Wow! I don't think I've had that many replies--in one day--to a message since I used the "You Know You're Addicted to Letterboxing If..." fire extinguisher on the main list.

Since most of my boxes are planted in locations that aren't frequented or noticed by non-boxers, I feel mine are pretty safe. I've lost 3 out of 33 in just about 2 years. The first got swept away in floodwaters, the second was in a bad location (but I had no choice!!) and the third was, I thought, pretty well hidden, but obviously not well enough.

The second box I ever planted has received more noxer visits and logins than boxer logins, and it's still there. Go figure.

So, am I going to institute any of my own suggestions? Not really, unless I decide to plant an urban box or two, in which case I want somebody who's seasoned looking for the box(es).

There are a couple more suggestions to throw in, some more doable.

9) "Hide" boxes indoors. I refer you to my City of Homes Letterbox, which involves taking a driving tour of some historic residences and then finding the box in a little store on the court square.

10) Long hikes. Most of our archenemies probably won't go too far to carry out their dirty deeds.

11) Get to know the park personnel and get them on our side. That way you can include a note that if a box is found by noxers it can be turned into the park people rather than tossed in the trash. I hope that's what happened with the third box, above.

12) Find darn good hiding places, where boxes aren't likely to be accidentally found.

StarSAELS

Quote

there are several in NC's High Country (Watauga, Ash, and Avery counties).

Don't forget the high country here in the western tip of NC either :-)
Asheville area has several but just over here in Sylva, Cherokee, Cullowhee area
(smack dab in the middle of Great Smokies, Blue Ridge Pkwy and
Nantahala National Forest) I have 26 "active" boxes (with more coming).
Several of these have not even been found yet.
I can think of another 3 that boxers have left recently while hunting mine.
*big happy smiles*

tempted??
come on...let the searching begin
:-)

dixiekin

I'm just itching to get at yours at the end of the month, Dixie!

Quote

"Hide" boxes indoors.

I have a couple of places that would make good *inside* hiding places, museums and such. How do you pitch the idea? and how do boxers find them? Do they have to ask a certain question?

Shiloh

I have a couple of places that would make good *inside* hiding places, museums and such. How do you pitch the idea? and how do boxers find them? Do they have to ask a certain question?

I have an indoor box and the clues lead the searcher to the store, then they must ask for it. In Ohio there is a box in a library.....clues there too, but you wind up having to ask due to the rearrangement of the library. In both cases, ask the place first and they will usually be in agreement. You will probably have to explain about letterboxing though.
zoemomma

Quote

and how do boxers find them? Do they have to ask a certain question?

We found an indoor 'box in New Orleans. It was planted in conjunction with a geocache. Using the coordinates for the geocache you had to find the right "person behind the desk" to ask. Well, our GPS was way off that day and we wern't sure if we were in the right building. We were wondering around looking at the GPS and the clue page. Finally we walked up to a "person behind a desk" and said "This is a stupid question, but do you know where we can find the...". She jumped in, "Geocache?" she asked. "I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out." She said she gets a total kick out of watching people walk around outside the building and in the lobby with a dazed and confused look on their face.

When it came time to "hide" the City of Homes letterbox, I knew where it was going. It just kinda struck me one day (really hard, too). I'm not a regular purchaser at the place, but I'm in there enough that I think I'm recognized. Anyway, I asked if he'd heard of letterboxing. No. Geocaching? Yes. My explanation went on from there, and now the hand-carved, hand-bound hand-sanded and painted letterbox resides in one of the display cases.

To get the box, people have to complete a 13-question quiz about places on the Driving Tour of Homes. If they've got all the answers right, they get the box.

I've found letterboxes indoors as well. At one in D.C., I had to ask the bartender to check the lost and found drawer under the cash register. Then, as I was stamping in over a pint, I had to explain letterboxing.

At one in Fort Myers, I had to ask the proprietor if they happened to have a runcible spoon. At another in Fort Myers, I had to say "Ain't no place like this place, so this must be the place."And at another, I had to say, "We have a reservation under the name of Mr. Colorful Characters." That one took a bit of explaining and finding the manager because the hostesses didn't know what I was talking about.

At the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, you have to do a song and dance about "the Fox Box" and recite the actor's guild secret code... just kidding!

It can be done. It's a lot of fun! Just pick the right place and everyone will have a good time! Plus, you can do it while it's raining! The only catch: business hours.

StarSAELS

Oh, and I REALLY want to put SpaceShipOne - Relaunched! in the flight museum at Warner Robins AFB, south of Macon, GA. Should get a lot of passersby, especially since admission is free!

How do you pitch the idea? and how do boxers find them? Do they have to ask a certain question?

