> So, to everyone, So long and thanks for all the fish, to quote a
> famous author.

You aren't breaking any more laws by quoting someone without proper
credit, are you? ;o)

-- Ryan, with a new sense of paranoia

Well Steve, I for one am sorry to see you go. You appear to be the
latest in a line of energetic, enthusiastic, creative types who have
embraced this hobby and been beaten into submission by the humorless
types who apparently feel they have the right to dictate the rules of
this "no rules" hobby. It's a shame - I've learned alot from you and
the California badger and others. I don't read all these messages
anymore either. As I suspect many others have, I have turned my
attentions more to local or regional subgroups. This is in many ways
more satisfying but I can't help but feel that the fragmentation of
the national group is a bad thing overall. Still, I understand your
decision. Most of us got into this to relax and have fun - not fight
and be criticized at every turn. It's easier and less stressful to
walk away. It's a shame the humorless types don't spend more time
boxing and less time whining. Happy boxing!
Bigguy

>
> Secondly, along the nature of those words, it has come to my
attention that I have stepped on one to many toes (Two toes is two
too many) in my manner of speaking, in my manner of posting, in the
frequency of my posting and in stepping up and announcing another
event in six months.been removed]

> I think we shall take a break from the mailing lists for awhile,
perhaps one day, things will have settled down and we can start over.
In the mean time, we'll plant boxes, we'll search for other boxes and
we'll maintain the website.


I feel bad. You are one who cares and are a nice guy.
Take care,
catbead 1

Your insite and thoughtful posts have inspired me. They will be
missed and are welcomed back at any time.

Scoutdogs

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Steve S." wrote:
> First and foremost, please do not read any sarcasm in this letter,
nor is this letter the rantings of a spoiled little child who has not
gotten his way. These are simply words that come from deep inside and
are said most sincerely.
>
> I wish to most humbly apologize to the person whose words I posted
on my website from an email they sent to me. It was wrong to do so.
There are a hundred reasons as to why I did it, but none of them are
actually right or valid. Again, I am sorry for having posted those
words on my website and they have been erased and purged from that
site.
>
> Secondly, along the nature of those words, it has come to my
attention that I have stepped on one to many toes (Two toes is two
too many) in my manner of speaking, in my manner of posting, in the
frequency of my posting and in stepping up and announcing another
event in six months. As of this moment, Boxapalooza is cancelled.
>
> I think we shall take a break from the mailing lists for awhile,
perhaps one day, things will have settled down and we can start
over. In the mean time, we'll plant boxes, we'll search for other
boxes and we'll maintain the website.
>
> So, to everyone, So long and thanks for all the fish, to quote a
famous author. We're going to cloak and lurk for awhile, but, for
those that wish to talk to me, I can be reached at my personal email
address.
>
> Steve
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

geeze! again i miss all of the excitement cuz i don't read all the
posts! ( i don't receive emails, just read the board). happy lurking!

(btw, i'm glad that i don't read all the posts! :-) )

happy letterboxing everyone!! winter is upon us!!!!!!

crappiefisher

-
DITTO!DITTO!DITTO! Saying this also because I feel the same way and
maybe the dittos will annoy someone. It's a shame that what I thought
would be a fun and exciting hobby has been spoiled by a few who think
they know it all. Go ahead and flame at me it you wish, but I have
read these posts filled with nothing but criticism long enough.
We will miss your fun filled messages, Steve and hope that you will
continue with your family to enjoy this hobby for what it is meant to
be. Also hope to see you back soon, and that you really smashed those
toes you stepped on. Purple Iris.




-- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Bigguy" wrote:
> Well Steve, I for one am sorry to see you go. You appear to be the
> latest in a line of energetic, enthusiastic, creative types who
have
> embraced this hobby and been beaten into submission by the
humorless
> types who apparently feel they have the right to dictate the rules
of
> this "no rules" hobby. It's a shame - I've learned alot from you
and
> the California badger and others. I don't read all these messages
> anymore either. As I suspect many others have, I have turned my
> attentions more to local or regional subgroups. This is in many
ways
> more satisfying but I can't help but feel that the fragmentation of
> the national group is a bad thing overall. Still, I understand
your
> decision. Most of us got into this to relax and have fun - not
fight
> and be criticized at every turn. It's easier and less stressful to
> walk away. It's a shame the humorless types don't spend more time
> boxing and less time whining. Happy boxing!
> Bigguy
>
> >
> > Secondly, along the nature of those words, it has come to my
> attention that I have stepped on one to many toes (Two toes is two
> too many) in my manner of speaking, in my manner of posting, in the
> frequency of my posting and in stepping up and announcing another
> event in six months.been removed]

I agree as well. If all the people who were sick of
the 'controlling' types left, this would be a pretty sad board. I
don't post or share much any more, but I am here. I have never seen
a board... and I belong to nearly 30 on Yahoo alone! ... where so
large and vocal a number are so bent on controling the actions,
words and thoughts of the rest. It is truly strange!

