.
 
Q
 — Will MIROFOSS continue to be a free for use site?

A
 We do admit that there is a certain amount of compiled research on MIROFOSS that would normally take a user much more time to find online, rather than just access all the information they need through MIROFOSS. Although many organizations would cash in on this aspect and charge users for 'premium information,' we feel that would be a direct contradiction to what we hope to achieve here at MIROFOSS. At MIROFOSS we want to encourage knowledge in the field of Earth Science and use social media to get people interested in the world around them. We could never put a price tag on that type of project.
 
Q
 — MIROFOSS always seems to be under construction. When, if ever, will it be finished?
A
 Yes we always have cream coloured boxes with construction signs in them throughout the database. MIROFOSS is always going and branching out in various directions and there is always some sort of construction going on. We are a very small team of people working on MIROFOSS and sometimes projects take longer than expected. When MIROFOSS first went online in 2013 with 'alpha testing' we still had a lot of bugs to work out so the framework of the database was constantly being tweaked. Even though we were not a published web site, we still had over 75,000 visitors to the site during the 2013 calendar year. If you are interested in what improvements and additions are currently being made to MIROFOSS. Please check out our news page by: -clicking here-
 
Q
 — Is MIROFOSS research 'trustable'?
A
 In 99% of the information posted on MIROFOSS, our data is written, edited for grammar, and checked by an Earth Sciences Instructor. All research data placed on MIROFOSS is referenced at the bottom of each article. In some cases it is very hard to reference what we call obvious facts. For example Amethyst is a violet coloured variety of quartz; we do not reference that because it is obvious fact. the one percent of our research where our data cannot be considered valid is within the metaphysical 'healing' realm of minerals, rocks, fossils, and crystals. Although we receive this metaphysical data from what you could call a valid source. There are many conflicting views on what minerals can do for a human's metaphysical health.
 
Q
 — MIROFOSS is a science related database. Why the @$%# did you guys put magic powers on your articles?
A
 Well, this @$%#ing question has come up a few times now so we decided to answer it here in our FAQ. At MIROFOSS we do not accept or deny claims that minerals, rocks, and fossils have metaphysical properties. We have simply placed the information in our articles, where applicable, to show a different perspective on what people do with minerals. Metaphysical Applications has been placed directly beside the section within the articles referred to as Industrial Applications, we did once again just to show perspective for readers. A good example is cola; yes we drink cola, and we mix it with other liquids to consume. We could probably write an article just about cola. However; there are allot of people that use cola to remove certain types of stains on concrete or metal. Toothpaste is great for brushing teeth, but many people have found a use for toothpaste in cleaning jewelry. This is referred to alternate uses for a product. This is exactly the same as our metaphysical applications of minerals. We have no clue if it really works. It is at the discretion of the reader.
   
Q — How much space does MIROFOSS use?
A Well it is an easy question to answer if you do not mind the fact that the answer will be invalid a few weeks after this is posted. Since we are always adding data and other material to MIROFOSS, the amount of space we use is always changing. As of January 01, 2014 we are currently using 602MB of web space which is made up of 3,584 files stored in 379 directories. We also currently have 24.6GB of HD quality cataloged images and 19.2GB of images we have yet to format and place into the database. We changed the image sizes for the article to save the end user (you) on bandwidth. If we did not process and format our raw sample images they would be 82% larger in file size which would take them much longer to load and chew up bandwidth.
   
  If your question has still not been answered; Please -contact us-