I LIVE for status updates with actual messages included!
...most especially for my Farther From Home boxes...Like PDX boxers that one "someone" took the time to write message about... recently :)

They make my (average) of FIND a box = 1 hour NOT including Travel Time!~ ratio of TEN TIMES that to PLANT a box..look ...well "Very Important."

Extra Super Duper "extra credit" (trust me I notice) for updates rec'd on super crap weather days where I live.

Makes Placing A Box and the accompanying creativity, "vision", idea all worth while!

Ok so this is "Stupid", as I am not a Madonna fan but...

Yesterday when I was pulling into Cheyenne, WY to checkup on (and as fully expecting to PREplace my Roots Beneath Your Boots box...)

http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=17811)

... earlier in the day...by HOURS than I wake up on a normal/work day...and I'd *already driven for an hour!* ..her song "Vogue" was on the radio, with THIS lyric in particular resonating completely!

All you need is Your Own Imagination!!!
So use it that's what it's for!!! emphasis mine, on the "wrong" Syl-LAB-lable, as usual!...
Go inside, for your finest inspiration
Your dreams will open the door (open up the door)

THAT is what placing a box is ALL about.

preboxed
Who will NEVER, EVER! forget:
Without placers there is NO Game!

Go ahead, place one of your "babies" and tell me you don't know is meant here.....

Dare ya, PAL!
:-D
(who had 23 emails upon her return from "PAL"/Memorial Day/Camping NOT-at-work-weekend, with "status updates" MOST with comments, and another dozen or so in the next 24 hours..

Scared the cats by saying: YES! and "doing 'that" ...
Finders-Actually-Sent-Messages-Dance" ©
snort ™
;-p

I myself love to get even a short note saying that they found my box and that it's okay out in the wild. So in turn I try and always send a note when I log my finds. (Only when I'm in a big hurry do I not send one.)

-Celtic Cutie-

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I had 30 find reports this weekend, only ONE person took the time to write something. Interesting isn't it?

It was ever thus :-)

In the days before internet letterboxing, visiting the box yourself was the only way to know if anyone had stamped in. When you finally sat down to read the visitors book, a large number had just stamped in and left, whilst there where one or two who took the time to write a little about the box or their journey.

Mind you there are many reasons for not commenting when you are out in the wild, pouring rain being one of them. If you are already sat at a comfy computer it doesn't take five minutes to say ''box is safe'', if nothing else.

YT

The other day I found a non-AQ letterbox out of my normal area, which had not been logged into for nearly a year. The planter had left a mobile phone number so I sent a text message to say the box was still in good condition. In return he sent a response to say I was the first to contact him and had saved him the task of going out to check on the box.

Must admit that the amount I write in the visitors' book does vary. Sometimes it just a brief thank you for the hike, at others I comment on the weather (why is it so often raining when I boxing?), wildlife seen or whatever takes my fancy.

DM

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why is it so often raining when I boxing

Obviously because you live in the UK!!!

The logic I use is if it is a local boxer and a local box that is new or found recently, I am less likely to say much if anything in an email but if it is a little more remote, older or less likely to be visited I tend to at least include something like "all is well". Like the response Dilton Martian got, it saves them the task of going to check on it if I already told them.

Sometimes, it even pays off :)

Sounds like an interesting concept.... a bonus for those that tell you about the experience. Hmmmm

Tee - hopping into the shower with the wheels still turning. Man I hope nothing shorts out!

i very very often forget a darn pencil to leave a note. and always have little ones with me and sometimes it is hard to stamp in...and those black flies, and mosquitos!

I, too, have found the thrill in receiving notes from finders. So much so that I print them out and glue them in my "Plants Logbook".

Cindy B-)

It takes only a minute to say thanks, great location, stamp, whatever.....right after you register your find..........and as they say in song, "little things mean a lot".

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I had 30 find reports this weekend, only ONE person took the time to write something. Interesting isn't it?

I really can't understand this. I mean, what planter doesn't want feedback on a box? At the very least it is nice to know that the box is in good shape and still in place. It isn't just a courtesy to the planter, but a courtesy to all boxers. After all, we have all been disappointed on the trail when a box we are hunting is either damaged or missing. Of course, I am not saying that planters shouldn't check their boxes from time to time, but sometimes you just can't get to them. If a finder informs the box owner that a box is damaged in some way, the planter can at least update the clues to reflect this. Besides, it is really nice to hear that your boxes are being enjoyed!