Busy Bee

sandymess wrote:
DITTO!DITTO!DITTO! ...I feel the same way.... It's a shame that
what I thought would be a fun and exciting hobby has been spoiled by
a few who think they know it all. Go ahead and flame at me it you
wish, but I have read these posts filled with nothing but criticism
long enough.
> We will miss your fun filled messages, Steve and hope that you
will continue with your family to enjoy this hobby for what it is
meant to be. Also hope to see you back soon... Purple Iris.
>
Bigguy wrote:
> > Well Steve, I for one am sorry to see you go. You appear to be
the latest in a line of energetic, enthusiastic, creative types who
have embraced this hobby and been beaten into submission by the
humorless types who apparently feel they have the right to dictate
the rules of this "no rules" hobby. It's a shame - I've learned
alot from you... and others. ...Most of us got into this to relax
and have fun - not fight and be criticized at every turn.

Pardon a newcomer for posting here and all. Just been reading and
trying to see what is happening. Looks like same thing happened at
our church a couple times. Made me rethink about that.

We had a new gal, Lizzie G. I'll call her, who moved into our area,
joined up with the Lady's Wednesday Evening Prayer and Improvement
Circle and noticed not much was going on. Oh, we had regular meeting
of the group but other than that, nothing. So, this new gal just
decided to have a Fall Festival like they did in her old church in
Des Moines. Kept the kids from celebrating that pagan holiday
Halloween.

She asked around for help and most of the congregation had their
tails in a twist (pardon my French) and did nothing but talk about
how pushy and uppity Lizzie G. was, how she should wait her turn. Not
that anybody was doing anything else mind you but still.

Quite a few kids showed up for that festival. We passed out cider and
bobbed for apples, pretty corny but for the kids it was new. Somebody
had a guitar and we sang some Girl Scout songs. Turns out the boys
knew some lyrics that were not appropriate. Anyway, it was a success,
we thought.

Next day, Lizzie got called into the pastor's office. Seems she had
done all these wrong things. The pastor was sorry but the other
concerned mothers complained. Fire marshall wasn't consulted about
the jack-o-lanterns, those boys had been disruptive, and the church
could get in trouble. On and on. Lizzie and her family left our
church. I saw her and her daughter the other day at the market. She
is over with the Methodists now. They seem to enjoy her energy, she
said.

Our church? We had some talk about doing something for this next
Halloween but nobody much stepped up to the plate. Guess we will stay
at home and pass out candy.

Sorry for the long post, but it just reminded me of stuff here. I
think we have to be careful about letting the forces of darkness and
chaos warp our sense of fun. If anybody wants to have a festival, go
up and ask to help if you want to. If you want to have something, ask
folks but don't expect a lot of help. Lord helps them that help
themselves, afterall.

Gracious, I am beginning to sound like our pastor. Thanks for telling
me about letterboxing.

Sincerely,
Eto
F6 P0 X3

> Also hope to see you back soon, and that you really smashed those
> toes you stepped on. Purple Iris.

Now that's just mean. At least Steve steps on toes by accident, but
wishing ill-well like that is even worse. It's petty, disgraceful,
and hypocritical.

-- Ryan

Now Ryan, Purple Iris was just caught up in the emotion of the
moment. She has never flamed anyone, or stepped on anyone's toes;
nor is she "petty, disgraceful, and hypocritical." I've read a lot
of your posts, and you know the old saying, "People who live in
glass houses . . . ."
--Buzzard

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "rscarpen"
wrote:
> > Also hope to see you back soon, and that you really smashed
those
> > toes you stepped on. Purple Iris.
>
> Now that's just mean. At least Steve steps on toes by accident,
but
> wishing ill-well like that is even worse. It's petty,
disgraceful,
> and hypocritical.
>
> -- Ryan

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "sandymess"
wrote:
> -
> DITTO!DITTO!DITTO! Saying this also because I feel the same way
and
> maybe the dittos will annoy someone. It's a shame that what I
thought
> would be a fun and exciting hobby has been spoiled by a few who
think
> they know it all.

I've been around message boards and USENET newsgroups long enough to
recognize the inevitability of flames. Heck, I recently started
reading rec.running, and the flamewars that rage amongst that bunch
of testosterone-ladden ex-jocks makes us look like a bunch of tree-
hugging, granola-munching pansies. Which we are, thank goodness.

At any rate, nothing that goes on in the message board should "spoil
the hobby," since posting and reading the board is not, after all,
the hobby. The hobby is grabbing some clues, following them to a
box, etc. etc. You don't need to interact with the message board at
all to do that.

