Good point. I have collected since I can remember so that would put me at 50+ years as a collector. However, it was not until my 20's that I learned of COA, purchasing shells from dealer's lists, knew of shell clubs, visited my first shell show, went to a COA convention. John Timmerman Wilmington North Carolina -------------- Original message from Peter Egerton <[log in to unmask]>: -------------- Marcus, The longer a person has collected, the more likely they are to know of your site or CONCH-L and be in a position to take part in the poll. One should keep in mind that many people start a hobby such as shell collecting slowly, becoming more involved with it and developing resources and contacts after a few years. This would most likely explain the paucity of recently-started collections. Cheers, Peter At 07:35 AM 04/02/2008, you wrote: The results show that the last five years are catastrophic. Without them, the average percentage is of 7.5% each five years, for collectors <30y. What happened during these 5 years, which cut the flow of newcomers ? Hurricanes, global warming, twin towers remnant, new millenium, increasing poverty of the younger generations ? Any idea, List ? Olivier Caro ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Peter Egerton, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - - - - - - - Shell Collector & Website Designer - - - - - - - - - - Portfolio Website: www.peteregerton.ca Peter's Seashells Website: www .petersseashells.ca Email: [log in to unmask]