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(Only when I'm in a big hurry do I not send one.)

It only takes a few moments to send a note about a box. You can always log the find at a later time, when you have the opportunity to send that note, or be sure to go back later and send it if you have to record your find without a note.

Happy posting,
Padfoot Treehuggers :)

I think I mush be the exception... and that the Sacramento area boxers should be commended! Of all the AQ logs my boxes have received, few, if any, have not been accompanied by a note. I Love, Love, Love getting little notes about my boxes, so thanks to all of you for making the game that much more fun!

Cheers!
Rhea

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I just wanted to say a quick thank you to the finders that take the time to do more than just click "found".

Ah, but sometimes there are reasons.

I found several boxes by the same planter in Philomath yesterday.

By the time, I slept on a couch the night before, got up early and with not enough sleep, hiked a lot and didn't eat enough and drove home to Portland, I was exhausted.

I quickly hopped onto AQ and logged them before collapsing in bed — it's easier to do it on the day at AQ, as the default is today's date.

However, I am planning a long email to that planter today, to thank her for the boxes and to tell her what I liked about them.

So, Maiden, you will be getting a note from me today. And just to let other people know, Maiden's boxes are always fun and the Endangered Species series is especially beautiful. It was a great Memorial Day spent in the woods seeking animals and one special plant.

I always appreciate notes on boxes, even on PT's or hidden-in-sight boxes at an event, and I didn't get any notes from most people on a couple I had at a recent event .

KuKu

I have to admit that I did not do a good job sending notes about event boxes (at least not at the very large event I attended) because the numbers were a bit overwhelming! I did send notes for the traditional boxes that were planted, but generally just logged the finds for the event boxes (except for a couple of very clever ones).

It is a lot easier to send notes when you are just finding a few at a time and not 30-50 at a time!

Cheers!
Rhea

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...the amount I write in the visitors' book does vary.

Actually, I rarely write much in the log at all. I nearly always write something to the owner when I log the find online. Hence, I usually consider writing in the log as writing to other finders rather than to the owner. And I don't normally have much to say, as presumably they've just experienced the same hunt as I have.

I also tend to be in more of a hurry when stamping in, because SWMBO doesn't enjoy this part at all and would just as soon get on to a geocache. Logging the find online, though, I have plenty of time to do.

THANX to all those that plant. Whenever i travel, besides a personal thank you, i also send out a blanket thank you to the whole region for making my visit that much more. i would never have seen some of the sites at places i never knew existed if it wasn't for letterboxes being planted.

Warning: Blanket thank you coming up: THANK YOU ALL PLANTERS! Each and everyone of you

deniserows
and thank you PLB senders too!

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I consider a letterbox to be a gift ... and whenever I receive a gift I write a thank you note. It's just good manners.

GT, this needs to be put in the letterboxing guidelines somewhere.

Maybe you should keep a bonus box nearby or somewhere else in town, then include a note in your clues that whoever records the find and sends feedback about the condition of the box will get the clues for the bonus box. ;o)

Of course, you might start getting a lot more 'false reports' from that, but it might encourage more people to write. =)

-- Ryan

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Maybe you should keep a bonus box nearby or somewhere else in town, then include a note in your clues that whoever records the find and sends feedback about the condition of the box will get the clues for the bonus box. ;o)

I like this idea =o) And it gives me some other really great ideas.... Hmm... *can't you just see the wheels turning =o)*

Rhea

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Maybe you should keep a bonus box nearby or somewhere else in town, then include a note in your clues that whoever records the find and sends feedback about the condition of the box will get the clues for the bonus box. ;o)

I love this idea, I use one of the last pages in my log books to list bonus boxes..hint, hint to those looking for our boxes....

