Thoughts on Series Plants

Over on the LbUSA Yahoo group there was quite a discussion on whether or not there needs to be a logbook in each box in a series. There were a few people who stated that if the box is to be considered a letterbox that it must have a logbook. Many others stated that they felt that in a series that there did not need to be a logbook in each box and that there only needs to be a logbook in the final box. There were yet a few more that thought there should be a logbook in the first and the last letterbox. This discussion generated a lot of heated discussion, and there are a few ideas that I took from this discussion.

First, and foremost that letterboxing is all about fun and that there are really no rules in how to go about planting your boxing. Also, from this discussion and from reading the FAQ's on Letterboxing.org and the book The Letterboxing Companion that the most important item in letterboxing is the stamp. That is what makes letterboxing what it is; what makes it unique.

So, my personal thoughts on whether there should be a logbook in each box in a series are that it really depends on what you are attempting to do. I think that if you are locating a series and that each plant is really independent of the other then yes I think that having a logbook in each in important. However, if you are using the boxes to bring people to places or along a trail with some sort of theme and these boxes are dependant on one and other, then I really think that you don't need to place a logbook in each; I feel that the experience becomes too redundant. You must have a logbook in the final box and maybe one in the fist box, again that really depends on what you want the finder's experience to be.

What makes this activity so interesting is seeing how creative people can be with their stamps and their plants and that is why it is important to not have a set in concrete rules, that would kill this hobby faster than anything else.