I've found success a few times in this endeavor. I ask to speak to the owner/manager and explain that I have a fun, silly hobby that is like a treasure hunt. I explain the concept of letterboxing and that I like to bring people to interesting places and that I think their place is great because (fill in the blank). I find that flattery does get you everywhere. I tell them that I would hide the letterbox wherever they deem suitable and that I'll let them review/edit the clues before I post them. I also ask them if they have any specific design they'd like to see on the stamp. The more you involve them in the process, the better the relationship. Some places do not want you using a copyrighted logo, others are perfectly happy for you to do so.

I think the ones where you don't have to ask permission are the most fun. However, sometimes the owner/manager feels that they need to be "gatekeepers" for safety-interest or because they want to and that's always fine too. I point out that letterboxing will bring a few people to their establishment, although I can't predict how many--maybe 1 a month or so, but it just depends on how many boxers are in your area.

Hope that helps! Also, I will say that of the indoor boxes where you do not need to "ask" for it, I've seen the logbook and stamp hidden in hollowed-out books, behind displays, and stuck magnetically somewhere hidden from view.

Amy

Quote

1) On AQ, use the F-count lockout.
2) On LBNA, direct clues to AQ and see #1

Please don't use #1 and #2 together. It really annoys people when you tell them there's a clue, and they can't get it because they aren't F-whatever and they'll cause all sorts of problems.

If you want to make the clues less accessible for to people who might vandalize them, you might consider not listing the box on LbNA at all since that's probably the first website they check for clues anyhow. But please, don't restrict clues then list links to them on LbNA. It just causes me grief.

Thanks! =)

-- Ryan

Quote

Please don't use #1 and #2 together. It really annoys people when you tell them there's a clue, and they can't get it because they aren't F-whatever and they'll cause all sorts of problems. If you want to make the clues less accessible for to people who might vandalize them, you might consider not listing the box on LbNA at all since that's probably the first website they check for clues anyhow. But please, don't restrict clues then list links to them on LbNA. It just causes me grief.

TRUE. I knew that *smacks self on head*...but when replying to the original message I (obviously) wasn't thinking. I don't list my new boxes at LbNA anyway I was just thinking of how some of the suggestions were much more do-able for me than others. I really don't foresee a day when I will want to leave AQ and make all boxes WOM. *shudders at the thought*
Sorry Ryan.

and to everyone else...
follow Ryan's advice. :-)

dixiekin

I agree: using #1 and #2 together would be an aggravation to new boxers, but it could also be a deterrent to vandals, however temporary.

So how about this: a letterbox posted on LbNA that links to AQ, which links back to LbNA, then to an external site or two, then back to AQ... and on and on and on. Who but a die-hard letterboxer would endure clicks, clicks and more clicks?

One suggestion I really liked was not putting letterboxing.org or atlasquest.com in planted boxes. It makes perfect sense... put up a barrier, no matter how translucent, between the accidental finder of a who has develops the intention of ridding the earth (or at least his or her town) of the Rubbermaid invasion. An independent site or page that describes letterboxing and offers an email address to which you can send a message to get more info.

But that's all a bunch of hooey if you just go to Google and enter "letterboxing".

Word-of-email will work best, especially from inside AQ. I'll always list my boxes, but someday you may have to email me for the clue. A little background check on your profile and we'll see.

(Oooh, I can hear the grinding teeth already. Yes, I know some people start their AQ account just to get clues and then don't log finds or plants. But they're usually 'boxers who have been at this for a while. Somebody who's nefarious in intention might sign up then log 10 Finds in one day to circumvent this. Just looking at the boxes in the logbook will tell you if the person's for real.)

In the end, there is probably no one "best" solution that will work for everyone. And that's part of what makes this enjoyable. Everybody's got their own way of doing things, and somehow it all jives. Dig?

StarSAELS

Quote

"Amanda in Seatle's "In and Around Stone Mountain" series (7or 8?) are the only ones around Stone Mtn, NC,"

I would like to point out that the "In and Around Stone Mountain" series are legacy boxes that were adopted by me. I did not plant or carve them and I haven't even found them!! (As I have not been to Stone Mtn since I started Letterboxing.) I have just been maintaining the clues or they would have been lost when there was a big LBNA shake up in 2003.

-amanda from seattle

This is sort of random, but it just occurred to me that the acronym for "Word Of E-mail" would be WOE. Will we one day be actually hoping for WOE? Hmmm.

Well, this is what insomnia does to my brain. 8-)

Booknut

Maybe we can call them "Word of Mouth Directions", and then be looking for WMD's.

Hee! I like that, too.

And the beauty of that would be that most of us would FIND them!

*ducking and running*

Knit Wit

And the beauty of that would be that most of us would FIND them!

*ducking and running*

I like the way you pun.

I have plans for a business one. My parents are opening an antique store in Maiden NC. We plan to have one in the store. There will be a clue and the seeker will have to make a compliment about something he/she saw in the store and then ask to stamp in. The stamps will retire, probably on a seasonal basis to keep folks coming in for repeat finds. I may even give a clue, only accessable in the shop to a mystery letterbox. Already sketching for the stamp.

What do you all think?