Peace,
La Chola

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "rscarpen" wrote:
> > Also hope to see you back soon, and that you really smashed those
> > toes you stepped on. Purple Iris.
>
> Now that's just mean. At least Steve steps on toes by accident, but
> wishing ill-well like that is even worse. It's petty, disgraceful,
> and hypocritical.
>
> -- Ryan

Puleeze! Give me a break Ryan. I've read your posts and you don't
have any room to criticize.

catbead 1

> Puleeze! Give me a break Ryan. I've read your posts and you don't
> have any room to criticize.

Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean they aren't right.
I've stepped on toes before, and I'll likely do it again many times
in the future, but at least I try to stick to facts and don't sink so
low as to wish war, death, and destruction on those I don't like. I
try to keep my criticisms professional and constructive, NOT
personal. That post was making it personal.

It is not okay to wish ill-well on someone, and I don't care who it
is. I'm sure the post was made in the heat of the moment and the
person who made it doesn't REALLY mean what they said, and I'm not
inclined to hold such a post against her, but it was a very petty,
disgraceful, and hypocritical post. That's not my opinion, it's a
fact.

But notice, it's the post I'm attacking, not the person. For all I
know, Purple Iris could be one of the nicest, most wonderful woman on
the planet who got carried away. In fact, I hope that's the case.
But the post was highly inappropriate for a civilized discussion.

-- Ryan

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "rscarpen"
wrote:
> It is not okay to wish ill-well on someone, and I don't care who it
> is. I'm sure the post was made in the heat of the moment and the
> person who made it doesn't REALLY mean what they said,

Did you fall and crack your head on a rock somewhere on the AT Ryan?
She clearly was NOT wishing "ill-well" on anyone.

>>but at least I try to stick to facts and don't sink so
>> low as to wish war, death, and destruction on those I don't like.

Hmmmm, lets see, Quote: "and that you really smashed those
toes you stepped on."end Quote. Yep, that falls under the heading of
wishing war, death and destruction. Gets my vote for sure!

>>I try to keep my criticisms professional and constructive, NOT
>> personal. That post was making it personal.

Personal??? Uh oh, seems to me I recall reading a nasty post in the
LbPNW by you where you make a direct attack, without provocation I
might add, upon Steve. That comes under the heading of personal in my
book. Doesn't matter that you tried to delete it, it was still made,
it still went out. Then in your "apology" you admitted to, and I
quote: "I talk plenty about people (both good and bad, I might add)
behind their backs" Then you go on to say: "But you should also
understand, I hold ill feelings towards you. What annoys me is your
enthusiam ..."End quote. I call this personal, and this was the apology!

So in my humble opinion this objection of yours is a bit of the pot
calling the kettle black.

Is it getting a little hot?
;-)
catbead 1

> She clearly was NOT wishing "ill-well" on anyone.

Sure sounded that way to me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hoping for "really smashed toes" doesn't
sound very endearing or nice to me. It sounds personal and
vengeful. And such statements in a public forum should not be
tolerated.

Everybody should be treated with respect. You don't have to agree
with them and you don't have to like them--everyone is entitled to
their own opinions--but you must always treat them with respect.

-- Ryan

> Yep, that falls under the heading of wishing war, death and
> destruction. Gets my vote for sure!

A petty argument. Wishing for crushed toes perhaps isn't as bad as
wishing for a WWIII, but saying so publicly is.

> Personal??? Uh oh, seems to me I recall reading a nasty post in the
> LbPNW by you where you make a direct attack, without provocation I
> might add, upon Steve. That comes under the heading of personal in
> my book.

Yes, and it was completely and totally unappropriate for the board.
I will not hold anybody to any standards that I wouldn't hold myself
to. The post was inappropriate, but I do have opinions--good and bad-
-of other people. A normal human trail. Due to user error, my
private thoughts that had no business being on a public message board
did just that.

As an owner and moderator of the board, I did to my post exactly what
I would have done to anyone else that posted a similar thought: I
deleted it and gave myself a talking to for doing something as
dumbass as posting it.

> So in my humble opinion this objection of yours is a bit of the pot
> calling the kettle black.

Well, if the kettle IS black, what difference does it make who says
so? Would the spoon calling the kettle black have any more authority
than the pot?

Perhaps I am the pot in this example, but if I see a black kettle,
I'm gonna call it black. To argue it's not is an argument in
futility.

-- Ryan

>is an argument in futility.
>
> -- Ryan

Yeah it is, because I don't think you get it.

catbead 1

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "rscarpen"
wrote:
>
> Perhaps I am the pot in this example, but if I see a black kettle,
> I'm gonna call it black. To argue it's not is an argument in
> futility.
> -- Ryan

Is Ryan on pot?
--Buzzard

Maybe he picked up some locoweed on the trail.
Psychomommy



--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "trentlaudes"
wrote:

> Is Ryan on pot?
> --Buzzard