There seem to be two schools of thought here... I really hate to
draw a line between "new letterboxers" and "not so new letterboxers"
because I think we all are looking to learn new things and share new
experiences, it's just that each group is looking for something
different.

It only stands to reason that many of the newer members enjoy seeing
the posts with the questions that have been asked and answered a
million times -- they have the same questions. Often their primary
reason for reading the list is to learn about letterboxing and share
things with others of like mind.

On the other hand, it also is logical that many of the "not so new
letterboxers" (not to be confused with experts, because really we
don't claim to be) are easily exasperated with seeing the same posts
over and over -- to the point that many, many of them do not even
frequent the list any longer. Somebody mentioned that there are
1600 users, but only about 10% ever post. I daresay 50% of the
registered users on this list check in less than once a month. Not
that they have stopped letterboxing -- just that they no longer find
anything useful to them here and go about participation in the hobby
without the social aspect of the list, or find that in the many
regional lists that have sprouted from this list. Those of us who
do still hang around here on occasion do so looking for something
that is getting harder and harder to find -- exchange of
letterboxing ideas with others who have been through some of the
same experiences as us -- generally on a different level than most
of the newbie posts.

For a long time this was very much an underground kind of game --
new players learned by word of mouth or by a very infrequent
newpaper article. A few made their way to the list and were
diligent enough to educate themselves about the hobby and are still
around. Most didn't have the dedication or lost interest or became
frustrated because nobody would help them solve Mapsurfer clues or
the Dancing Men and left. Just as, I daresay, a good majority of
the newbies who post at present will do within the next 6 months.
But with the deluge of articles in local newspapers, homeschooling
and family fun magazines over the past year, the whole face of this
game has changed drastically and the original flavor significantly
diluted.

Since there seems to be two distinct groups of letterboxers, perhaps
there should be two lists... One where newbies are free to post
questions that are easily answered in the FAQ and tell tales of
little Timmy's first trip to the woods, and help each other with
clues that the rest of us would rather figure out on our own.
Another where letterboxers who have weathered a number of
finds/plants and have had some experience with (not necessarily
mastered) the game can communicate on the same level with others who
play the game as they do. Perhaps making this a closed group where
one would be required to have found and/or planted a certain number
of boxes or been participating in the hobby for a certain length of
time and/or nominated by somebody who was aready a member...

You can't please everyone and perhaps the real problem here is that
there are two different perspectives (actually I am sure there are
hundreds, but loosely grouped, I think there are two sides to the
coin). Why keep fighting over ownership of the one list?

Just an idea... (trying to be part of the solution, not the
problem).

SpringChick