Jump to content

Victoria's Mailboxes


Recommended Posts

Many of you will have noticed the archiving of the popular Victoria's Mailboxes locationless cache. This was forced on us as a result of a communication to the owner from "The Authorities". The owner has made enquiries and the communication appears to be genuine and comes from a government security department.

 

The problem is that visitors had to publish the precise co-ordinates of the mailbox visited. Unbelievably, this was seen as a "security risk" by TPTB and they thought it was giving valuable information to terrorist groups planning a potential attack B)B) The mindset of people who consider old postboxes a serious target baffles me but with all sorts of dire consequences being threatened we decided to archive the cache.

 

Given the date that the archive request came through (2nd April) I took some convincing that this was genuine.

 

What a mad, mad world we live in ;)

Edited by Lactodorum
Link to comment

A worrying development.

 

More so by the fact that the "security forces" are wasting scarce resources on nonesense like this whilst they miss genuine threats! ;)B)B)

 

I wonder if the e-mail came from the same guy who came up with the 45 minute claim?! ;););)

 

Cheers!

 

Seasider

Edited by Seasider
Link to comment

On a serious note :-

 

I don't understand how "the authorities" have any right to demand this, arn't we supposed to live in a democracy with free-speech and all that. Surley we have the right to compile lists of whatever we want ?

 

Or do we only demand those rights for iraqis ??

 

Chris

Link to comment

Why don't you publish the e-mail on here so we can form an opinion on whether it actually came from British "Intelligence"?! B)

 

It shouldn't take you long - maybe 45 minutes or so! ;););)

 

Perhaps Lord Hutton could give us his verdict on it?! ;)B);)

 

Cheers!

 

Seasider

Link to comment

that's just plain crazy!

 

how long before the AV8R - GC521C goes? that gets you to log Airports! and what about Water of Life - GC57FO we log Dams for that one. Put yourself into a terrorists mindset - what would you hit?

 

and on Chris n Maria's note, a terrorist could easily use multimap.co.uk to get some nice aerial pictures of said airports with full co-ords!

Link to comment

It will take a lot to convince me that it's not someone having an April Foll wind-up B)B)

 

Why on earth would any terrorist want to blow up a tiny red box built into the side of a cottage in some obscure little village when (heaven forbid) they could blow up a bl**dy great big one in the middle of London???

Link to comment

This shows you the effest that terrorists are having all over, They have induced a mass state of paranoia (sp?) they must sit back and laugh at all the panic they cause. Then they plan something big and it catches everyone out because we are too busy worrying about victorian mailboxes and the like!!

Link to comment

I'm glad Lactodorum opened this thread as I was about to make similar comments but without his full knowledge of the background.

If someone really thinks that a would be terrorist would use an obscure website to find targets then he has a vivid imagination - my response might have been that the Post Office should camoflague all post boxes so noone would be able to find them, then I thought they might just be paranoid enough to do so.

But then I was once challenged when I popped my Vista into the posting slot of a Victorian box, to take the statutory photo, by the keeper of the adjoining shop who saw the lanyard trailing and though I was planting a bomb!

On the positive side I may now be a safer driver if I don't keep diving for the next parking spot every time I see VR on a letter box - or will the habit die hard? :)

Link to comment

The concerns of the authorities are justified. I have copied all the co-ords into my database and am selling them to Delboy who is going to sell all the boxes (after arranging transport).

 

What the cache did though was make me aware that there are so many Victorian boxes. Whenever we pass a box we now check. Next step is the Edward VIII boxes who only reigned for 11 months.

Peter

Link to comment

The Email I received was from a genuine body. I was given a contact number with a direct line to the person I had to contact. They stated that it was brought to their attention by "A member of the public" PERHAPS SOMEONE WITH A GRUDGE AGAINST ME OR US, Who felt that it may be of use to "OTHERS"

I was told that although my co-ord's web link looked so innocent it did reveal the exact possition and street names of boxes in built up area's and especialy in the capital. just the sort of thing that could be of use to would be's as the cache had to be still in use one's. They mentioned that I may have broken a couple of rules under the newl'y imposed laws that deal with these things. Asked for my telephone no.and address, I refused to give them out. They probably already knew them.