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Of course, you might start getting a lot more 'false reports' from that, but it might encourage more people to write. =)

-- Ryan

You may have less false reports of finds if you list a "password" on one of the last pages with instructions on how to get clues to a bonus box, instead of just making it publically known.... IE: send e-mail to ?????? with this password and include your story to get clues to a bonus box... or something like that ;o)

-Buxton Boxers

You should really, really check our log books for clues to bonus boxes....Those who have checked have been pleasantly surprised ;o), isn't that right teacup...

Almost always, do I make comment when I get to a box. Of course sometimes you get so excited when you FINALLY find the box that you forget to look for a bonus box clue. Nevermore (I hope) will I miss a Buxton Boxers bonus...

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Maybe you should keep a bonus box nearby or somewhere else in town, then include a note in your clues that whoever records the find and sends feedback about the condition of the box will get the clues for the bonus box.

Lemme get this straight: Somebody drives half a day to find my letterbox, then they drive back home. They log their find and report on its condition, and as a reward I invite them to drive back again to find a bonus box nearby? Why do I think they'll be less than thrilled?

They log their find and report on its condition, and as a reward I invite them to drive back again to find a bonus box nearby? Why do I think they'll be less than thrilled?

No, you got it all wrong. When I said "nearby", I don't mean ten steps past the original box. I'm talking about a bonus box somewhere in the "area." Perhaps within a half hour drive of the original location. Another park, for another outing. It's not a box you would have gotten at the same time you got the first box. It's another box for another day. =)

-- Ryan

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I'm talking about a bonus box somewhere in the "area."

I have a bonus box like this. I send the clues as a thank you to people who have done me a letterboxing kindness (performed needed maintenance, sent helpful feedback, written a nice message after finding one of my boxes) and people are almost universally surprised/grateful to receive the clue. I agree with Scout - it's nice to say thank you to planters, and to many finders, too!

TurtleMcQ

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I have a bonus box like this. I send the clues as a thank you to people who have done me a letterboxing kindness (performed needed maintenance, sent helpful feedback, written a nice message after finding one of my boxes) and people are almost universally surprised/grateful to receive the clue. I agree with Scout - it's nice to say thank you to planters, and to many finders, too!

I have one for people who have rescued a box of mine or performed maintenance so I don't have to! I really, really appreciate it. And it's just my way of saying thank you. I try to carry baggies, logbooks and sometimes locknlocks on the trail (I added a temporary logbook just this last weekend).

dewberry

My whole problem with the "thank you" bonus box clue is that often folks go a distance for a boxing day.......and it would not make me happy if I could not reap my reward.

Why not just encourage folks to drop a note concerning a found box and forget about dangling carrots?

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Why not just encourage folks to drop a note concerning a found box and forget about dangling carrots?

Here is another possible way to get notes sent to you....

Hide a bonus box and rig it with explosives and post sufficient warning. If someone writes you a 'Thank You note' then you can tell them how to disarm the trigger. If they do not write you then they won't be writing any other placer in the future. Thus letterboxing will be kept "Pure" and "Polite" for all that are left.

Gee, General Hardass didn't even come up with this idea.

Don

Just kidding Folks!!!!!

Don

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My whole problem with the "thank you" bonus box clue is that often folks go a distance for a boxing day.......and it would not make me happy if I could not reap my reward.

Why not just encourage folks to drop a note concerning a found box and forget about dangling carrots?

I've had bonus boxes since 2005 for maintenance on boxes and other various reasons. I don't see it as a carrot since it's not posted anywhere. No one knows going into it that there may or may not be a bonus box, so the motivation to provide assistance is just because it's the right thing to do.

I like to have surprises for people that just do the right thing sometimes as a way to say, "thanks, you are appreciated." I allow 'boxers that have received the clues to pass them along the same way.

As a side bonus to me, I think that as word has spread, people may think about giving me reports or providing maintenance just in case there is a bonus clue. They may also do the same for others. It doesn't really matter what the motivation is-- the boxes get a little better care. It also gets people communicating and networking-- I happen to think that is part of the fun of the game (the stuff you get beyond the internet).

Why not just encourage folks to drop a note concerning a found box and forget about dangling carrots?

But.... but... I like carrots. =(

-- Ryan

I will continue to drop a note to those who planted boxes that I find, but I'd rather not be "rewarded" with clues to another box that is hours away from me....that is frustrating.

Doing what is right should be reward enough in itself.