jjp wrote:
> ...if nature's forces washed them away (2 out of the 3
> missing ones are completely gone--left no trace or trash to indicate they
> ever existed) it would be a really bad idea to put them back to have that
> happen again.

How can you find out if that's what happened? It would take a big rain to
do that, wouldn't it? Did you have a big rain then (after you last checked)?

> ...I'm thinking I'll be putting my e-mail address up instead of clues...
>
> Your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts: There may be a better way. Email addresses are
traceable, just like phone numbers. We're an open group. I assume we want
people to participate who are also open.

Do any of you have caller ID on your phones?

I have caller ID so I can see who's calling my house. And I DO NOT block
my ID from other people. Other people can see who I am when I call their
houses. To me this ensures openess -- at least to the extent that other
people ID themselves to me, then it is open BOTH ways. If they ID
themselves then I see that and I don't have to pick up if its somebody I
know is mean or irritating. I don't like anonymous calls too much either
and sometimes I don't pick them up either because often they are unwanted
solicitations or people I don't like. Really, my best friends are the kind
of people DON'T prevent their ID from going out. So its really nice to
have people like that. And its also nice to not have to answer the anonymous
calls. But sometimes the ID box will say something like, "Outside of area"
and I guess that means they don't have the ID service available in their
area. Those calls I pick up automatically because its not their fault that
they can't provide an ID.

Anyway, maybe letterboxing should work the same way. Our letterboxes are
not now secretive or obscure. They may be a bit clever/intuitive but they
are out there for anyone to see & use. But why would we invite people to
look at our clues who themselves would be secretive or obscure? If people
participate they should be open. They should ID themselves.

Using an email request to divulge your clues is the same thing really. You
are forcing the person to let you know who they are. But wouldn't it be nice
if we can accomplish that same thing (to be both open AND secure) without
having to send out special clues by email? I will support you if you
want to try it that way, but I wonder if we should try it the other way too.
That may come closer and work better for what you want. It certainly would
be simpler and easier to use.

I think (if its available) we should install a feature on our site so that
people can't sneak about to get our clues from the web. Eventually, if
someone does sneak about and uses that info to steal boxes they will get
caught because the record will show their pattern. But a service like this
will make people less likely to steal in the first place because they will
know that there is a record being made.

I'm wondering if this appeals to Adrian or other of our British friends who
may have run into theft problems that could not be dealt with any other way.

If I understand Randy correctly the ID of those accessing our clues can be
gotten if I ask the internet service provider to set it up (if the ISP
offers the service that is). I don't know if my ISP offers that service but
I can find out.

Comments if any you have please...

These are just my thoughts. But I think this may be an important issue for
the long-term. Its a relavent security issue that we should address now and
try to eliminate the speculation about causes. If we install a service like
this we will be able to discern with a fair anount of certainty if the web
is being used for theft or vandalism. It seems that that is what we need to
know in order to settle this issue. If somebody has other ideas please
share them.

Thank you,
Dan

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