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Help: Recent Additions & Changes

  1. How do I create a virtual letterbox?
  2. What are whitelist and blacklist restrictions?
  3. What is the Stamp Image for in virtual solutions?
  4. What is a whitelist and blacklist?
  5. What do the icons stand for in a traditional letterbox?
  6. What can I use as a password?
  7. What can I use as a trail name?
  8. What is a password hint?
  9. What is a Captcha?
  10. What is the "rude" button?
  11. What's the Billboard widget do?
  12. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, NY
  13. How do I create a new message board?
  14. How do I trade LTCs?
  15. Could we have an iPhone or iPod Touch app to search for nearby letterboxes?
  16. What's the difference between the carver, author, planter, and owner of a letterbox?
  17. What is a SPOR?
  18. How are clue hits counted?
  19. When my postal returns from a ring, how do I list it as a single?
  20. How do I change my stamp?
  21. How do you add a photo as a clue?
  22. When I click on a clue, a page comes up saying this domain is no longer here. What's up?
  23. How do you un-ignore a thread?
  24. Is there a way to remove my e-mail address?
  25. Why can I only favorite certain message boards?
  26. What others websites are available for international letterboxes?
  27. Army Corps of Engineers
  28. Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  29. Nature Conservancy Properties
  30. Parks Canada
  31. Audubon Properties
  32. National Park Service (NPS)
  33. Key West, Florida
  34. Virginia State Parks
  35. Albany Pine Bush Preserve
  36. Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
  37. Ypsilanti Parks
  38. Watts Audobon Sanctuary, Effingham, NH
  39. Pennsylvania State Parks
  40. Hamilton County Parks, Ohio
  41. Fairfax County, Virginia
  42. Arkansas State Parks
  43. Jefferson County, Colorado
  44. Alabama State Parks
  45. Florida State Forests
  46. Florida Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)
  47. Lexington and Fayette County Parks
  48. Indiana State Parks
  49. Washington State Parks
  50. North Carolina State Parks

How do I create a virtual letterbox?
Last Updated: November 19, 2009 01:13:19 PM

First, decide on a topic. Then decide on a format. The format can be a single question, a series of questions from which a passkey is derived, some sort of a puzzle, even something that has to be translated, like another language. Once these things are decided, click on Add Planted Letterbox under the Letterboxes menu. When asked "What kind of letterbox do you want to add?", click Virtual. Enter the name of the new virtual, the date launched (default is the current date) and the names of the author, planter, owner and possibly carver if a hand-carved stamp is used for the solution. Typically all of these will be the same person. After this information is filled in, click Continue to Attributes and pick the "stamp" type (the solved image" and the attibutes. Then Continue to Series info. If you are only creating a single virtual with the same category, you don't have to do anything on this page except click continue. The next page is the Clue page. Most virtual clues are hosted on Atlas Quest, so you would select Atlas Quest in the pull-down menu. Clues can also be hosted on a personal website. If Atlas Quest is chosen as the clue location, a box will appear where you fill in your clue(s). For an easy example: "What is the name of Charlie Brown's dog?" You can also change the colors of the text, background, etc. on this page. Be sure that you pick a combination of colors that results in a readable clue. If you are unsure, check the clue page when you are finished - you can edit it at any time. Also on the clue page, you can add an optional photo and optional P-count and F-count restrictions. When you are done with the clue, continue on to the Solution page. Enter the passkey - in my example above the passkey would be Snoopy. Enter a success message such as "Congratuations on solving my virtual" and choose a picture as a stamp image. This can be an image of a stamp you carved, one you copied off of the internet or something else - just make sure it matches the stamp type you chose earlier. The virtual can now be saved.

Be sure to put thought into your subject and format. Posting hundreds of easy single-question virtuals can be very annoying to solvers who want a bit of a challenge.

When creating a virtual letterbox please consider the intent of the AQ site. A virtual should be much like a real letterbox in that when you "find" the virtual letterbox you will be rewarded with a stamp image that a letterboxer personally carved. Imagine finding a real letterbox and inside, instead of a stamp you find cut-out pictures from a website. Although web images are still currently acceptable it is a discouraged practice and its continued practice may result in virtuals being removed from the AQ site.

Help Home > Letterboxes > Virtuals

What are whitelist and blacklist restrictions?
Last Updated: November 13, 2009 02:08:56 PM

A whitelist is a list of everyone you allow to see your letterbox, while a blacklist is a list of everyone who is not allowed to see your letterbox.

Whitelists and blacklists are specified as contact groups. The primary purpose of contact groups is to contact groups of people you know, but they also do double duty as whitelists and blacklists if you choose to use them in that manner. A letterbox with a whitelist or blacklist restriction will require members to be logged in in order to see them on Atlas Quest to check if they are on the whitelist or blacklist.

A whitelist is a good way to limit your boxes to close friends or family. A blacklist, however, is actually a poor method of hiding boxes from specific members since it is easy for them to create another account or find the box with friends who can still see the letterbox listed. You can use it, but there's no guarantee it will prevent the people on your blacklist from accessing your box or clues.

Some people want to restrict boxes strictly to members on Atlas Quest, and you can do this by creating an empty blacklist. By adding a blacklist, even an empty one, Atlas Quest requires that someone must be logged in to see the letterbox. If the blacklist is empty, however, everyone who is logged in will still be able to see the box.

To apply a whitelist or blacklist to your boxes, you must be the owner of the letterbox, then follow these steps:

  1. Create a contact group. You'll probably want to make the group private and give it a name such as "My whitelist" or "My blacklist," then add everyone who should be a part of that group.
  2. While listing a letterbox, change to the Restrictions page. If you have any contact groups (which you should now, if you did step #1), they'll all be listed as options for whitelists and blacklists. Select the appropriate whitelist and/or blacklist for your restriction.
  3. Save the box—now only people on the whitelist and not on the blacklist can see your box.

To add or remove someone from a whitelist or blacklist, edit the contact group that is being used as the whitelist or blacklist. You do not have to edit or change the box listing in any way to apply such changes.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Adding/Editing Letterboxes

What is the Stamp Image for in virtual solutions?
Last Updated: November 13, 2009 02:06:11 PM

When someone solves a virtual, the prize for successfully 'finding' the box historically has been an image of a rubber stamp. Carve a stamp like you normally would, then scan an image of it for others to 'find.'

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Adding/Editing Letterboxes

What is a whitelist and blacklist?
Last Updated: November 13, 2009 05:49:38 AM

Whitelist - restrict your box to anyone on your designated whitelist.

Blacklist - exclude people from seeing your boxes. It works like the whitelist option, but in this case, anyone on your list cannot see the box, event, or tracker. Caveat: you may hurt someone's feelings or anger them if people figure out they are on a blacklist.

There is ONE instance where you might want to make use of the blacklist--and that's a blacklist with nobody in it.

The way AQ works, it has to know who is logged in to know whether or not to display the box, event, or tracker. So if you have a whitelist or blacklist restriction, anyone who is not logged in will not be able to see it.

An empty blacklist essentially means only a logged in member can view your box, event, or tracker.

(Paraphrased from Ryan's blog entry August 5 2009)

Wait, but couldn't you also do this simply by setting an F or P count?

Not exactly the same. An empty blacklist limits a box to AQ members who are logged in. A P or F-count restrictions limits a box to AQ members who are logged in and meet the restrictions.

Help Home > Glossary Definitions

What do the icons stand for in a traditional letterbox?
Last Updated: November 13, 2009 01:45:58 AM

Stamp Types

AttributeDescription
The creator promises you'll find a genuine, 100% hand-carved stamp in the letterbox and not a store-bought or custom-made stamp.
The letterbox contains a unique, custom-made stamp.
The letterbox contains a store-bought stamp rather than a hand-carved or custom-made stamp.

Subtypes

AttributeDescription
The creator does not specify the location of the nearest city for this letterbox. They may have specified the state or country of its location, but you're expected to discover the actual starting point for the hunt yourself.
This picture represents a bonus box, where the clue for the box will be found (usually) in a pre-existing nearby letterbox.
A Word of Mouth (WOM) box. The clues are distributed somewhere other than online, such as via e-mail, postal mail, or delivered in person.

Hike Types

AttributeDescription
A drive-by letterbox, as defined on this website, is a letterbox that requires perhaps 5 to 10 minutes to nab from the time you park your car. A drive-by letterbox will be hidden within eyesite of where one parks, or at least so close that if it were raining, the person would take the box to their car to stamp in.
A walk is something that's less than a mile, which would take most people less than 30 minutes to find and return to their starting point but still too far out to be considered a drive by.
A hike is a box that requires 1 to 3 miles of hiking, which would take most people between 30 to 90 minutes to complete.
A trek is 3 to 6 miles of hiking, and will typically take most people anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours to complete.
An expedition requires 6 or more miles of hiking, and will typically take most people at least 3 hours to complete.

Note: Use a little common sense with these icons. A flat, paved, 1-mile trail would be a walk. A rugged 1-mile trail that climbs 1,000 feet in elevation gain would be a hike. Even though both trails are one mile long, they would each fall into different categories since the difficulty level is very different. There are no hard or fast rules regarding this—just use a little common sense. A typical hiking trail that's two miles long would normally be a hike, but if the hike requires an extreme climb going up thousands of feet on a rarely maintained trail, mark it as a trek.

Attributes

AttributeDescription
An urban letterbox, as defined here, is located in an area where one is unlikely to experience "The Great Outdoors". Like in a big city, such as New York city. A rest area in the middle of nowhere is an urban box. A large city park with trees and hiking trails is not an urban box. The 'setting' for the letterbox is urban, not necessarily the location, if that makes any sense.
This letterbox is located indoors—perfect for those cold, wet days when you really do not want to go outside.
A seasonal box is one that's only available for part of the year, or at least it's recommended that you find it during certain seasons, typically because of things like snow being a problem in the winter or hot weather or in the summer.
A pet friendly letterbox is located in an area that allows pets to roam, usually with a leash requirement.
This letterbox is available only for a limited time. A limited time letterbox is either a box that is planted for only part of the year or a box that you intend to retire within the next three months. Letterboxes planted in regions that are covered in snow for nine months of the year or in stores that require a visit during store hours do not count as limited time boxes.
A bike friendly letterbox is located in an area where bicycles or mountain bikes are permitted and have plenty of room to roam. For instance, while it is legal to ride ones bicycle on busy city streets, it is not considered bike friendly if there are no designated bike lanes available for use near the letterbox. And while many trails may be accessible to mountain bike, it is not considered bike friendly if the trail is for hikers only.
The trail or path to the letterbox should be accessible by wheelchairs or strollers the entire way. However, the letterbox itself may not be reachable from a wheelchair or stroller, and those using them may need assistance from others to actually acquire the box. The letterbox may be planted too high or low for someone in a wheelchair to physically reach, or too far off from the main trail for a wheelchair, but as long as an assistant can retrieve the box and bring it back for the wheelchair-bound person, it's considered wheelchair accessible.
You'll be expected to use your head on this one in order to decipher the clue. The code might be easy or hard—this image promises nothing on that count—the only thing it does promise is that the clue won't be straight-forward as most.
An extreme letterbox poses a significant risk beyond that of a normal letterbox, and the letterbox requires some sort of technical skill (e.g. rock climbing, scuba diving, etc.) that requires appropriate training and experience in order to successfully acquire. Never look for an extreme letterbox unless you fully understand the risks involved and are well-trained in whatever extreme task is required.
The owner or author of the letterbox has indicated that the box requires repairs, but for whatever reason, they aren't able to do it themselves and are asking for your help, should you choose to look for the letterbox. Maybe the container is cracked and needs replacing. Maybe the logbook is soaked and needs to be replaced. Maybe a torn ZipLock needs replacing. Whatever it is, this icon is a call for help!
This image marks letterboxes that require a compass in order to find. The lack of this picture means the clue doesn't require a compass OR that the creator of the letterbox did not specify a compass requirement. It's generally a good idea to always carry a compass in your letterboxing kit, though, so you'll always be prepared.
This letterbox requires payment of some sort of fee—probably a parking or entrance fee—in order to find. The lack of this picture does not necessarily mean no fees are required. The creator may not have specified fees, or perhaps fees were added since the box was planted. It's always a good idea to carry a few extra dollars in case of an unexpected fee or two.
Those who plant letterboxes are able to point out their favorite plants by assigning them the Planter's Choice Award. They might do this because they consider it one of their best boxes, or perhaps it has sentimental value. Whatever the reason, the planter wants you to notice this box.
The blue diamond marks letterboxes that are highly recommended by other letterboxers. If your time is limited, you might want to focus on finding a Blue Diamond letterbox.


