it's not MISSING

missing means you don't know where the flippin thing is and someone may waste there time out there thinking they can help by looking for it...unless I adjust the clues...which of course can be done...but no....it's not missing 8-)

dixie
sounding irritated but am only irritated at the idiot that left it out, threw it out etc.

and by the way...thanks to the updates and help from finders after the damage had been done.

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missing means you don't know where the flippin thing is and someone may waste there time out there thinking they can help by looking for it...

Well, maybe from your point of view, but look at it from a finder's perspective. They try to find a box and can't find it. How often do they contact you and say, "Sorry to tell you this, but your box is.... INACTIVE!"

That would be kind of funny, actually. No, as far as they're considered, the box is missing. =)

AQ is really designed from a finder's perspective, not a planter's point of view. The status is for the finder's benefit, not yours. The finder generally wants to know two things:

1. Is the box there? If yes, the box is "active".

2. If not, will it be replaced? If yes, the box is simply "missing." If no, the box is "retired."

The reason the box is missing or retired is largely unimportant to a finder, so AQ doesn't distinguish why a box would be missing or retired.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad new, but yes, your box really is missing. *nodding* At least as far as AQ is concerned. But you can call it whatever you want in the privacy of your own home. ;o)

-- Ryan

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I thought we could mark a box as inactive and didn't have to "retire" it.
when i see something marked as retired I figure it is gone forever or not coming back.

You know, there really isn't a right or wrong answer. Personally, I've retired boxes but then revived them again after they mysteriously reappeared or I just decided to bring it back to life due to a change of heart. I plan to revive many of our retired boxes if/when we move back to the PNW in 5-6 years. ;)

Personally, in a situation you described, I've decided to either mark it as missing for a while while I render aid to it or if you simply pulled the logbook and left the box with the stamp in the hiding spot, you can just indicate that in the first aid section of the box (logbook missing for maintenance reasons or something to that effect but the rest of the box is still active) so then folks would still have the option to look for it. I've found several boxes that way where I'd either leave a new logbook with the box (if I had them available in the backpack) or a piece of paper with our sig stamps on it and comments about our visit so an 'exchange' would still have occurred.

Again, it's up to you. I usually just indicate that it needs first aid in the first aid section but leave the box on site in the event somebody may still visit while I take my time to render aid to it as real-life often seems to get in the way of our best intentions.

daelphinus

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The reason the box is missing or retired is largely unimportant to a finder, so AQ doesn't distinguish why a box would be missing or retired.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad new, but yes, your box really is missing. *nodding* At least as far as AQ is concerned. But you can call it whatever you want in the privacy of your own home. ;o)

this is all funny.
:-)

guess I am different then...
cause even if I was just a finder and never planted and was gonna be in that area anyway...
I might go see if I could spy a "missing" box but an "inactive" listing on AQ or elswhere would mean I shouldn't bother...but might want to put a watch on it's status to change to active...afterall the opposite of active is INACTIVE

i don't expect a change..
LOL
i just thought it would be cool to have the distinction...
and no...it's not missing...it is in the "privacy of my own home"

dixie

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missing means you don't know where the flippin thing is and someone may waste there time out there thinking they can help by looking for it...

If you don't know where the flippin thing is, the status should be "Unknown". If it's been confirmed that it's not there, it's "Missing". To my mind, the only differences between "Missing" and "Retired" are that A) "Missing" means you're kinda hoping that whoever took it might bring it back, and B) "Retired" means you definitely will not be getting out there and replacing the box with a new one.

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cause even if I was just a finder and never planted and was gonna be in that area anyway...
I might go see if I could spy a "missing" box but an "inactive" listing on AQ or elswhere would mean I shouldn't bother

On LBNA, "attempted" should be thought of this way since that is a FINDER opinion (and I have found more than one that look like they are gone). On AQ, the PLANTER has to change that status so it is a good bet it is really gone or they believe it to be, which is good enough for me to assume it is gone too in most cases.

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If you don't know where the flippin thing is, the status should be "Unknown". If it's been confirmed that it's not there, it's "Missing". To my mind, the only differences between "Missing" and "Retired" are that A) "Missing" means you're kinda hoping that whoever took it might bring it back, and B) "Retired" means you definitely will not be getting out there and replacing the box with a new one.

no..."unknown" means you have not went out there yet to confirm if it's missing but it may be...etc

"missing" is when you know it's missing and don't know have any idea where it is

if you have confirmed it and you know it's missing then you naturally don't know where it is...
then that means it's NOT unknown if it's missing or not... cause you do know it's missing.
so if you KNOW...it's not UN-known

period...

each of the words are self-explanatory to me or even to newbies.
if you were brand new to AQ today how would you interpret the words?
what does the word unknown mean...in everyday life?
what does missing mean in everyday life?
who should believe the words mean something different on AQ or anywhere else.
I do know what the WORDS mean ;)
some things are common sense and shouldn't need to be re-learned in accordance to different websites, locales or hobbies etc.


dixie -
who was pretty good with vocabulary and the understanding of words...
especially in comparison to math skills.
I stunk at math...and still do.

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I think an easy solution to all the different perspectives could be to just create another topic, such as: Needs Maintenance.

to me that is the same as saying needs first aide...which to me means that you need someone ELSE to help out and render first aide.

the opposite of active is inactive...
if we had another topic then it seems clear it should be "nactive" and that is what I had asked about...could we have an inactive...if not then we just have to choose if we want to say it's retired or missing or in need of first aide and to me all of those things are open to interpretation...inactive means one thing and doesn't need interpreting.