I think I miscommunicated what I meant to say or perhaps it was read
wrongly. The point isn't about the money at all- it's bigger than
that.

I think it's wonderful when someone has found something that they
love and they want to share it by writing an article about it. Of
course they should be paid for their work if that's what they want.
Those are the people whose opinions I will more likely trust. How
they see what they are writing about is infinitely better, more
intimate and more real than a person who has no feeling on the
subject whatsoever. To them it's just an interest story that might
sell.

We've had people on this list who have written and published
articles about their experiences with letterboxing- they are sharing
their love of the hobby. I found the Attache article very nicely
done and have admitted that I found out about it in a magazine
article written by a letterboxer.
However, I do not get the impression from the one I referenced that
they had ever found a box on their own. That worries me- what slant
will this article take? How can someone who doesn't understand, has
never experienced, has never found a box do this hobby justice and
help not hurt it?

We have lately had a rash of boxes being removed by 'officials',
being searched out and vandalized by those who don't have an
understanding of the essence of letterboxing. Makes me think back to
Trish's Dolphins at Daybreak story/box. ;o) I can't help worry that
more exposure will make it harder to enjoy this hobby. That is a very
valid worry!

These are my concerns--not that someone has made some money on it.
I'm surprised that that was the point you thought I was making.
I really would like to know how those who have had this hobby for
years more than you or I feel about this issue. If it weren't for
them we wouldn't be here, afterall.



--- In letterbox-usa@y..., LoveLetterBoxing@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 5/31/2002 8:10:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> alwayschaos@y... writes:
> > I can tell you that I cringed when I
> > see that this yahoo-group has been infiltrated by
> > someone who is only here looking for a story to
> > publish for their newspaper for $$.
>
> Dear Heavens--Think the best of people! ~Maybe~ the writer is
doing
> something she loves to do...writing about something interesting.
Lord knows
> letterboxing is the most interesting thing I've stumbled upon in a
long
> while--by the by...the person who told me knew about it from the
Smithsonian
> article from years ago. I'm sure that writer was paid too...(isn't
that how
> writers make their living?)

I worry about some media tendency to look for and propound controversy (e.g.
Letterboxers vs. NPS) in order to sell more magazines or television ads.
The travel magazines (Ohio, Attache') would not do that; the papers might...

My 2 cents...

Lucy

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> Judi If you go to the listing for " Jackhoy Orca / If Pigs Could Fly "
> California, Ventura you will see the way I masked the location. The NPS must
> have someone assigned to cruising the web. Don

The "Harper's Ferry" box I placed a few years ago doesn't even mention
"Harper's Ferry". In fact, you have to solve the thing to realise it is
even near NPS land (and in all honesty, I didn't realise it was on NPS land
at the time -- in those days, there was no controversy anyway). IIRC, it
it literally 3 meters from non-NPS land, as I went out of my way to keep it
off the other land in question (it was about 2 meters or so off the AT,
seemed safe to me at the time ...)

Anyway, someone is taking alot of time to figure these out. At least
someone is having fun :-). Can you say 5 star mystery box ;-)

Cheers