Help Home > Letterboxes > Traditionals

What can I use as a password?
Last Updated: November 1, 2009 11:59:19 AM

Passwords must be at least five characters long and can include pretty much any letters, numbers, and symbols. Some of the most commonly used passwords or easy-to-guess passwords such as 'password,' '123456,' 'qwerty,', and 'atlasquest' are not allowed at all. The exact list changes at times, but if you try to use a banned password, Atlas Quest will let you know.

A strong password will have a combination of letters (both lowercase and uppercase, since passwords are case-sensitive), numbers, and symbols. One easy method of creating a truly bizarre and difficult password is to take a favorite quote, such as "To be, or not to be, that is the question!" The first word, "to," could be changed into a 2. The word, "be," could be changed into B. The third word, "or," doesn't map directly to a letter or number, so we'll just take the first letter of the word and use "o". Continuing through the whole phrase, we end up with "2Bon2B,titq!". That is not a password that would be easy to crack, but is still surprisingly easy to remember.

Bad Passwords

Most common passwords
Most common passwords
Top 10 Most Common Passwords, UK-style
Top 500 Worst Passwords

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Registering & Logging In

What can I use as a trail name?
Last Updated: November 1, 2009 11:42:35 AM

Trail names may include any of the 26 letters from the English alphabet, the numbers 0 through 9, spaces, underscores (_), periods (.), dashes (-), single quotes ('), and exclamation marks (!). Trail names are not case sensitive, so you would not be able to create an account name such as "green tortuga" since "Green Tortuga" is already taken. Additionally, all spaces and punctuation marks do not count towards a 'unique' trail name, so neither would you be able to register "GreenTortuga," "Green-Tortuga," "Green_Tortuga," etc.

All trail names must include at least one letter or number.

And, of course, you cannot use a trail name that someone else has already registered, or a variation of such a trail name.

The most requested punctuation mark asked to be allowed is the ampersand (&), but that character is specifically not allowed since it's a special character used for HTML text and the encoding issues are just plain messy. You can ask, but it will likely never happen.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Registering & Logging In

What is a password hint?
Last Updated: November 1, 2009 10:51:08 AM

In case you forget your password, we will e-mail you your password hint along with a new, temporary password that can be used instead. Providing a hint is optional but highly recommended in case you lose or forget your password. You could even include the password itself as the hint. This is not recommended, however, since the password hint is not encrypted and therefore considerably less secure than the password itself.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Registering & Logging In

What is a Captcha?
Last Updated: October 29, 2009 01:15:33 PM

A CAPTCHA or Captcha is a type of challenge-response test often used on websites to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. They're typically images with letters that have been distorted on a colored background, something that computers have a very difficult time reading but that humans can do relatively easily. You'll find Captchas on Atlas Quest when you register for an account (helps keep spammers at bay). You'll find them whenever you see an option to contact an administrator if you are not logged into an Atlas Quest account. (Again, it helps keep spammers from wasting our time when automated robots try to use the contact forms to send us spam.) It is also used on the message boards if your account is relatively new.

The Captchas on Atlas Quest always use one of the 26 letters of the English alphabet and no numbers. While the letters may be displayed as lowercase or uppercase letters, you can type in either case—the Captchas are not case sensitive.

Sample Captcha


Computers would have a hard time recognizing these letters as mpZCn, but most people don't have much trouble with it. If you do get a letter wrong—maybe an I looked like an L, for instance, it's not big deal—Atlas Quest will give you another Captcha and let you try again.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Registering & Logging In

What is the "rude" button?
Last Updated: October 22, 2009 12:02:59 PM

The message boards have various buttons available—funny, educational, interesting, agree, disagree, etc. But there's also the "rude" button, which doesn't work quite like the others. The other buttons allow you to see how many people have clicked on it, but the rude button will only show you a maximum of one click—your own, if you had clicked it. This button is used primarily for moderators to better monitor problem posts, including those that might not technically break any official Atlas Quest rules but are inappropriately harsh or rude. Moderators have special tools available to see which posts are the 'rudest' and who is generating rude posts most often to better keep track of potential problems before they become full-fledged problems.

Only moderators can see the actual number of people who've clicked the rude button to help alleviate hurt feelings if someone thinks it's funny to click rude on lots of posts that are not actually rude. Additionally, Atlas Quest does some additional processing of rude clicks so if you chronically abuse the button yourself, your clicks will not be reported to moderators anymore. Basically, if you cry wolf too often, moderators will ignore your clicks. So your better off using it solely on posts that you genuinely feel are rude or otherwise inappropriate for the message boards.

Help Home > Message Boards

What's the Billboard widget do?
Last Updated: October 18, 2009 10:30:23 PM

The Billboard widget is something of a cross between the message boards (where what you type will stick around essentially forever) and a chat room (where the messages are as fleeting as the duration you're in the chat room). By default, you'll only see the last ten messages posted to the billboard, and only if they had been posted within the past 24 hours. You can change these defaults by clicking the 'Edit Preferences' link, the small pencil in the title bar (). The maximums allowed show 99 messages posted within the past 99 hours. The messages posted to the billboard are temporary in nature, and there is no mechanism provided to review or archive old messages.

This widget is a premium member perk, so you must be a premium member to add it to My Page. The messages are public that essentially anyone may read, so you are expected to conduct yourself just like you would in a chat room or on the message boards. Moderators can delete messages that they feel are inappropriate.

One use where this widget may be useful is to ask questions that you don't want to last for eternity on the message boards, such as, "How do I record a find on an unlisted box?" You might get an answer just as fast as by posting on the message boards, but the conversation essentially deletes itself after a period of time keep the message boards less cluttered with constantly repeated questions. Or you could just root for your favorite sports team, or wish everyone a happy holiday.

The widget does not auto-refresh, but it will update whenever you post a message, open My Page, or click the "Refresh" link in the title bar. The refresh link is the green, circular arrow in the title bar of the widget. ()

Help Home > Atlas Quest > My Page

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, NY
Last Updated: October 16, 2009 11:16:35 AM

AQ admins received a message from Jim Logan saying that letterboxes are not allowed on their property.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > New York

How do I create a new message board?
Last Updated: October 13, 2009 11:44:05 AM

Each message board is assigned to specific member groups, so first you must identify a group for your board. You can create message boards in any group that you own or are an admin on, so most people normally have to create a new group if they haven't already. If you want a board that anyone and everyone can read and post to, make sure your group is public.

When you create a group, the first message board is automatically created with the same name as that of the group. You can edit the message board name or delete it completely if that default does not suit you from the group details page of your group, and you can add additional message boards for your group.

Help Home > Message Boards

How do I trade LTCs?
Last Updated: October 13, 2009 10:15:31 AM

Trades


Active Lists Automated

When you start creating art for group swaps you may find yourself making a few extra... what to do with the extras? Trade them as individuals! And the easiest way to get a list out of the cards you have available for trade is to give'em a link... a link that automatically keeps track of your active LTCs.


Swaps

Once you’ve signed up for a swap, the leader will provide details like the number of cards you need to make, orientation requirements, special instructions and the due date. You just need to make your cards, list them on AQ, add them to the tracker and mail them by the due date. Bubble mailers will protect your cards and you can use them almost indefinitely when you prepare them according to the following instructions.

Prepare Envelopes for Mailing with Clear Packing Tape


Mail off your swaps and that’s it. While you are waiting, join another swap, make more cards for trading, or go boxing!

Help Home > Letterboxes > LTC

Could we have an iPhone or iPod Touch app to search for nearby letterboxes?
Last Updated: October 8, 2009 11:15:47 AM

The Green Tortuga would love to have this feature, but he cannot create it. The developer kit for the iPhones and the iPod Touch requires a Macintosh, and Ryan does not own a Mac nor has any plans to acquire one. If you or someone you know would be interested in developing such an application, contact the Green Tortuga and he'll try to work with you to make it happen. But in a nutshell, someone else who has the knowledge and tools necessary to create an app must ultimately do the work.

AgileTortoise (no relation to Green Tortuga) has created a simple app called BoxFinder that will use your current location to generate a search on Atlas Quest.

Help Home > Suggestions

What's the difference between the carver, author, planter, and owner of a letterbox?
Last Updated: October 5, 2009 12:53:03 PM

Find reports will go to everyone associated with the letterbox, including the person who listed the letterbox if they are not already listed as the carver, author, planter, owner or contact.

Only the author and planter receive credit for a plant. Some people like to count any letterbox they've carved the stamp for as a plant, but Atlas Quest does not for two reasons: (1) A hand-carved stamp is optional and it seems odd to get credit for planting a letterbox for a feature that's optional, and (2) if you later find the letterbox with your stamp, you can still record it as an official find. If you were getting credit for the box as a plant, you would not also be able to claim credit for it as a find.

Likewise, as much as we appreciate those who've adopted and maintain a letterbox, those are adopted letterboxes and do not count towards your P-count. However, they may count towards your F-count if you went out and found the box yourself.

The carver, author, and planter of a letterbox should not change over the letterbox's lifetime and therefore cannot be changed except by the person who is getting credit as the carver, author, or planter respectively. The owner of a letterbox may change, sometimes quite often, and ownership can be revoked or transfered by the listed author, planter, or owner. The carver of a letterbox cannot transfer ownership to someone else.

Finally, there is a 'secret' piece of information included with every letterbox listing—the person who originally listed the box in the first place. Their name won't show up anywhere on the listing, but was originally designed to find people who list letterboxes without permission. However, if they have received permission to list the boxes, it also assumes you have permission to edit the boxes as necessary, and therefore the original lister of the box can also edit the boxes. Anyone designated as the Owner, Author or Planter can edit clues as well but not someone listed as a Carver or Contact.

If the carver, author, planter, or owner do not have accounts on Atlas Quest, leave the appropriate option blank and give credit where credit is due directly in the clues.

