Helmut,
 
Hang in there, stay around, don't quit, don't sweat the small stuff,
etc.  A lot of us have taken a shot or two here.  They are painless,
just dots on a TV monitor.
 
There is room for everyone on Conch-L and surely with 300 some members
we should all expect a bit of a tiff now and then.  Helmut, because of
your enthusiasm (and the fact you tend to lead with your chin) you are
an easy target for sarcasm and some of us are prone to take shots at
easy targets.  Ask my kids, they bore the brunt of my sarcastic comments
for years (in fact they still do and threaten me with all kinds of
misery as payback in my old age).  Anyway, please remember there are 299
folks who haven't signed the e-mail that gets you all worked up.
 
It seems we have people getting fed up and quitting Conch-L on a regular
basis -- hey!!  Lighten up!!  This is not a council of governments
deciding the fate of the world.  It is just a varied group of people
with one area of common interest and millions of issues, beliefs,
interests, feelings, etc. that are not common.  It is a wonder it goes
as well as it does.
 
So don't worry about taking a bit of criticism because someone doesn't
agree with what you've said or done.  Either ignore it or maybe ease off
a bit on whatever you have been pushing and let the list get back to the
business of shells.
 
Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA