Graham Howard wrote:
> Lets say for example that a box expires (so to speak) if the "owner"
> removes it, its notified missing, or ....say three years have passed.
> Then it can only be an orphan for a maximum of three years...
> If its owner regularly maintains it..eg once a year..or takes it in for
> winter ..er grazing...then it can be re-flagged again..else it expires...
> Does that make some kind of sense ?
Yes, it does. Keep this in the front of your brain, would you, and
remind me of it again later when it comes up? I have (i hate this
phrase) a lot on my plate right now...
dan'l
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Orphan letterboxes?
5 messages in this thread |
Started on 1999-03-19
[L-USA] Re: Orphan letterboxes?
From: Daniel Servatius (elf@pclink.com) |
Date: 1999-03-19 00:57:25 UTC-06:00
[L-USA] Re: Orphan letterboxes?
From: (Letterboxr@aol.com) |
Date: 1999-03-19 14:35:28 UTC-05:00
On the subject of orphan letterboxes: So far I have been able to keep tabs to
some degree on all my boxes. I DO have intentions of placing some boxes,
however, in remote places that I may never return to. I see such boxes (as
Linda suggested) to be little time capsules. (and we might be surprised to
find that our time capsules are discovered sooner than we imagined.)
I won't feel guilty about placing orphan boxes. There is always a certain
amount of doubt about whether a box is still out there. Dealing with the
unknown is part of the game. Even if I check my letterboxes regularly, there
is still a possibility that one could come up missing some day, and that
someone will go looking for it soon afterward and not be able to find it. The
best they can do is contact our organization and let us know of their
experience. Hopefully, the original box owner will see the report and take
the initiative to go out and check on it.
It is my hope that clues to any such remote boxes would not expire after a few
years. If they are truly remote, it may be several years before anyone makes
it out to where they are. I know I'm not the only one who has letterboxes
that have been out there for nearly a year, already, without having been
found. I find the prospect of going on an expedition for a ten year old
mystery box to be very intriguing.
Also, we can't depend on a designation in the clues to indicate orphan boxes.
When I place a box, I may not intend for it to be an orphan. I might keep
track of it for a while, but then get busy with other things, or move away
from the area, or crawl under a rock and disappear.
I'm wondering if there could ever be a way for us to briefly log our finds
into a database that is linked to our clue/map pages. Maybe eventually (I
know Dan, like myself, has a proverbial platefull) it would be possible to
view an activity log for each letterbox. The log might indicate the date that
the box was placed, and any known finds of it.
Then, in the year 2019, if I decide to go looking for a letterbox that was
placed in 1999 and has not been officially pronounced dead (but has not been
found, either) at least I will know what I'm getting into. I might even want
to specialize in searching for long-lost, forgotten letterboxes.
On the other hand, if I see that the box has had numerous visitors in recent
history, I will feel confident that I have a good chance of an easy find.
Such a log would also help us appreciate if we have found a box that is
considered "difficult". If I find a "Mapsurfer" box that has been out there
for several years and has seldom (if ever) been visited, I will have a pretty
good idea that I have solved a riddle that others have failed to solve.
Perhaps it would also be possible to indicate that you had searched for a box,
but had been unable to find it. Another log entry option might be to indicate
that the original owner has confirmed that the box was missing, and has
replaced it.
Maybe one of our techno-wizards can confirm if such an idea is feasible.
Der Mad Stamper
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some degree on all my boxes. I DO have intentions of placing some boxes,
however, in remote places that I may never return to. I see such boxes (as
Linda suggested) to be little time capsules. (and we might be surprised to
find that our time capsules are discovered sooner than we imagined.)
I won't feel guilty about placing orphan boxes. There is always a certain
amount of doubt about whether a box is still out there. Dealing with the
unknown is part of the game. Even if I check my letterboxes regularly, there
is still a possibility that one could come up missing some day, and that
someone will go looking for it soon afterward and not be able to find it. The
best they can do is contact our organization and let us know of their
experience. Hopefully, the original box owner will see the report and take
the initiative to go out and check on it.
It is my hope that clues to any such remote boxes would not expire after a few
years. If they are truly remote, it may be several years before anyone makes
it out to where they are. I know I'm not the only one who has letterboxes
that have been out there for nearly a year, already, without having been
found. I find the prospect of going on an expedition for a ten year old
mystery box to be very intriguing.
Also, we can't depend on a designation in the clues to indicate orphan boxes.
When I place a box, I may not intend for it to be an orphan. I might keep
track of it for a while, but then get busy with other things, or move away
from the area, or crawl under a rock and disappear.
I'm wondering if there could ever be a way for us to briefly log our finds
into a database that is linked to our clue/map pages. Maybe eventually (I
know Dan, like myself, has a proverbial platefull) it would be possible to
view an activity log for each letterbox. The log might indicate the date that
the box was placed, and any known finds of it.
Then, in the year 2019, if I decide to go looking for a letterbox that was
placed in 1999 and has not been officially pronounced dead (but has not been
found, either) at least I will know what I'm getting into. I might even want
to specialize in searching for long-lost, forgotten letterboxes.
On the other hand, if I see that the box has had numerous visitors in recent
history, I will feel confident that I have a good chance of an easy find.
Such a log would also help us appreciate if we have found a box that is
considered "difficult". If I find a "Mapsurfer" box that has been out there
for several years and has seldom (if ever) been visited, I will have a pretty
good idea that I have solved a riddle that others have failed to solve.
Perhaps it would also be possible to indicate that you had searched for a box,
but had been unable to find it. Another log entry option might be to indicate
that the original owner has confirmed that the box was missing, and has
replaced it.
Maybe one of our techno-wizards can confirm if such an idea is feasible.
Der Mad Stamper
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[L-USA] Re: Orphan letterboxes?
From: (HoofBeads@aol.com) |
Date: 1999-03-20 04:27:11 UTC-05:00
In a message dated 3/19/99 9:46:04 PM, Letterboxr@aol.com writes:
>It is my hope that clues to any such
>remote boxes would not expire after a few
>years. If they are truly remote,
>it may be several years before anyone makes
>it out to where they are. I know
>I'm not the only one who has letterboxes
>that have been out there for nearly a
>year, already, without having been
>found. I find the prospect of going
>on an expedition for a ten year old
>mystery box to be very intriguing.
Then how about a special listing for those
boxes that have a 3-year expiration without
any recent updates. These boxes could have
a different status - like "unknown". Special
status could give them a bit more appeal,
especially if we were ever to have something
like the Dartmoor 100. In that case the special
unknown status boxes (that aren't officially
orphaned) could garner 2 points instead of one?
I'm just rambling again. I do like the idea that
we look out for each other's boxes when
given the opportunity. Incentive always works
too.
Michelle Spalding
http://www.gigagraphica.com/michelle
mailto:hoofbeads@aol.com
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[L-USA] Re: Orphan letterboxes?
From: erik/susan davis (davisarc@wcvt.com) |
Date: 1999-03-20 19:04:09 UTC-08:00
Re: the "Orphan Box" question - I think this might be getting a tad
complex. Why not just have a record of "date of most recent find" -
hunters could judge the 'orphan risk factor' by noting how long it'd
been 'unfound' - I do not think we should establish an official
"lifespan", be it 3 years or whatever.
Erik
Viking of VT
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complex. Why not just have a record of "date of most recent find" -
hunters could judge the 'orphan risk factor' by noting how long it'd
been 'unfound' - I do not think we should establish an official
"lifespan", be it 3 years or whatever.
Erik
Viking of VT
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[L-USA] Re: Orphan letterboxes?
From: Daniel Servatius (elf@pclink.com) |
Date: 1999-03-21 19:35:35 UTC-06:00
erik/susan davis wrote:
> Re: the "Orphan Box" question - I think this might be getting a tad
> complex. Why not just have a record of "date of most recent find" -
> hunters could judge the 'orphan risk factor' by noting how long it'd
> been 'unfound'
Yep, I agree. I want to keep what we do on the web minimal. The web
is a very nice thing to use for sharing clues and maps, but our best
bet I think is to keep it somewhat divorced from the "field". I think
adding one entry for date of most recent find will probably suffice.
Dan'l
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> Re: the "Orphan Box" question - I think this might be getting a tad
> complex. Why not just have a record of "date of most recent find" -
> hunters could judge the 'orphan risk factor' by noting how long it'd
> been 'unfound'
Yep, I agree. I want to keep what we do on the web minimal. The web
is a very nice thing to use for sharing clues and maps, but our best
bet I think is to keep it somewhat divorced from the "field". I think
adding one entry for date of most recent find will probably suffice.
Dan'l
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