I know that this cache has been very popular and a lot of people have had some good days out looking for boxes. it was that popular that jstead asked if I could make a web site to help finders not log the same box, so I changed the cache rules to make it work better and added a stats page, My first attemp at anything like that and it seemed to work well( My words ):) so all I can do is to apologize to those of you that have made the cache a great success and I think I may have the answer on how to replace it with another similar type of cache . only the almighty could stop it. My best wishes to you all and especialy Lacadorum for his support.

Nige

Link to comment

:) I was lucky enough to find one last week and get it posted in time. Only the one mind you after looking for several weeks. While trying to find it I managed to located several GR mailboxes. :) I will be sorry to see this locationless cache gone as I had never paid any attention to them before this, but found my head turning every time a red box appeared.

 

:) I am sure any terrorist with a mind to doing damage to the British Postal Service can find a mailbox whether it be a VR GR or ER.

Link to comment

Tough luck, Nige. It was enjoyable while it lasted. I like your idea for the replacement and look forward to it going 'live' in the (hopefully) not too distant future. I'm sure our illustrious approvers will be suitably sympathetic, if not, you could always give the spooks their address and telephone number. Then we could all watch as the 'men in black' went round to sort them out :):):)

Link to comment

hmmm - i could send you an email with an official sounding domain name and give you a phone number for you to ring me on so I could confirm i'm genuine....that is if i could stop myself laughing. I really really hope this is a windup - you should try contacting the press if it isn't to see what sort of reaction they would publish. Personally i'd have thought that hiding ammo boxes are more of a concern than postboxes! And i'm not even the slightest bit annoyed as i've not found a postbox yet!

Link to comment

I would imagine that if I were to ring the Post Office, they would tell me the exact location of the nearest pillar box. Don't they realise how potentially dangerous that information is?

 

But bombs can be placed anywhere, not just in pillar boxes. No-one must be permitted to know the location of anything at all, anywhere. All maps must be burned and all GPS units destroyed. The Ordnance Survey must be disbanded. Anyone who knows the position of anything anywhere must be eliminated. This is the only safe course of action.

Link to comment

Would be very surprised if these sites weren't monitored by the authorities. Were probably breaking some law just discussing it.

 

Anyway if they are reading it perhaps they would care to comment directly themselves.

 

just beacause your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

Not the work of the Birmingham chappy is it.

Link to comment

"The OS MasterMap Topography Layer is a large-scale digital database of the detailed surface features on the landscape, with relative positions and elevations of every town, manor, parish, or tract of land mapped to minute detail. This highly accurate, flexible resource covers some 400 million man-made and natural features, from fields to pillar boxes, each with its own unique identifier or TOID® for easy reference."

 

From the Ordnance Survey

Link to comment

As others have already said, it is absolutely ridiculous to suppose that the Victorian mailbox cache page would provide useful information to a terrorist. What about the many other websites that provide ordnance survey information, positions of ancient monuments etc etc?

 

What concerns me more is how to stop myself from examining every postbox that I pass. With a count of 14 Victorian postboxes to my name, I have developed a passion for them, especially the hexagonal pillar boxes. I think that I will always keep a lookout for these, even if they cannot be logged anymore.

 

PS Mady - I believe that yours was Edwardian - a rarity in itself. I've looked at so many of these now and Victorian ones are always either pillar boxes or built into a stone wall or other stone feature. Did you know that there is even a museum displaying examples of all British postboxes?

