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I solved Ryan's VLB which did not use a hand-carved stamp, and I let that speak concerning what was necessary.

I have a confession--I'm not really into virtual boxes. I was bored one night and it occurred to me that I had never done a virtual box. Just had no appeal to me. One of the things that I think makes this website run so darned well for the most part is because I actually USE the site myself. I'm a letterboxer, so I implement features to make my letterboxing outings easier to organize. It was my frustration with searching for boxes near Portland, Oregon (scattered across two different states and six different "regions" on LbNA) that led to my idea for a city-search. It was my desire to stop having boxes I already found to stop cluttering up the search results, so I implemented that here. I had problems, and I found solutions.

I am not a virtual letterboxer, though. I threw support for it in for those that DO like them--just because I'm not into them doesn't mean I don't think others should be discouraged from it--but I'm not a virtual box kind of guy. And I sat around late one night, bored out my noggin, thinking about ways to make Atlas Quest better. And I realized--I'd never solved a virtual box. I'm hardly an authority on virtual boxes, and yet I support them here. I should at least try a few just so I know what others are doing and how they use them.

I did two of them before I started getting annoyed with those stupid 404 errors, constantly retyping the URL, trying to count out how many letters over I needed to substitute something for, and I hated the experience. Absolutely hated it! I didn't want a stupid 404 error if I got the URL wrong. I wanted a nice, friendly little message that said, "No, but try again!" with my previous answer already filled in, each letter individually numbered so I wouldn't have to count so darned much.

I also realized that the only people who could create virtual boxes are those that knew HTML and had their own websites. And most people do not. There's a lot of people who might want to create their own virtual boxes but didn't have the knowhow and tools to get the job done.

So I spent the rest of the night working on a feature so AQ could host the solutions to virtual boxes and fix all those problems I discovered after working on just TWO virtuals! =)

The rest, as they say, is history. It makes a world of difference to a website with the person who develops it actually has to use it! *nodding* I'd have never thought to host solutions for virtuals had I not tried to solve a couple of them myself.

Of course, once I implemented the feature, I needed to test it. So I threw together a quick and dirty virtual box of my own. Hand carved stamp? Ha! I wasn't testing my carving ability. I wanted to test the feature I just created and host the solution on AQ. I uploaded the solution, entered incorrect passkeys (and occasionally the correct one) dozens of times that night to see what would happen and that everything worked and looked as expected. Repeating the process with Netscape, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.

And after I tested it and made sure it working correctly (to the best of my knowledge, at least), the virtual box I created also became the example that I could point everyone to and say, "See, this is how it works!" Even after I finished testing, the virtual box still served a purpose. =)

And of course, everyone loved the improvement. It's so much more convenient and easy than the old way virtual boxes worked and nearly *all* virtual boxes now have their solutions hosted on AQ. Some people even converted their old virtual boxes so the solutions were now hosted on AQ instead.

Things are still evolving, though. Back in the old days, when all solutions were hosted remotely, it wasn't possible to show the solution's photo in a person's logbook. Now that most virtuals do have their solutions hosted on AQ, it's actually possible to do this. If I were a regular solver of virtual boxes, I probably would have thought of that idea myself months or years ago, but eventually someone brought the idea to my attention and it seemed like one of those, "Well, DUH!" kind of moments. =)

Anyhow, don't take any virtual boxes I've listed as being representative of what to expect or consider me as an authority figure on these sorts of matters. I'm really not! =) Same goes for pretty much all types of non-traditional boxes. They just aren't my thing. I support them here, but since I don't do them regularly, support for innovative changes and ideas is seriously lacking compared to what's available for traditional letterboxes.

I actually have an idea for another improvement with virtual boxes, but I'm not sure how to integrate it in with the existing boxes. It's rather a radical change in terms of how virtual boxes work, but one I think could be very popular. (It actually sounds exciting and fun to ME--the king of people who don't like non-traditional boxes!)

-- Ryan

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I actually have an idea for another improvement with virtual boxes, but I'm not sure how to integrate it in with the existing boxes. It's rather a radical change in terms of how virtual boxes work, but one I think could be very popular. (It actually sounds exciting and fun to ME--the king of people who don't like non-traditional boxes!)

That's like ending a C scale on the note B!
No punch line.
No entrée.
Last piece of a puzzle missing.

We'll wait.

MC

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We'll wait.

:::sigh::: We'll have to. If we choke him, we'll NEVER find out what it is!

DebBee

Ryan's just trying to pump up his WhatPulse numbers.

Don't worry, a lack of a hand carved images won't keep me away! To be honest, as special as I find the carved ones, sometimes I only have 10 minutes and I want to do a couple of quick virtuals. The type you and others have been creating lately are PERFECT for that. So the really are just as important to have around. Thank you for that and don't ever feel like your virtuals are less than anyone else's. There is no such thing!

Red Soup

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That's like ending a C scale on the note B!
No punch line.
No entrée.
Last piece of a puzzle missing.

We'll wait.

NO WE WONT... WE CAN'T

*WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*

i hate secrets...

lol

tell tell tell tell tell tell

cam

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I actually have an idea for another improvement with virtual boxes, but I'm not sure how to integrate it in with the existing boxes. It's rather a radical change in terms of how virtual boxes work, but one I think could be very popular. (It actually sounds exciting and fun to ME--the king of people who don't like non-traditional boxes!)

Can't wait to see what you have up cooking up!!! Thanks in advance Ryan!

TMP1

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(It actually sounds exciting and fun to ME--the king of people who don't like non-traditional boxes!)

Wait a minute...your people have a KING??? Here in Non-Traditional Boxing Land, we sort of just let all people speak for themselves...it's more of a freeform democracy. Plus, we all live in these AWESOME virtual houses instead of those plastic baggies and tupperware...!

So, like, are you the OFFICIAL king in the full monarchy sort of sense, or are you more a figurehead with Amanda as Prime Minister? :-D

The S & H

It sounds like Ryan is his own Conch Republic... : )
MFF

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are you the OFFICIAL king in the full monarchy sort of sense, or are you more a figurehead with Amanda as Prime Minister?

Depends on which of us you ask. =)

-- Ryan

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Depends on which of us you ask. =)

And (if you're like most men) if Amanda is actually within earshot when you reply! :-D

The S & H

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Are you the OFFICIAL king in the full monarchy sort of sense, or are you more a figurehead with Amanda as Prime Minister?

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Depends on which of us you ask. =)

-- Ryan

Definitely the safe and right answer!!!!