Table summary (powers and privileges):
Status Notified of a Find Credit for the Plant Edit the clue Transfer Ownership Expected Use
Owner Yes No Yes Yes The person who maintains the box
Author Yes Yes Yes Yes The person who wrote the clue
Planter Yes Yes Yes Yes The person who physically planted the letterbox
Lister Yes No Yes No The person who listed the box on Atlas Quest
Carver Yes No No No The person who carved the stamp
Contact Yes No No No People who should be notified whenever a find or attempt is recorded


Help Home > Atlas Quest > Adding/Editing Letterboxes

What is a SPOR?
Last Updated: October 4, 2009 05:42:35 AM

It's a suspicious pile of rocks.

Help Home > Glossary Definitions

How are clue hits counted?
Last Updated: October 3, 2009 09:32:06 AM

Note that clue hits are only tracked for AQ-hosted clues since Atlas Quest has no way to determine how often a clue is viewed on a remotely-hosted website.

Assuming you have an AQ-hosted clue, hits are only counted when someone other than yourself views the clue, and only counted a maximum of one time per session. For instance, if someone views your clue then continually clicks the refresh button, the hit will only be counted once. If they view the clue then come back the next day and view it again, it will count as two hits.

Additionally, there is no screening of hits except to not count it when you view your own clue. Hits may be generated from search engines crawling the web and therefore may not be 'human hits.'

Additionally, hits are not counted when people view the cached version of a clue, which happens more often than you might think. For instance, if someone uses the print-friendly page to print multiple clues on a single page, that is actually displaying the cached version of the clue and therefore will not be counted. Same thing if someone downloads clues from the PDA Downloads page (a premium member perk). Those use cached versions of the clues, so they don't get counted when the clues are downloaded.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Adding/Editing Letterboxes

When my postal returns from a ring, how do I list it as a single?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 08:22:58 PM

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as "single postals," but rather "single trackers."

Create a new tracker, then set the attributes for it to be a singleton. Add your postal to the tracker, and you're good to go.

Help Home > Letterboxes > Postals

How do I change my stamp?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 08:19:09 PM

Click the Edit Signature Stamp near the top-right corner of your profile and upload the image for your signature stamp.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > Profiles

How do you add a photo as a clue?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 08:16:43 PM

While adding or editing a letterbox, on the clue page, use the option to have an Atlas Quest hosted clue. Near the bottom of the page are options to upload a photo and mark it as a clue. If the photo is an actual clue and not simply decorative, but sure to mark the box that the photo is an actual clue. This is important to insure that a high-resolution version of the photo is preserved and so the photo will be displayed in cached versions of the clue. The photo must be in a GIF or JPG, and under 4 megabytes in size. If not, you'll need to use the photo-editing software on your computer to change the format or shrink the photo. If you are uploading a large image over a dial-up connection, the upload process could take several minutes, so be patient. (Shrinking the size of the file to be uploading also helps in this case.)

No not add photo clues directly to the photo gallery since high-resolution versions of the photos will NOT be saved.

Help Home > Photo Gallery

When I click on a clue, a page comes up saying this domain is no longer here. What's up?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 08:10:56 PM

You'll see this type of error message when the clue is hosted on a site other than Atlas Quest. Several different causes could be the culprit, but in a nutshell it means that where the clue is supposed to be located is not accessible for any number of reasons including:



Help Home > Letterboxes > Searching

How do you un-ignore a thread?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 08:02:23 PM

If you view the Recent Threads, it will show all threads, including ignored ones, with an option to unignore the thread. As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't ignore a thread unless you really mean it since it tends to cause a chicken-and-egg issue. The thread is ignored, so it's hard to find links for it, but unless you can find links to it, you can't unignore it. The easiest way for most people is to look at the list of recent threads and unignore the thread from that page.

If the thread is not recent, you're out of luck. You need to find a link for the ignored thread, but you would need someone who can still see the thread to send you that link at which point you can unignore the thread.

Help Home > Message Boards

Is there a way to remove my e-mail address?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:54:18 PM

Atlas Quest requires you to have a registered e-mail address. There is no requirement that the e-mail address must actually work, however, although the site will restrict certain features for an e-mail address that does not work.

Atlas Quest does not send you any unsolicited e-mails. You can change your E-mail Preferences to insure no digests or AQ mail is sent to your e-mail address. The only two other times Atlas Quest will try to send you an e-mail is if you forget your password and need to acquire a new one through the Lost Password Center or if you have an unverified e-mail address need an e-mail sent to yourself to Verify Your E-mail Address.

On rare occasions, if someone is trying to contact you about a problem with one of your boxes and you do not appear to check your AQ mail on a regular basis, an administrator may try to forward the message about the problem to your registered e-mail address.

Help Home > Atlas Quest > AQ Mail

Why can I only favorite certain message boards?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:45:53 PM

You can mark any board as a favorite, however, it might require two steps to do so. Each board is assigned to a specific Member Group. If you are not part of the group, Atlas Quest assumes you have no interest in reading any of the boards on it, so it does make any sense to be able to mark it as a favorite. It's like saying you hate cheese, but then you want the cheese board to be your favorite. Make up your mind!

So before marking boards as favorites or not, check that you are a member of the group it's a part of. At that point, you can add individual boards from the groups as favorites or to be ignored.

In theory, if you find a board and mark it as a favorite, Atlas Quest is supposed to automatically make you a member of the associated group if you aren't already. BUT! It is possible there are bugs. If you find an instance of this happening, please inform the Green Tortuga. Additionally, if you later choose to remove yourself from that member group, it will no longer save any of your favorite board from that group. If you leave the group, you essentially walk away from the boards that are a part of it as well.

So to have a board marked as a favorite, you must be a member of the group it is a part of.

Help Home > Message Boards

What others websites are available for international letterboxes?
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:37:59 PM

LbNA does support non-North American letterboxes under the generic heading of "Other Countries." LbNA and Atlas Quest are the two main locations for both US and non-US letterboxes, but you can find a list of additional letterboxing websites in the Link Directory for Letterboxing Portals.

