Hi fellow letterbox-placers/finders around the country!

I'm starting to grow rather frustrated by a hobby that I had been
really enjoying up til now. This frustration has been stewing for
several months but I just haven't figured out how to adequately
address it without causing an uproar.

Bottom Line: Is anybody else out there in a similar situation? If
so, what are your ideas/recommendations for improving it? Any
comments are greatly appreciated--either directly to me or to the
list.

Problem Background: Over the past several months, I've gone out to
check up on several letterboxes that we'd placed during our
letterboxing adventure or to seek letterboxes that other folks had
placed. Upon finding the letterbox (if it still happened to be
there) we noticed that many were 'carelessly rehidden' if they were
even hidden at all.

When we place letterboxes initially, we attempt to look at the
hiding spot from an animals'/vandals'/poor weather
conditions'/groundskeepers'/gardeners'/other treasure hunters'
perspective before we actually place it. If it looks like the box
will even remotely go missing due to any of these conditions then we
usually decide to plant it elsewhere. Granted you can never predict
these occurrences--but trying to prepare for these in advance seems
to add a little bit of longevity to the lifespan of an average
letterbox. We've even gone so far as to revamp many of our earlier
placed letterboxes by putting them in more camouflaged/watertight
containers. Unfortunately, several of these letterboxes have gone
missing despite these added protective measures.

I'm not sure how to address this subject anymore than we've already
attempted. We include a blurb in the clues about requesting
letterboxers to look discreetly & carefully for the letterbox and to
ensure that it is rehidden out of view of passersby when they are
through. Most of our letterboxes are camouflaged (minus the few
initial ones we placed we haven't yet improved upon over time) but
more & more even the camouflaged ones are walking away these days.
I'm not sure if folks tend to be more 'protective' of other peoples'
letterboxes once they've started placing them themselves or what the
issue is. I know that I personally really started to get
that 'mother hen' feeling when I started finding letterboxes AFTER I
had placed some of my own. Sometimes, I'll come across a letterbox
and really have a sinking feeling about its hiding spot because it
might seem really vulnerable. I try to leave it as well hidden as
possible, but knowing that it might not survive regardless of how
well hidden it is--it's hard to part with it. If that's the case, I
try to contact the placer to let them know it may not last long in
the same hiding spot.

I understand that animals and outdoor conditions
often 'dislodge/nudge' letterboxes from their hiding spots but often
the letterboxes we've come across that were 'haphazardly rehidden'
had had letterboxers visit them either the same day or just a short
time before we visited them so the possibility of outside influences
dislodging them has been rather small. Yes, I've lost several
letterboxes to gardeners, squirrels, rains, vandals, schoolkids who
tore a nurse stump to SHREDS, homeless folks who like to pull bark
off of trees, other treasure hunters, etc--yes, many were just poor
placements. Others, however, are missing because they weren't
rehidden carefully. This is what is sooo frustrating!

I'm not sure how to take measures to attempt to resolve this
problem. Is there anyway to address this in the letterboxing FAQ
since I know that a LOT of new letterboxers don't even know this
message board exists but they often read the FAQ before they set out
to find their first letterbox. Include, for example: a blurb
like 'please don't waste other peoples' precious (not meant to be
boastful just meant in the sense that we're all on this Earth for a
short time to begin with) time/resources/artistic efforts (weak
attempts in my case) by carelessly rehiding letterboxes' (something
to that effect)or a quip about 'the letterboxing gods will rain
havoc upon careless rehiders'--something like that? ;) Especially
finders who don't bother to ensure the little plastic baggies in
which the logbooks are contained are properly sealed. This is a
must for moisture prone areas--even if it doesn't rain the logbooks
seem to act like sponges wicking water out of thin air. Possibly
discuss better hiding techniques (like camouflaging the letterbox in
question by wrapping them with leaves/grass, twigs) before returning
them to their hiding spots. Even, take a little extra time to
really ensure it's well hidden before they depart--like not building
the 'tell-tale letterbox altar' out of adjacent sticks but rather to
recover them so they look natural, casting a little
dirt/leaves/twigs over them so it looks as if nothing were there,
that sort of thing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter. How can we reduce
this problem??? It's a subject that's really starting to frustrate
me--to the point I'm even considering taking time off from the hobby
for a LONG while. Please no flames--this isn't intended to cause an
uproar or to blame anybody--I'm just looking for ideas to help
resolve this problem.

Thanks in advance--

dvn2r ckr

(who hesitantly sends this message with great trepidation for fear
it will be misconstrued--yes, I've written this message many times
before but haven't had the courage to hit 'send' until today--
perhaps I've reached the final straw?) ;)