The above described posting missed my computer somehow.
 
But it did remind me of something I experienced recently.  Not only do I
collect shells, but I am a dog lover--especially Golden Retrievers.
 
I subscribed to the Golden listserve, and was promptly sent 11 pages of
rules and regulations.  They have so many postings, the most popular way to
receive it is in "digest form" usually once or twice a day.
 
I was afraid to open my mouth for fear someone would jump down my throat!
After two days, I "unsubscribed"  And I thought us shell people were
rabid!!!!  Don't mess with those Golden people.  To my knowledge, they're
the only dog breed that has a listserve---and with 1800+ people subscribed.
 
We have problems on our conch-l--we have scraps ever so often--but that's
good--and we have a great free service available to all us shellers,
regardless of our degree of involvement.
 
In answer to Mr. Weil's posting about the degree to which we take our
collecting, for any novice collectors out there, the book "Shell
Collecting" by Jerry Walls is great for deciding how far one wants to go
with their hobby.
 
Cheers,
 
Carol