What counts as a find? What counts as an attempt?
The official AQ definition of a find requires finding the stamp of the box you were looking for. No stamp, not a find, and it should not be recorded as such on Atlas Quest. If you wish to count such finds in your own private logbook, that's your business, but such boxes should not be counted as finds on Atlas Quest.
An attempt means that you believe the box is missing. You found the location where you are absolutely certain the box should be, and the box was physically missing from its location. If you fail to find a box because it started raining and you turned back early, that is not an attempt. If you fail to find the box because a swarm of bees is near it and you are unable to retrieve it, that is not an attempt. If you cannot solve the coded clue, that does not count as an attempt. An attempt means that you looked for the box and believe it to be missing.
We realize that on both counts, there is some disagreement among members about what should count or not count as a find and an attempt. You're welcome to your own opinion on the matter and may keep track of your own PFX counts in any manner you wish, but to allow apple-to-apple comparisons of official PFX counts on Atlas Quest, we like to standardize counts as much as possible and these are the official definitions selected by Green Tortuga. If you are caught recording finds and attempts that don't fit the official definition, they can be deleted with little or no notice. This is especially true for attempts since strikeouts were implemented. If a lot of false attempts are logged on a box, it may stop showing up in most default searches, so it's critically important that only valid attempts are logged. While the situation isn't nearly as critical regarding finds, recording an invalid find may encourage people to search for the box (it's been "found" recently, after all) and end up disappointing future searchers when they learn the stamp is actually missing. So please don't record finds unless you found the stamp and don't record attempts unless you believe the box is missing.
An attempt means that you believe the box is missing. You found the location where you are absolutely certain the box should be, and the box was physically missing from its location. If you fail to find a box because it started raining and you turned back early, that is not an attempt. If you fail to find the box because a swarm of bees is near it and you are unable to retrieve it, that is not an attempt. If you cannot solve the coded clue, that does not count as an attempt. An attempt means that you looked for the box and believe it to be missing.
We realize that on both counts, there is some disagreement among members about what should count or not count as a find and an attempt. You're welcome to your own opinion on the matter and may keep track of your own PFX counts in any manner you wish, but to allow apple-to-apple comparisons of official PFX counts on Atlas Quest, we like to standardize counts as much as possible and these are the official definitions selected by Green Tortuga. If you are caught recording finds and attempts that don't fit the official definition, they can be deleted with little or no notice. This is especially true for attempts since strikeouts were implemented. If a lot of false attempts are logged on a box, it may stop showing up in most default searches, so it's critically important that only valid attempts are logged. While the situation isn't nearly as critical regarding finds, recording an invalid find may encourage people to search for the box (it's been "found" recently, after all) and end up disappointing future searchers when they learn the stamp is actually missing. So please don't record finds unless you found the stamp and don't record attempts unless you believe the box is missing.