First of all, welcome back.

I've been at this for almost 10 years and can answer some of your questions, at least partially:

Why are there 2 web sites?

Why does one have boxes that the other doesn't?

I believe that some people only know about letterboxing.org and some only know about atlasquest.com. They then list their boxes on the site they know. Others prefer one site over the other. Lastly, some people list on both sites.

Many of the boxes indicate they have not been found in years. Are people just not logging them on the sites?

Yes and no. I have been doing some box maintenance and there are several finders in the logbooks that have not been recorded on Atlas Quest. Some people prefer to keep their finds to themselves. But there are also boxes which haven't been found in years. Those are such fun successes to find a letterbox that hasn't been found or recorded in a long while.

If a box shows no activity for a few years, do I even attempt to find it?

Yes! Yes! I have found letterboxes that haven't been found in close to 10 years. It's an amazing experience unearthing a forgotten treasure.

Go for it and find those boxes near you and then venture out and discover what else awaits. The best of luck in rejoining the hobby.

Even though I’ve only been at this for a couple of years I agree with AW.

There are many boxes that might not be there but for us it’s fun to search anyway. I think the loneliest box we’ve found so far hadnt been found in 9 years!

Welcome, welcome!

Why does one have boxes that the other doesn't? There are about 10 listed in my area (Marlinton WV) on one site and only 1 on the other.

I don’t have all of my boxes listed on LbNA, because I have restricted them on AQ, meaning that the boxer has to have a certain number of finds and plants (or log in as an AQ member) before they can access the clues. It is considered poor form to list a box on LBNA but have it linked to your AQ Restricted clue, because the seeker might get a “cannot access” message.

There might be more boxes on the AQ site in your area, but you can’t see them yet due to restrictions.

I think the answer to almost all of your questions is it's a matter of personal preference. That and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But you can go to neat new places trying.

I haven't read through all the responses to this yet but off hand what I would like to share is this. Atlas Quest has some nice settings you can adjust. I recommend checking the show abandoned boxes box on your setting otherwise you may not see all the boxes available because if the planter hasn't logged in for quite some time the system will not display this clue without that box being checked.

Another feature I appreciate is the strike out option, a strike out means it has been searched for by three different people and not found so it is presumably missing. In my experience they often are so I recommend leaving that box unchecked so you don't accidentally go after one.

On the topic not found in years I can say this. I like to wake boxes up that haven't been found in 5 or 6 years. It is my experience that they are usually alive and well but you have to factor in vegetation growth and tree and log decomposition that can make clues difficult to decipher. An example is one box I looked for that talked about the cute 6 foot Christmas tree growing on top of a large tree stump was when I found it was over 14 feet tall lol. This type of challenge excites me though.

Sometimes I think these boxes are not looked for because people don't realize that the system has different classification for box status to keep your boxing experience less frustrating if you are new to the game and helps to ensure your success. So in the preset settings things like abandoned boxes are not automatically shown so you. You need to manually check that box that says I enjoy a good challenge so please show abandoned boxes.

It is also my experience that some boxes shown as not found on Atlas Quest have been found but not logged with the most recent find sometimes by dozens of boxers. Whether this is because there are multiple sites where some planters use both but not all finders do, or because the finders don't enjoy logging finds I don't know. I have a friend who only collects the images she finds and doesn't event stamp in or date the book at all.

I no longer show my plants on letter boxing north america because it use to be and very well may still be if you didn't log into there site for a long time they would adopt your boxes out to other people.

Hope this helps. check those custom settings you might be surprised how many great boxes you may never have known were in your area.

Correction, the auto settings show everything. You have to go to my page, settings, box settings to check hide strike out. it been a few years since I was on this site.