As I'ved used the function to contact at least 4 people in the past
week, I can tell you for certain that the "contact placer" does
indeed work :) I've used it to confirm boxes, as well as report
(what I think) are missing boxes. I'm fairly new myself, so cant
really field your last question, or most of the second one, but oh
well :) Happy trails.

Jeff

P0F12

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Circus
wrote:
> Hi everyone! I'm relatively new to this list but have been
> letterboxing for a month or so now. Just wanted to pop in and
> introduce myself briefly and maybe ask a question or two. I go by
> Circus (both by 'net and by letterbox), and my partner and i were
> introduced to letterboxing through a friend who stumbled across an
> article on the subject. Ever since then, we've been faithfully
> heading out every weekend in search of letterboxes. Although we
live
> in upstate New York, we often visit New Jersey, Connecticut, and
the
> Boston area, so we try to find a new box with every visit.
>
> I have a couple of questions for the list that hopefully won't be
too
> hard to answer!
>
> First: We were unable to find a few very promising letterboxes
> recently. We're absolutely certain that we were in the right
places
> and had followed the clues properly, but alas, no luck. I've tried
> using the "Contact Placer" function on the LbNA website, but
haven't
> heard back from anyone. So, question number one: does that
function
> work?
>
> My next question is one of etiquette. Is it okay to try to confirm
> the location of a letterbox with the person who placed it if you've
> tried to find it but were unsuccessful? Is there a standard way of
> asking whether a box has been recently found or whether the placer
(or
> whoever is taking care of it) can confirm that it's still there?
>
> Finally, i have a question that hopefully will be an easy one: We
> haven't placed any boxes yet but are coming up with a few ideas
here
> and there and are excited to start. Do you have any advice for the
> first-time placer with regard to clues, locations, etc.?
>
> Whew! I hope that wasn't too long and boring. We're both really
> excited about our newfound adventures! Perhaps someday we'll
attend a
> gathering.... Anyway, nice to meet you all, and i hope to hear
back
> from some of you soon.
>
> Circus

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Circus
wrote:
> Hi everyone! I'm relatively new to this list but have been
> letterboxing for a month or so now.

Hi Circus,

Since you are relatively new to letterboxing you may wish to check
out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newboxers/
You should peruse the various tutorials found on Silent Doug's site
http://www.letterboxing.info or Ryan's site
http://www.atlasquest.com/ many answers to your questions can be
found there if not on the FAQS page at LBNA.

Don

Welcome Circus!

Oh how I often I have been certain I have been in the right place
only to be WRONG! :) I'm rather notorious for it actually. The
best way is to first contact the placer- as you did. Hopefully you
will hear back within a few days. Tell them exactly where you were-
if you describe it well enough you're likely to get a response such
as "oh- you were SO close, instead of standing on that ledge, you
need to be a bit further inland. Pay close attention to "x" part of
the clue..." Or someone may be even more specific. OR, they might
tell you someone else had trouble finding it & that they will go
looking themselves & get back to you. OR you can post on the list
which box it was & I will bet that in a matter of hours there will
be a couple of helpful emails asking if you looked under the 3rd
rock to the right of the twisted tree. :) But try the placer first-
they are your best resource. And, FYI, when you DO find a box,
it's nice to contact the placer as well- we all like to know when
someone has found our box & if they enjoyed it. Plus, then we know
whether or not it's still around!

It's always okay to contact a placer. I box with two small children
so I often contact placers BEFORE heading out to see when the last
time was that a box was found or how long of a hike I can expect. I
don't want to be half way through the clue & realize that I have 6
miles ahead of me- we'll never make it. So I try to prepare ahead &
if I can't find the answers, I usually try a different box. There
are lots out there.

The best resource for box placement are the FAQ's on
www.letterboxing.org, atlasquest, Silent Doug's site at
letterboxing.info Just follow the links over on the left side of
this page for a wealth of information. And read lots of other clues
to find out what you want to do- a puzzle, a straight up, easy to
follow clue, a rhyme- the sky is the limit. As for location- off
the beaten path & anywhere that won't harm nature or create an
unnatural path (& for my own preference, please stay away from
poison ivy!) Remember that if it's a spot that you love to go to,
chances are so does everyone else & the box will be tough to
retrieve. Have fun & enjoy yourself! Read everything on boxing you
can find & plant well!

Happy Hunting!
The Family


>

Unfortunately boxes go missing all the time,
animals,vandals, ect. You can always post that you
looked and came up empty so if any one else looks for
it and can't find it then it just might be MIA.
Contact the placer is always a good place to start .
They may have heard from others that the box is
missing. Don't be discouraged sometimes a second look
or re-reading the clues will turn up a box.
>Mizscarlet
> P0F12
>
> --- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Circus
>
> wrote:
> >
> > First: We were unable to find a few very promising
> letterboxes
> > recently. We're absolutely certain that we were
> in the right
> places
> > and had followed the clues properly, but alas, no
> luck. I
> > Circus
>
>




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Wow--thanks, everyone, for the welcoming and detailed replies! I've
spent quite a bit of time poring over the FAQs on various letterboxing
websites, and I've joined the newbie list, and it's all been very
helpful.

I think we'll probably head back and try a couple of the boxes again.
It turns out that one of the ones we couldn't find is a microbox, so
we probably missed it.

One last question (and after this i promise i'll keep quiet and listen
for a while!): I've done some searching and reading of FAQs and
checking the archives here (so many pages of messages!), and it seems
like there are a fair number of boxes in urban settings, and a fair
number of boxers who are interested in finding them. Being a
city-lover, i'm thinking of placing a few in slightly more urban
settings (e.g., city parks).

So, to the question itself--are there any official guidelines on urban
letterboxing? I assume that the basics are generally the same
(respect the environment, etc.), which seems like common sense; are
there any special considerations beyond the basics that need to be
made for placing urban boxes? I've been unable to find any definitive
answers, so i figured it would be worth posting here.

Okay, i hope that wasn't too painful. I'll stop with the silly
questions now! :)
Circus

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Circus
wrote:


> So, to the question itself--are there any official guidelines on
urban
> letterboxing? I assume that the basics are generally the same
> (respect the environment, etc.), which seems like common sense; are
> there any special considerations beyond the basics that need to be
> made for placing urban boxes? I've been unable to find any
definitive
> answers, so i figured it would be worth posting here.
>
> Okay, i hope that wasn't too painful. I'll stop with the silly
> questions now! :)
> Circus

I can think of three considerations in urban parks. There are more
visitors to the parks, so you need to hide the box better, and
boxers visiting the box are more likely to be seen.

The parks are kept cleaner. There are maintenance people who pick
up litter and trash, so the box is more likely to be found and
investigated or tossed out as trash.

The parks are better patrolled by the police or park authorities.
The box or the boxers who come to visit are more likely to be
mistaken for criminal or harmful activity.

The safest way is always to sit down with the park superintendant
and explain letterboxing to them. Explain how it will bring nice
families and outdoors visitors to their nice park. Any response
from lukewarm agreement to enthusiasm will pave the way for good
public relations for letterboxers.

The Bird Stamper