If you learn of any new websites that should be added, please do so.

Help Home > Etiquette, Conventions, and Rules

Army Corps of Engineers
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:33:34 PM

This policy on geocaching is an indication of how letterboxing can be approached.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:33:17 PM

Caching Now, an online geocaching magazine (http://www.cachingnow.com), presented a report in January 2008. In it, they presented Instruction Memorandum No. 2005-092 which is copied below. Letterboxing is not mentioned, but it's a reasonable presumption that the same guidelines that apply for geocaching would apply for letterboxing as well.

***************

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240

March 3, 2005

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/08/2005
Instruction Memorandum No. 2005-092

To: All Washington Office and Field Officials
From: Group Manager, National Recreation Group
Subject: Geocaching Activities on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Public Lands

Program Area: Permits for Recreation of Public Lands

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) provides general guidance for geocaching activities on BLM managed public lands.

Background: Geocaching is an outdoor adventure game for global positioning system (GPS) users. Participating in a cache hunt is an activity designed to take advantage of the features and capability of a GPS unit and enjoy the freedom of access to public land. Individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a variety of awards. The visitor is asked to sign a logbook and to leave or replace items they find in the cache. The cache itself is a small waterproof box.

The general website for geocaching is www.geocaching.com. When you enter this website you can type in your zip code and see all the cache sites in your area along with the site’s latitude, longitude, a narrative description of the site location, the contents of the cache, and sometimes a map. The site also contains listings of new events and activities such as “Cache In, Trash Out” events. Geocaching provides an opportunity to hone orienteering skills, provides the opportunity to get outdoors, and it can be a wholesome family activity. It can also be conducted with minimal impact to the environment when conscientious land use ethics are followed. Even though geocaching appears to be an acceptable activity on BLM managed land, it is an activity that would only be welcome in appropriate locations.

Policy/Action: A special recreation permit (SRP) is not required if the geocaching activity complies with casual use conditions. The following conditions apply to casual use: the activity is not a commercial endeavor, the activity complies with land use decisions and designations, (i.e., special area designations and wilderness interim management policy), and it does not award cash prizes, is not publicly advertised, poses minimal risk for damage to public land or related water resource values, and generally requires no monitoring. If you determine the use to be casual but have some concern about the use, such as, placing the caches in Congressionally designated wilderness or wilderness study areas, at cultural resource sites, the areas with threatened or endangered species, or any other special fragile area, it would be appropriate to issue a “letter of agreement” with special stipulations attached that would address those concerns.

If the geocaching activity or event does not meet the above conditions, the event should be treated as any other organized recreational group or competitive activity or event for which BLM would require the event organizer to obtain an SRP.

The BLM believes that geocaching is an appropriate casual use of public land, but, as use increases or becomes a management issue in a particular area, the following minimum steps should be taken: 1) try to locate a person or group that is responsible for the cache and have them register the cache with the BLM. Make sure the cache is safe and environmentally sound, 2) prepare an environmental assessment or other appropriate National Environmental Protection Act document, 3) issue a letter of agreement or SRP with special stipulations to mitigate concerns, 4) if sites are not registered within a reasonable amount of time after notification, then the cache should be removed from public land, normally, the cache would be determined to be abandoned property after 10 days unless the appropriate authorization has been obtained, 5) monitor the use to assess public health and safety and environmental protection issues, 6) if the activity/sport becomes too large and begins to conflict with other authorized use, appropriate steps should be taken to properly manage the activity.

Time Frame: This IM is effective up receipt.

Budget Impact: This IM established general guidance on managing geocaching activities. It is expected that most of the activity would be treated as casual use on BLM managed public land, which would not require the issuance of a permit thus lessening the recreation permit workload. Therefore, the impact on the budget should be minimal.

Manual/Handbook: This policy is in conformance with the new 2930-1 manual and handbook.

Coordination: The contents of this IM has been coordinated through WO-170, The National Landscape Conservation System, BLM State Office Recreation Program Leads; WO-370, National Law Enforcement Office; and WO-240, Cultural Heritage and Paleontology Office.

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Lee V. Larson at (202) 452-5168.

Signed by: Authenticated by:
Robert T. Ratcliffe Barbara J. Brown
Group Manager Policy & Records Group, WO-560
National Recreation Group

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

Nature Conservancy Properties
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:33:02 PM

The Nature Conservancy does not have a national policy on letterboxing. Each state and preserve may have different policies or no policy. Check with the state office to see what the situation is with an individual preserve.

In N FL, the answer is an emphatic no. This is apparently due to a bad experience with geocaches being placed without permission and the visitors trampling a lot of vegetation off-trail while searching for them.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

Parks Canada
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:32:47 PM

The policy is for caches, but the guidelines for letterboxes should be the same. They are permitted in the park but must follow guidelines (see link below):

http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pc/guide/geocache/geocache1_e.asp

Date of Approval: September 2007

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

Audubon Properties
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:32:31 PM

Unfortunately there is no copyright on the name Audubon. Many different organizations and businesses call themselves Audubon and they are not related. Each would have a different policy. You have to use the words before and after Audubon to find the specific organization you are asking about.

This is an absolute and definite maybe. The website for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island describes a resounding "no letterboxing" policy. However, thethreecs, a member here on Atlas Quest who is currently employed by the Massachusetts Audubon says they have no statewide policy about letterboxing and each Audubon location is autonomous and some allow it while other don't.

Special note: The Caratunk Refuge in Seekonk, MA is under the jurisdiction of the RI Audubon Society and is subject to the "not allowed" policy despite its location in MA.

So ask before you plant. Rhode Island Audubon locations seem to not allow it while Massachusetts Audubon locations may or may not allow it. The policies of other states are unknown at this point.