Edited by Firth of Forth
Link to comment

I am sure that there are many hundreds of officials trawling through the web looking for words such as Bomb etc and this will get flagged up to the fbi or cia or similar they will then start monitoring your telephone calls all emails you send and which sites you visit, Check you credit status, your co-op dividend card, criminal record etc etc and keep a file on you for at least 25 years. If they think you are a risk you might disapear suddnely in the middle of the night never to be seen again.

 

Conspiracy theory ??????

 

who was on the grassy knoll that day?

Link to comment
They mentioned that I may have broken a couple of rules under the newl'y imposed laws that deal with these things. Asked for my telephone no.and address, I refused to give them out. They probably already knew them.

Did they say what these rules are? I have access to several legal databases and can't find anything that would stand up in a stiff breeze, never mind in court.

 

Also, why would they ask for your details if they had them?

Link to comment

I find this all rather bizarre. Whilst acknowledging that post boxes were used by Irish terrorist groups in the past, (They were always emptied and sealed for Royal Visits) I fail to see how details of there locations would be considered sensitive.

 

I'm sure either the post office or Royal Mail would freely give this information.

 

Although the current terrorist threat from Al Quieda (spelling?) is credible, to date post boxes have hardly been top of their list!!! If they were I'm sure there are much easier ways of locating them then searching through Geocaching.com.

 

This must be a joke.

 

I'd challenge the said authorities. Even the likes of MI5 have a 'charter' to adhere to these days.

 

Obi. :)

 

PS There is a post box at the end of my road!

 

Ooops :) The'll be abseiling through my windows any second!!! :):D:mad:

Link to comment

I just past a Victorian Post box.. The Smell of Almonds was overwhelming.. and I was sure I could see a pile of co-op mix lieing in the gutter!!!!!

 

To be honest .. This borders on Pathetic.. Just don't plant a cache next to anything red with a slot in it..

 

And to security services monitering.. Ex forces.. 2 tours of Ireland.. and you have lost the plot..

 

Every waste bin .. wheely bin, post box, letter box, government building, etc etc etc is a target.. Sorry. peeps.. Just a case of reaction V commen sence..

Edited by Moss Trooper
Link to comment

What next? Stop painting the boxes red so that they can't be seen by terrrorists? Maybe pebble-dash the wall-set ones so that they blend into the background and then disguise the freestanding ones to look like parking meters!

 

This 'war on terrorism' jape has really gone too far. It's now become a parody of itself.

 

I don't think that even if Orwell and Kafka got together to dream up satire for the 21st Century they would have come up with something quite so absurd and comical as this edict that the Victorian letterbox locationless cache be discontinued to protect us from terrorists.

 

Some of us are good at spotting Vicky's box, some not. I, personally, am pretty useless at it. Nevertheless, I think it's a perfectly legitimate and completely harmless hemi-demi-semi-pastime while one goes about one's normal travels and travaills. It's slightly educational and it's fun and it tunes one's observational skills. I've got a lot to learn and nothing to lose from it.

 

I live in a free country and I vote that we carry on being free and sharing with data such as locationless and other geocaches which do no harm to national security or anyone else.

 

The guardians of our safety(?) have made complete prats of themselves on this one.

 

I just hope that it does not bring geocaching into disrepute. The few geocachers whom I have met are very high calibre individuals.

 

The absurdity of withdrawing a cache which involves red-painted street-mounted letter-boxes in carefully chosen public places is something which might cause public ridicule of our sport/pastime.

 

This sort of silliness, such as regarding a locationless cache as being some kind of national security threat, is quite absurd and really ought to be disregarded by reasonable people.

 

Letterboxes in the UK are painted red. They are painted that way for conspicuity.

 

What's to hide?! Vicky's age? She's old enough and mouldy enough not to care!

 

Cheers, The Forester

Link to comment
I don't understand how "the authorities" have any right to demand this, arn't we supposed to live in a democracy with free-speech and all that. Surley we have the right to compile lists of whatever we want ?

