Let me start by saying I am new here and to the "sport". Finding a
box is thrilling for me and for my four children.

I am wondering, how does a letterbox get marked as missing on the
letterboxing.org site? I have read the description for a couple that
then say that box is missing. This is disappointing, but I would
rather find out before we go looking. But, I have also read on this
site some notices about missing boxes. Would you suggest I search
this site before I start out on a hunt?

When do I figure a box I am looking for is gone? (I only go looking
for the easy boxes with my crew.)

Thanks,

Rose

Good morning, Rose, and welcome! I am also a newbie. From what I can
gather, a box is declared 'missing' when either:

1. someone - or several letterboxers - go hunting for it, and are
pretty sure they are in the right location but can't find it. They
will normally email the planter of the box as check with them,
telling him/her where they were looking. Then if the planter
says 'yes, that's the exact location where the box should have
been', one can be fairly sure it is missing. The planter, if heshe
is able to, will go check in person. If indeed the box is gone, then
the planter may elect to plant another in the same location.

OR

2. The planter, on his/her regular maintenance check sees that their
letterbox is gone.

So yes, I would say it is an excellent idea to check the new Box
Status chart that Abacus set up in the database of this website. It
is an excellent way to quickly check on all letterboxes before you
go.

As to your question :> "When do I figure a box I am looking for is
gone?" ... If you are looking, and really feel that you are in the
right location and everything else pretty much matches the clues,
but there is no box, then come home and email the planter, as I said
earlier.

Have fun! :)
Wanda in South Texas (Busy Bee)

Hi Rose,

I wanted to let you know that there is a list-serve for our region of the
country--you can check out the PNW list-serve at
groups.yahoo.com/group/LbPNW --it's all about WA/OR boxing. Generally, after
a new box is planted, someone who finds it has something to say about it
there, so you can get a feel for what you might be getting yourself in for by
hunting for it.

You can search for a specific box using the archives of the main list, tho
that can be tedious (you can also check the PNW list, but that's a more
recent
creation and certainly doesn't list all the boxes).

I see you've already discovered the new database that Mahjong set up--and
have reported that you couldn't find the Lincoln City box. But there was some
recent chatter about that box on the PNW list--as of Aug. 3, the box was still
in place (sounds like it might be a tricky find, tho). Check out Wingnut's
report, message #1340 on the PNW list-serve--you may want to change your listing
on the new database.

As you continue to find boxes, you'll learn that some of the people who
plant boxes are notoriously tricky, so--since you're concerned about not finding
boxes--you might choose to avoid their boxes (Der Mad Stamper's boxes can be
straightforward OR difficult--his box at Multnomah Falls is thought to be one of
the most maddening in our region.)

A box listed as "Abandoned" may or may not still be in place. As someone
else mentioned in their reply to you, this listing came about as a result of
a
change in how we list boxes on the site. Things are still settling down a
bit
from that change--some of the boxes are there, but the owner hasn't "claimed"
them since the change. These may get adopted, if someone volunteers to look
after them. Some of the "abandoned" boxes--like the one at Powell's--really
ARE
gone, and will be either replaced or deleted from the list.

Sometimes a box is reported as "missing" to the list-serve--but unless the
owner checks on it--or maybe someone who has found it before & knows for sure
where it was hidden--there's some question as to whether or not it really is
missing. Not long ago, I was pretty sure that Funhog's Wapiti box at the zoo
was
missing--and sent a message to the PNW list about it. Brett, who'd been
there before checked, and it was still there. So it's fine to report to the
list--or better yet, directly to the owner--that a box appears to be missing,
but
it usually takes other boxers to confirm that report.

Hope that clarifies things!
--Wild Woman
P.S. I tried to reply to you off-list, but my message kept getting rejected.