Original source of Massachusetts policy (posted to the Premium Members Only board and therefore only accessible to premium members)
Audubon Society of Rhode Island

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

National Park Service (NPS)
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:32:18 PM

Up until October 2007, the answer was generally no. But the NPS has apparently softened their stance. See their guidelines on "GPS activities":

http://www.nps.gov/policy/GPSguidance.pdf

Yes, letterboxing is addressed in the policy.

The NPS controls not only national parks, but also national monuments, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Paramount Ranch, and quite a bit of other land. You can locate land managed by the NPS here.

Yes, they do occasionally check LbNA and Atlas Quest for rogue letterboxers. If you want your letterboxes to live long and happy lives, do not plant in any land under the jurisdiction without approval.

Some people assume that national forests are part of the National Park Service. This is not the case. They are two completely independent bureaucracies, and there are no known policies against letterboxing in national forests. For more information on distinguishing between the different agencies see How can I find out what agency manages the park and if they permit letterboxing?

Help Home > Land Manager Policies

Key West, Florida
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:31:52 PM

The historic cemetery in the middle of Key West has hassled people about letterboxing in the past, including threats of charging those who do with a third degree misdemeanor. Exactly which law is being broken is unclear—the e-mail administrators received did not include information about applicable laws or who decides such matters, except that they consider it "highly offensive" and that the cemetery is not "an adult playground."

If you want your boxes in Key West to live long and happy lives, don't plant boxes there.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Florida

Virginia State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:31:31 PM

Guidelines for letterboxing in Virginia State Parks can be found online at Geocaching and GPS activities, which also includes a link to applications to plant a box. A permit is necessary if you want to plant a letterbox.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Virginia

Albany Pine Bush Preserve
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:31:09 PM

No letterboxes are allowed in the wild in this park. They are working to establish a box within the Discovery Center, but it is illegal to plant letterboxes in the wild on their property. According to park personnel, sent via e-mail to the Green Tortuga, "It is in violation of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law Part 648."

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > New York

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:29:02 PM

Yes, the MDC allows letterboxing and geocaching with a Special Use Permit. See Geocaching and Letterboxing Permitted April 30, 2009 for more information.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Missouri

Ypsilanti Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:28:42 PM

The Charter Township of Ypsilanti Park Commission and Recreation Department are pleased to support the activities of Geocaching and Letterboxing. We also recognize the need to maintain a safe and aesthetically pleasing park system while protecting the township's natural resources for the communities' enjoyment. If you desire to place a cache/letterbox, or have already done so, in an Ypsilanti Township park, or township owned lands, please note that Ypsilanti Township has developed guidelines for placement and maintenance of such. The purpose of the guidelines is to protect natural areas, the safety of all park users, and provide for the future use of township owned lands by everyone. Permits, obtained at no cost, are required to place a cache/letterbox on township owned land, including all township public parks

Process for Placing a Cache/Letterbox

  1. File permit and obtain permission from the Recreation Director, or their designee, for the location of the cache. All geocaches/letterboxes must be registered with the township prior to registration and publication with the geocache/letterbox organizations.
  2. Place the cache/letterbox according to the permit and the appropriate organizations guidelines. All caches/letterboxes, larger than micro size, must have visible attachment affixed to the outside of the container indicating the container is a geocache/letterbox. Micro sized containers must indicate inside, on the contents, that it is a part of the geocache/letterbox game.
  3. Register your cache/letterbox on geocaching.com and have it approved.

General Information


Geocache/Letterbox Seeking Guidelines


Sources
Ypsilanti Township Geocaching/Letterboxing Policy
Geocaching/Letterboxing Application (PDF)

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Michigan

Watts Audobon Sanctuary, Effingham, NH
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:28:11 PM

Ken McGovern and his wife, the stewards for the Audoban-Watts Sanctuary, e-mailed the Green Tortuga, respectfully asking that no letterboxes be planted on their property.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > New Hampshire

Pennsylvania State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:27:36 PM

Pennsylvania does have a permit process for our state parks and forests. I have done it and it is very easy and have had no problems with it. You can find the form here:

State Form

It is the geocaching form, but it has a checkbox for letterboxes as well. Simply attach your clues and also a map marking where you plan to place your boxes and turn it into the park manager. It should take about a week or two for them to approve or deny the permit. If approved you will be given a sticker to place on the box to mark it has been permitted. The permit is good for three years.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Pennsylvania

Hamilton County Parks, Ohio
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:27:18 PM

Letterboxes are permitted but must be registered. Online registration can be found at http://www.greatparks.org/secure/Geocache.htm. The following is copied from the registration page:

Guidelines For Placing Geocaches or letterboxes within the Hamilton County Park District:

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Ohio

Fairfax County, Virginia
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:26:58 PM

For many parks, yes. A complete list of parks that allow letterboxing and rules they must follow can be found at the website for the Geocaching, Fairfax County Park Authority.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Virginia

Arkansas State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:26:38 PM

The policy is for caches, but the guidelines for letterboxes should be the same. They are permitted in the park but must follow guidelines (see link below):

Promotional page:
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/things-to-do/geocaching/

Policy:
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/images/pdfs/geocaching/geo-policy.pdf

Permit:
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/images/pdfs/geocaching/geo-permit.pdf

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Arkansas

Jefferson County, Colorado
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:24:04 PM

Jefferson County in Colorado used to have a policy where you had to apply for a permit for 'boxes. They're one of the largest landholders along the Front Range (the part of the Rocky Mountains facing east and the largest area of population in the state)

Now, as long as 6 very basic guidelines are observed, it's letterboxing heaven. No permits, no muss, no fuss! You should also know that Jeffco (as it's known locally) have volunteers who regularly check on boxes and caches.