Sure, create all the list you want... just don't ever right them down or tell anyone whats on these lists... and make sure to wear your foil hat when outside or near windows. :D

 

"Ok class, your assignment for next week is to come up with the top ten reasons using the coords for a postbox would make more sense than getting a map and figuring out any location and then visiting...."

Link to comment
I am completely baffled by this...

 

It is utter tosh.

 

That's either a town in Wales or Pakistan.

 

The solution to the mailbox problem is quite simple: "HARMLESS" in white paint on the boxes will do the trick.

 

The next problem will be a bit harder to solve. Wait'll Dubya finds out that the British burned down the White House. Talk about shock and awe! :D

Link to comment

I'd like to report the letterbox near my house to the authorities. Since its final collection is at 6pm, it has a sign that tells me the location of the neareast letterbox with a later collection! Right on the front!

 

This sort of thing really shouldn't be allowed. Once that information is out in public for all to see, you never know who will use it.

Edited by evilrooster
Link to comment

As a postman myself, I now wait for the memo to come around to say that when some little old lady asks where the nearest post box is, our reply should be "Can't tell you incase you plant a bomb in it!" :D

 

My gripe isn't helped by the fact I found one yesterday!! :D

Link to comment
As a postman myself, I now wait for the memo to come around to say that when some little old lady asks where the nearest post box is, our reply should be "Can't tell you incase you plant a bomb in it!" :D

 

My gripe isn't helped by the fact I found one yesterday!! :D

A postman who found a letter box..... surely your employers should tell you where they are??? :D

Link to comment
What next? Stop painting the boxes red so that they can't be seen by terrrorists?

I spotted a Black and white Telephone box today! It looked reaaly old anyone know whay a box would not be red? I know the modern ones are made of plastic or perspex but this one looked ancient and it was in the middle of knowhere. Maybe it is a terrorist plant!!!

Link to comment

I've just realized I am due for a call from the "security" as I am responsible for a virtual, the answer to which is the distance to London. Now any terrorist only has to find it to know how far to go to eliminate the capital. Just as well I have been cunning and not given the direction - and I am certainly not telling which cache here in case "they" get ideas! :D

Link to comment
I spotted a Black and white Telephone box today! It looked reaaly old anyone know whay a box would not be red?

Black and white you say? Humm. I think I know what that is. It's a half-timbered late Tudor phone box. As you can imagine, they're pretty rare. If such a site was to be targeted by terrorists (or woodworm) it would be a tragedy - a real loss to our cultural heritage. Fingers crossed there then.

 

SP

Link to comment
As a postman myself, I now wait for the memo to come around to say that when some little old lady asks where the nearest post box is, our reply should be "Can't tell you incase you plant a bomb in it!" :D

 

My gripe isn't helped by the fact I found one yesterday!! :D

A postman who found a letter box..... surely your employers should tell you where they are??? :D

New policy, we are not told where they are anymore...............security :D

Link to comment
The Email I received was from a genuine body. I was given a contact number with a direct line to the person I had to contact.

 

They mentioned that I may have broken a couple of rules under the newl'y imposed laws that deal with these things. Asked for my telephone no.and address, I refused to give them out. They probably already knew them.

If this person was genuine they already have the recourses to locate all personal information about you before they contacted you. As they do not have that information to hand before contact I would seriously consider that this was not a genuine contact by the department they claimed to be from. If I was you I would send a letter to the department concerned querying if this was actually a genuine approach, and asking for a reply by letter. If it was genuine they will have no problem confirming this in writing, if it is a false approach they will look into it to stop this person from impersonating one of their staff again.

Dave

Link to comment

I have been in contact with The Northumbrian and I am quite certain this is no joke. It is a genuine demand from a genuine security body. I repeat that I am dismayed at the level of paranoia in official circles but there's nothing I can do change the situation.

 

I suggest that having vented our collective spleens we just accept it and move on to happier issues - like hunting for ammo boxes hidden in the woods(oops!!!!) :D

 

Thread closed. :D

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...