Hi Conch-L'ers,
I have been a member of this illustrious group for about a year and a
half now, and as anyone with a number of months experience can attest,
the topics of discussion have ranged far and wide, from the ridiculous
to the sublime - well, at least from the ridiculous to the less
ridiculous.  There are periods when we seem to concentrate on
relatively technical topics like rules of taxonomy, definitions of
subspecies, and the role of DNA sequencing.  Then, there have been
other periods when the prevailing topic was our scariest moment while
collecting, or dreams we have had that featured shells, or how we
first got interested in shell collecting, or how to keep slugs out of
our gardens.  There have been many good discussions on topics of
interest to "old" and "new" collectors alike, such as methods of
cleaning shells and organizing a collection.
Questions have been posted by non-collectors, beginning collectors,
advanced amateurs, and professionals, and I can't recall seeing any
question posted that was inappropriate or "unscientific".  A question
does not have to be phrased in technical jargon to be valid.  "What's
the difference between a whelk and a conch", or "how can I get the
green scum off the shell I found on the beach" are perfectly
legitimate scientific questions (both of which have been asked here
and received several replies).  Why am I writing this?  Primarily
because we have been in a "technical phase" for a while now, and I
wouldn't want any recent subscribers to get the erroneous impression
that such topics are all that is allowable or appropriate on Conch-L.
 Any question - ANY question or topic at all that relates to shells in
ANY way is appropriate here, no matter how technical, no matter how
basic.  It would be a shame for a subscriber to only learn about
taxonomic rules, when what he/she really needed and wanted to know is
how to remove green scum.  So, post the ideas YOU have, and the
questions YOU need answers to!   That's what keeps Conch-L moving.
Most of your questions WILL receive responses.  If an occasional
question doesn't generate a response, don't take it personally, or
feel ignored.  Probably, no-one knew the answer.  You'll get a reply
to your next query, and that reply will benefit not only you, but all
those others who were wondering the same thing, but were afraid to
ask!
Paul M.