That’s how I read it and personally I found the first response rude but maybe it’s not. I can only speak for myself.

I don’t mean offense to anyone.

I haven’t talked on these message boards before last week so I know nothing lol

Since it's not clear whether the question is rhetorical, consider the possibility that the person genuinely wants to gauge how much interest there is in their endeavor, making a yes or no response a courtesy, not rude.

When in doubt, I find the best practice is to give the benefit of the doubt to the responders.

Yes!

Count me in!

Will I attempt? Probably.
Will I succeed? Almost definitely not.

I agree. A question was asked. Was it rhetorical or was person trying to gauge interest? We don’t know. But a simple no and some agrees doesn’t seem rude. I think that’s reading a LOT into it that just isn’t there.

Yes I will!

Except... without knowing anything about it... where the boxes are, what the clues are like, how it's presented... How could one reasonably say "no", without it being a direct and uninformed rejection of the entire concept, or of the individual? That sounds rude to me.

Except (again), I also suspect it was just a joke response. It may have misfired a bit (and TRUST me, I know allllll about misfiring jokes). So, maybe not so rude after all.

Some reasonable "no" responses to the concept might be:
The "flavor" of tarot/astrology is not compatible with one's spiritual beliefs.
Some people may not want an involved puzzle-solving exercise, because they simply enjoy a more leisurely outing - and finding a LB along the way is a bonus.
Someone is currently up to their ears in life happenings, and don't have the energy or time to add a complex puzzle-solving exercise right now.

As the saying goes, not every letterbox is for everyone. That's not rude, and not a rejection of the individual. It's knowing how the person enjoys this hobby, and chooses letterboxes to seek, which may be different than someone else.

I love tarot and seeking! Intrigued! Yes! Share your cards Romanian friend!

I was able to get another answer from Elana! I asked "How?" and she replied:


Her answer appears cut off, but that's all I got.

I like to plant...FWIW.

One more possible clue! I asked "Can you help?" and Elana replied:


I'm pretty much a newbie at this. Does this mean anything to anyone?

Any suggestions for further questions to ask Elana?

It sounds like the AI is getting generic info about Letterboxing from AQ info pages.

(bolding mine)

Maybe this?

It is from the AQ Help pages...
https://www.atlasquest.com/about/wiki/question.php?wikiId=239

The AI is able to find answers from the AQ Help pages.

I suspected AI from the beginning of this!

There are many other reasonable reasons to respond with "no." As already mentioned, not every box will be interesting to everyone. And I am not alone in finding some boxes just plain annoying for various reasons.

I won't be actively seeking whatever this is, although I did poke it with a few sharp sticks around the edges. Because that's fun. For me.

I was able to ask a question this morning so I asked:

What question should I ask?

Elana responded with:

Which way is north?

I’m sorry

Honestly I'm a bit torn on this. Yes, of course there are many reasons to not be interested in a certain aspect of the hobby, but I'm not seeing the need to flatly saying no in a thread about it. If it was a joke, fine. But if it was genuine, it does seem a little unnecessarily impolite.

I'm not the least bit interested in postals. But when a thread starts about a new postal, I think it would be perceived a bit rude if I dropped in just to say, "I'm not interested".

My 2 cents worth - not my circus, not my monkeys.

I think many read the "yes or no" question as a genuine request for feedback, and their "no" was a polite indication that they would not be attempting to solve the mystery leading to this box. They did not simply "drop in" to offer an unsolicited opinion, at least in their minds, but responded to the question that was asked.

I'll see your 2-cents and raise you 5-cents. 🤔

I find it interesting that a certain date is in 2 weeks. Coincidence?

We found one of your Tarot card boxes a
year ago, it was sitting on another box we were searching for.

And yes, we are interested!

A few months ago, a letterboxer posted a thread offering materials they’d created on how to get started with letterboxing. (Can’t remember which board!)

I’d like to connect with them to get ideas or handouts, whatever’s available.

Is this you, or does anyone remember who??

I'm not sure who your audience is. When I do "presentations" with scouts (or kids under age 12) I no longer use handouts. I find it better to do a brief overview (3-5 minutes) and then hit the trail and start letterboxing (or carving stamps if there is time allocated). While we follow clues and find boxes I explain various aspects of letterboxing.

Below is one of the outlines I've used with a specific set of letterboxes which I designed / clued to show different types of pouches, different styles of clues, etc.

Large (7-15 scouts plus adults) Group Discussion (includes Q&A):
What is letterboxing? Treasure Hunt Activity
Combines art, creativity, hiking, and more
Find a hidden container by following clues
Container is called a letterbox
What is in a letterbox?
Logbook to record you found it
Rubber stamp to add a record to your personal logbook
What do you need to letterbox?
Personal logbook
Signature stamp
Ink pad or markers (note: today these boxes contain ink pads; not typical!)
Pencil or pen
Sometimes a magnetic compass
A personal trailname / alias / nickname

As we walked around the campground in smaller groups (following clues):
Identify Poison Ivy
Why is it important to be stealthy / secretive?
Others might remove container and ruin the fun
What are muggles?

As we got near the end of the clues I started talking about what to do when you find a letterbox:
Make sure no muggles (move to another area if needed)
Retrieve container and open it
Make a note of how contents are ordered in container; Remove contents.
Place an image of your signature stamp in the letterbox’s logbook
Write your TrailName and date in the letterbox’s logbook
Use rubber stamp from letterbox to make imprint in your personal logbook
How to ink a stamp
Replace contents in container as you found them.
Make sure no baggie is in the seal of the container.
Make sure no muggles
Rehide container (make sure it is hidden from all angles)
Go find another letterbox!

It's Alliecat! She's still in the process of creation but feel free to reach out, I know she's almost finished with a slide deck!

Ok I am not a patient person and the vernal equinox was over 10 minutes ago. I want everything to be revealed LOL

I love that it now says "midnight of the vernal equinox".

Do you foresee a plane ticket in my future to de aur stat?

4eyes
Stuck in MI

Same here. Although, you have seem to be a step ahead. I just have a rough idea, which really isn't much.