Dear all,
I've been wanting to rant about this for a while now,
and now I finally have the time to do it. Let me start
by saying that I have many beautiful shells in my
collection. Every collector does. But my problem is
that half of these shells have awful data. Many say
something like:

"off Exmouth, Australia. 1984."

That's all. And worst of all, this type of data goes
with some of my most prized and rare shells. Oh, will
this horror ever end? The shells in my collection that
have complete data come from one of three sources:
myself, other collectors, and dealers who are very
meticulous about getting excellent data for their
specimens. The best way to stop this permeation of bad
data into our profession requires getting to the main
source, which is the original collector of the
specimens. This is, needless to say, almost impossible
for the most part, because often those who collect the
shells don't know much about them, and thus fail to
realize the importance of full data. Some, though
knowledgeable, simply don't bother to add the
nitty-gritty details, such as the date. One failsafe
option is to collect the shells yourself, but many,
including myself, don't currently have the ability to
travel around in search of their desired species. The
best thing for a victim of peiorindicitis to do is
simply to make sure that what they're getting has
satisfying data. But, unfortunately, this isn't always
possible; for example, what if it's something you've
been searching for for ages and you desperately want?
You see the problem. Well, I think I'll just slip away
and let everybody put thought to this matter. Bye Bye.

Sincerely,
James C.









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