Here's the link with the specifics (geocaching and letterboxing):

http://co.jefferson.co.us/openspace/openspace_T56_R120.htm

preboxed
Denver

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Colorado

Alabama State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:23:32 PM



Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Alabama

Florida State Forests
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:22:47 PM

As a general rule you can plant letterboxes in Florida's State Forests as long as you have a permit. And note, these managers generally consider letterboxing a type of geocaching; as far as they're concerned, whatever rules they come up with for geocaches apply equally to letterboxes.

If you wish to plant a letterbox in Talquin, Wakulla, or Tate's Hell State Forests, you should contact:

Marti Miller
Recreation Coordinator
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Division of Forestry
865 Geddie Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32304
(850) 487-3766
(850) 922-2107 fax

Standards for geocaching in these areas:


Since they consider a geocache and a letterbox the same thing, if there's already a geocache on a trail or loop your application for a permit to plant a letterbox there will be denied.

One of their key concerns is the prospect of shortcutting a trail. Many public lands have hiking trails that loop back and forth so they can put several miles of trails within a relatively small tract of land. They don't like it when hikers cut across between these loops. When one does, he often leaves a visible path tempting others to follow. In short order, the shortcut looks like a well-worn path. One of their concerns is that someone may plant a geocache or letterbox between loops and finders will beat a path that looks like a shortcut, and eventually will actually become a shortcut. Any letterbox planted between such hiking loops is likely to be denied.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Florida

Florida Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:22:24 PM

Florida has a hodgepodge of bureaucratic departments in charge of various public lands, but as a general rule you can plant letterboxes in any of them as long as you have a permit. And note, these departments generally consider letterboxing a type of geocaching; as far as they're concerned, whatever rules they come up with for geocaches apply equally to letterboxes.

For the specific case of Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) that are owned and regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, you can apply for a geocache permit online at:

http://myfwc.com/recreation/geocaching/index.html

The online form will ask you to fill in a latitude and longitude for your letterbox. Remember, these guys think a letterbox is a type of geocache. Just enter some approximate numbers, which you can get off a map or an online map. The form won't let you leave the fields blank.

You also will need to describe where to park.

And, of course, you're supposed to know all this before you get the permit. And once you get a permit, you're supposed to affix a sticker inside your letterbox. This means you're supposed to know all this info before you go ever out there and look for a place to plant your box.

the person to contact about a permit is:

Tom M. Matthews
Recreation Planner
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Office of Recreation Services
352-209-0296
TomM.Matthews@MyFWC.com

You can look up the FWC Lead Areas and Cooperative Areas at:

http://myfwc.com/recreation/Area.html

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Florida

Lexington and Fayette County Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:21:37 PM

The Lexington Parks and Recreation in Kentucky has jurisdiction over Lexington and Fayette County parks, and they have an approval system for geocaches that allow applies to those planting letterboxes:

Send an email to cdowns@lfucg.com with Letterbox Request in the Subject Line.

Include the following information in the body of the email:
  1. Name, address and phone number of the owner.
  2. Include the name the letterbox will have.
  3. Posted clues plus the exact description to finding the LB.
  4. Name of the park where letterbox is to be hidden.
  5. Include a description of the container (Tupperware, ammo box, and film canister).
  6. If you include a parking suggestion include this in the request.
  7. Include if the letterbox is existing (hidden prior to May 1, 2003 only) or new cache.
  8. Include 1-2 sentences describing where the letterbox is hidden.

Do not include pictures, diagrams, figures etc. Requests that are submitted incomplete will be returned. Once approval has been granted, you will be given an approval number. Include this number at the bottom of your letterbox description when you post the clues.

If a letterbox needs to be moved due to environmental impact, non-letterboxers finding it, etc. please resubmit the new clues and a new description of where the letterbox has been re-hidden.

The LFUCG Parks and Recreation cannot assume any liability for any letterbox placement. Letterboxers place boxes in Parks property at their own risk. This includes damage, destruction, and loss occurring to any LB placement.

The following is the policy for hiding boxes in Lexington and Fayette County parks.
Note: Triangle Park is not LFUCG property so permission would have to come from Lexington Center Corp.

References
http://www.atlasquest.com/boards/message.html?gMsgId=84935

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Kentucky

Indiana State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:20:56 PM

Yes, but there is a permit system. Information Bulletin #46 is for caches, but the guidelines for letterboxes are interpreted in the same manner. These rules became effective January 1, 2005. Each state park has an interpreter with discretion in administering the policy. The number of permitted caches and letterboxes is determined by density, and depends upon the available land area within each property. Placing letterboxes in dedicated nature preserves or other ecologically sensitive areas is not permitted.

Brad Bumgardner, park interpreter for Pokagon State Park, contacted speedsquare August 24, 2006 about an un-permitted letterbox located in an acceptable location within the park. Several informative and friendly emails were exchanged. Pokagon permitted a gathering of geocachers. A letterboxing event with letterboxes permitted for a short period of time may be permitted with prior approval.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Indiana

Washington State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:20:39 PM

Letterboxing is allowed, but you must get a permit before planting. Letterboxes must be checked at least once every three months, and permits are good for one year.

Washington State Parks
Official Policy and Permit Application: Good as of June 6, 2006

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > Washington

North Carolina State Parks
Last Updated: October 2, 2009 07:20:19 PM

Letterboxing is allowed BUT it requires a Special Activity Permit which costs $30 every three months to maintain. Source of information was an e-mail from Crowder's Mountain State Park (Gastonia, NC) Superintendent, Larry Hyde on 12/14/06 after pulling letterboxes from the park that did not have permits.

NC State Park Special Activity Permit

Documented policy is no longer located on any state park website but can still be viewed here.

Help Home > Land Manager Policies > North Carolina