If you don't want to restrict via puzzles or restrictions, you can always plant in an area with a recent unsolved murder and then mention it in the
clues. That'll keep people away. :^(

Well said. I am relatively new to this was well and so is my niece. We box together alot and have had similar situations where I had access to the clues on certain boxes and she did not. She just keeps record of these boxes and when she is able to post she does so. We have also come across numerous boxes that were not rehid well or were in bad condition and we always repair, clean up and rehide better than we find all our finds. Just because someone is new at something doesn't mean they are not capable of setting a good example and doing the right things. We were all new at this once. I believe that finding a restricted box as a newbie and seeing the exquisite carving, logbook detail, packaging and great care put into some of these boxes makes a new letterboxer appreciate the importance of the box to the planter.

I'm not so much worried about the number of my finds; however I do log box that I find, but I do get frustrated when I check on one of our plants and there are 20 stamps in logbook, but only 1/2 of those finders have bothered to log the find on AQ. I think it kind if defeats the purpose in the whole process. Seeing those posts let's us all know that our boxes are still alive and getting activity. But that's just my opinion on that subject.

but I do get frustrated when I check on one of our plants and there are 20 stamps in logbook, but only 1/2 of those finders have bothered to log the find on AQ. I think it kind if defeats the purpose in the whole process.

Many of the old timers letterboxed before AQ. They sing the praises of the time when the only way to see who had visited a letterbox was to revisit it and read the logbook--that's the reason for the logbook. There's something to be said for a veil of mystery and surprise.

you can always plant in an area with a recent unsolved murder and then mention it in the
clues. That'll keep people away. :^(

Brilliant. I can see the headlines: Various Body Parts of Non-letterboxers Washing Ashore In the Gulf: Muggles cautioned not to ransack boxes alone. Boxers Encouraged to Use Stealth

We felt that it was important to mention the crime at the top of the clues. We don't want women boxing alone in that area until the murderer is caught. But I'm sure the warning is scaring people away (not surprisingly).

I sometimes want to hide my plants from vigilante park rangers that predated their rules. or mostly did. There. I said it. Let the pelting begin.

A part of me supports the idea of blacklists, say for the person who posted, "I just LOVED everyone's letterboxes in this park!!!" --- on TripAdvisor!

I'd love to argue about this, but I have to finish my letter to Niante demanding they promote me to level 20.

Even if AQ were Willing&Able to restrict HLLOLB (HighLevelLaborOfLoveBoxes) from non-Premium members is the trade-off worth it? Never-the-less i REALLY do feel for those HLLOLB by Premium Members that have achieved a skill level higher than 10 and close to if not quite yet at 20 =:).

Actually, i'm thankful that my carving skill level is closer to 5 out of 20, even though my stealth level (as needed) for retrieving, rehiding and commenting on a recorded find are higher than 5 being somewhere between 10 to 20. Closer to 20 than 10, although DD may differ =;)

The main reason i paid to enlist your help and that of four other high level elite carvers for that "Bridging ... Series 4" and Linus and Goldy at the UofM was that: The monetary cost of out-sourcing the stamps outweighed the emotional trauma i would've had to endure having spent hours and hours carving those 5 stamps myself only to see some of my boxes/carves eventually removed/disappear. As DD posted recently with one of her UofM finds ... "You have ballsy locations" which i took as a compliment, but deleted her public comment as some might get the wrong impression =;)

Arguing is restricted at AQ

I'd love to argue about this, but I have to finish my letter to Niante demanding they promote me to level 20.

Niante or Niantic? Very big <G> if you meant Niantic. What happens at level 20? I'm almost at 16 myself.

Niante or Niantic? Very big <G> if you meant Niantic.

One of the downsides of being a smartass is that sometimes you don't know what you're talking about. Heh. I asked my son who owned Pokemon Go! Musta misheard him. :)

What happens at level 20?I'm almost at 16 myself.

No clue. I'll ask him. Lovin' that edit button.

I get the mystery and surprise of going back and looking at the logbook, but if only half of the finds are being posted the amount of actual traffic any particular box is getting is not accurate. When someone looks at the latest postings and it shows 6 months or a year has gone by some may question is it still really there. I myself have looked at some boxes with little or no finds posted and took the chance and looked for the box and found it, but someone just starting out may not take that chance. That is where things become confusing and the whole concept of AQ is wasted. I guess it all depends on what is imporant to each letter boxer. I personally like to see the finds posted as well as going back to read my logbooks.

but deleted her public comment as some might get the wrong impression =;)

Phew, good thing you deleted that public comment so that nobody could see it and get the wrong impression! Oh, wait... :^/

When someone looks at the latest postings and it shows 6 months or a year has gone by some may question is it still really there.

I find it immensely satisfying to find a box that hasn't been found in years--it's like Howard Carter discovering Tut's tomb.

I'm not so much worried about the number of my finds; however I do log box that I find, but I do get frustrated when I check on one of our plants and there are 20 stamps in logbook, but only 1/2 of those finders have bothered to log the find on AQ. I think it kind if defeats the purpose in the whole process. Seeing those posts let's us all know that our boxes are still alive and getting activity. But that's just my opinion on that subject.

Logging finds and leaving comments on AQ is an option. It's fun to get find notifications but I respect anyone who chooses not to log anything on AQ. That is their choice.

Anyway, that's my two cents. But as a relative newbie myself, it's obviously slanted on behalf of my fellow newbies.

Yes, it is.

So my pledge is to never put P&F restrictions on my boxes. I hope someone who is brand new to letterboxing goes out and finds them, and has fun doing so, and ends up becoming an avid letterboxer so they can plant some new ones in my area for me to find, and so on and so on.

Actually, most of the time, the restrictions you are so up in arms about are really not that high. Lots of people put a simple one AQ plant restriction on their boxes just so anyone looking for it will have gone to the trouble to carve a stamp and hide a letterbox, therefore realizing how important it is to use stealth if necessary and re-hide it as well as they would want theirs hidden. I don't see that as a huge deterrent to anyone. Just plant a box.

And unless I'm mistaken (anyone please correct me here) most of the AQ find restrictions are not terribly high. They are just high enough to keep away the casual boxer/s who goes out for one or two weekends and never boxes again. They move on to the next hobby, get bored with that one and then move on to the next one.

I sincerely hope you never spend hours or days carving an intricately detailed stamp and then lose it to that person who always says....."My first box! I'm so excited!"

Maybe we can come back to this conversation in a few years?

"When someone looks at the latest postings and it shows 6 months or a year has gone by, some may question is it still really there."

And then there's the truly odd duck like me who hunts for those kind of boxes almost exclusively first, just because :-)

Warrior Woman
likes a challenge

I've heard nonsense about people putting P&F restrictions on their boxes, restricting new letterboxers from seeing their clues in order

Restrictions on not usually placed for that reason. And the P&F restriction at AQ is way better than the premium membership restrictions over on geocaching.com, where you need to pay $35 or whatever it is to see the premium listings.

Reasons I've placed P&F restrictions on boxes:
1. An extremely busy park where all the boxes in my series kept going missing - extreme stealth required.
2. All boxes in our State Parks & Forests, in case they implement a letterbox policy requiring a permit (they almost did).
3. My 26-box Candles for Sandy Hook series, planted at Sandy Hook, because I didn't want it to become a news story.
4. Any mega series in Connecticut is likely to be P/F restricted due to our history of the "Letterboxing Bandit." This person stole all the stamps from megaseries, and rehid the boxes.

Think of P&F restrictions as rewards for boxers who have achieved a certain number of finds. I don't like the mentality I run into that every box should be easy. People complain about a long hike, or need you solve the mystery for them, or want the crytic part of the clues explained. I have a WOM bonus that clearly states you need to find 10 of 14 specific boxes to quality to receive the clues, and people still ask me for the clues even if they've only found 2 or 3 of the boxes. Or they pass the clues on to friends who don't quality. This isn't like grade-school soccer where everyone gets a trophy for participating. There are some boxes you need to WORK for, and that is an intrinsic part of the hobby. Some boxes are HARD and that's the whole point of the box. Part of what makes some boxes a little hard is the P&F restriction.

"When someone looks at the latest postings and it shows 6 months or a year has gone by, some may question is it still really there."

And then there's the truly odd duck like me who hunts for those kind of boxes almost exclusively first, just because :-)

Warrior Woman
likes a challenge

I see so many new boxers post that they don't want to look for a box that hasn't been found in six months or a year or more because it might be gone.

They make the mistake of 'assuming' it might be gone and they miss out on the fun of finding lots of boxes.

Their loss.

I have to edit all my city directory searches on AQ because the default is to NOT list Unknowns, Abandoned, Strikeouts, and Most Ignored - those are the ones I WANT.

I am ashamed at how long it took me to realize the default search parameters excluded so many boxes, particularly here in the NE where boxes have been out there for approaching 20 years.

But I am catching up :-)

Can't you change the default? If not, that probably should go in the Suggestion Box. IOW, the default default should be to exclude those categories (for good reason!) but you should be able to change the defaults in your Preferences.

Under my page, preferences.....letterboxes.....I would have to choose to click/check on the boxes if I want the search to ignore abandoned boxes and old last finds. Otherwise they just show up.

Well I'll be ....

Thank you Kirbert for the pointer. With my visual disability, there is a LOT of information in here that I simply do not see as I succumb to eye fatigue quickly and screen readers just aren't nimble enough to handle the load :-) I tend to concentrate on just finding the boxes :-)

Thanks to you, I was able to set Preferences to show everything I want, except for Unknown - for some reason that is not an option under the Preferences section, but now I have encouragement to look further.

Thank you again for taking the extra time to show me the way.

Warrior Woman
old dog learning new tricks

You get the coveted ultra balls, and at 30 you get master balls....

LB

Thank you to you too!

Warrior Woman
grateful

Yay for ultra balls! Thanks for the info :)

you get master balls....

Are they schweddy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxeO-4lIpL8

It was just too easy and could not be ignored. I'm weak. lol!

Is that confirmed? Master balls, I mean? I had heard that no one has seen any yet.

Master balls, I mean?

I had heard that no one has seen any yet.

You bet your life
Just ask my wife
Said Barnacle Bill the Sailor

Wouldn't you know
She loves Pokémon GO
Said Barnacle Bill the Sailor

If it is mentioned on an AQ board, is it not true....

Google and Reddit will help you check to see if the master balls are an urbane legend. ;-)

LB

see if the master balls are an urbane legend.

I wonder of the geeks at Pokemon know how funny this is?

Hmm. Not really following your logic. So you're saying the counts are useful, and you're grateful for them, but people shouldn't mind if they don't have the luxury of doing the same thing that you like to be able to do. I agree with the sentiment that "AQ stats" don't matter, but I don't log my stats as part of some competition.

I never said counts are useful. Yes, logging is a luxury that AQ affords boxers. There are some people that boxing is a competition, hence my AQ stat comment.

I presume to protect it from newbies

Actually i think most restrictions are put on to protect the boxes from muggles that may just want to "mess with boxes". Or to hide them from wanna be LBing "police". Or from "managers" of some types of lands that don't want everyone tromping on their land.

If you are of the mind that restrictions are for JUST newbies, you would be incorrect.

deniserows
in her own defense

Google and Reddit will help you check to see if the master balls are an urbane legend. ;-)

From dictionary.com:

adjective

1. having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities: an urbane manner.
2. reflecting elegance, sophistication, etc., especially in expression: He maintained an urbane tone in his letters.