Thanks for the detailed explanation. There is always something new to learn it seems.

I recently took a leap into the unknown by looking for mystery boxes. They were listed on
lbna.org, but the clues were not. There was a question on there that you had to research
and answer. The questions weren't hard [well, not for me anyway - and there is always
google] but they were not always answerable with a single word [I did have to write a short
explanatory essay on at least one]. Then I emailed the answers to the placer with a request
for clues. Then I got the clues, but they were still to mystery boxes, so no city or town to
start. Just a county, which was good enough. So then I still had to figure out where in the
county to start.

A couple were easy and I found those...one I found the spot but not the box itself... and 2 I
still cannot figure out where to start.

Sadly, the 2 I found had boxes and baggies full of water. One of them, the logbook itself
was completely ruined. The other, the log wasn't quite ruined but the wet had caused the
inks to run.

Freelance Mystic

>
> A true WOM clue is one that is not found online and is not available
> to the general public. It is typically distributed on a very
> limited basis by the planter to persons of his choosing based on
> criteria of his choosing. "Offline" clues are those that are not
> listed electronically on any web site, rather they are distributed
> via e-mail, US mail, a clue booklet or some other innovative means.
> In general offline clues are available to anyone who requests them
> from the planter. Then there are clues that are listed on the web,
> just not at one of the major clue sites (LbNA or AQ), rather they
> may be at the planter's own website or a regional group, etc. These
> too are generally accessible to anyone who looks for them.
>
> A person who chooses to list their clues only on their own [public]
> website (aka Mosey) or a person who makes their clues available in
> an offline format such as a clue booklet (aka Phyto) is not
> necessarily taking the same route as somebody whose box clues are
> distributed only via WOM. In both of the situations mentioned here,
> the clues are not limited to only a select few or just the friends
> of the specific letterboxer, they are available to anyone who makes
> the effort to seek them out. When a person whose clues are
> distributed in an alternate manner such as this makes a public
> comment about their clues, it is not to say "ha-ha I have a clue and
> you can't have it," rather it is more along the lines of "I have
> some clues and it is up to you to find them." This is very
> different than taunting that you have a WOM clue but are only going
> to give it to a few people of your choosing.
>
> Just because LbNA and AQ are out there are available for everyone to
> use for clues does not mean clues must be posted there or that it is
> the only viable way to distribute clues. What's wrong with being
> creative, having a little fun with the way you distribute your clues?
>
> So before you label these folks who are trying out alternate ways of
> clue distribution as exclusionary or curmudgeons, take a minute to
> read what it is they are actually saying rather than jumping to
> conclusions and criticizing them based on your perceived ideas and
> stereotypes.
>
> SpringChick
>