New US Postal Service Ad Campaign: Email Sucks, So Mail Stuff Instead

from the from-luddites-r-us dept

Wed, Oct 5th 2011 7:56am — Mike Masnick

It seems the US Postal Service (USPS) is starting to get pretty desperate. Losing a ton of money, it's apparently decided that the time is now to attack the competition. The competition, of course, is email. It's put out two TV commercials that focus on bashing email for not being either secure or reliable: Of course, I'm pretty sure I've had a lot more physical mail "lost" by human carriers than emails just disappear. And you could easily argue that regular mail isn't particularly secure at times either. All in all, though, it seems like a bizarre commercial. Why even bother making silly assertions about email? Do they really think people are going to start saying... "gee, I can't trust this email stuff to communicate with my friends; now I'm going to start sending real letters through the USPS!"

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Filed Under: email, snail mail, usps

84 Comments

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Marcus Carab (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 7:45am

At least it's not a sad letter carrier talking about how mail piracy is costing him his livelihood.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:09am

Am I the only one with a sudden urge to hack my fridge?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:09am

Re:
Agreed, and asking for a law against email to save him.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
David, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:14am

I also don't have to waste time shredding emails with personal information on them before I throw them away or recycle them. There is no way that the overall physical mail process is more secure than electronic delivery or account login statements. All of my statements, which they showed in that ad, are only available through a login into the respective website.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:15am

Re: Re: Death and!
Or a tax/fee/license/some-such-bullshit charged for email and funneled to the USPS...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:17am

There is one thing mail is still good for.

Sending that 4 Terabyte drive to others.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:18am

Why do we hold on to the past?
Why should there be jobs and professions no longer needed be require to be saved from change by law and education?

When did progress become a dirty word?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:19am

Since 1985...
... this has been my image of the honorable local mail carrier.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:19am

Re:
fedex can get there faster
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:21am

Re: Since 1985...
John Cusack in 1985?! Quick, to the time machine!

we may yet stand a chance!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WysiWyg (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:22am

Safe?
How is that safe!? She's handing over the mail directly to people! How can she know if it's the right person?

And has everyone really gotten a nice big lock on their mailboxes nowadays?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:22am

Re: Re:
They could, but if you aren't there when they pretend to come by, they will bring it back to their office in another city and make you drive down to them to get it. Stupid fedex and their suckiness!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
FM Hilton, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:23am

The US Mail is not secure, or honest
As this article relates:
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/aug/19/mail-carrier-investigated-stealing-mail-ar-199726/

"Of the 623,000 postal employees and contractors across the country, last year only 446 were arrested for theft."

"In 2009-- the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General completed 5,501 investigations for suspected illegal activity, including mail theft.

There were 865 convictions and more than 24 million dollars eventually paid in fines, restitutions and recoveries to the Postal Service."

My email hasn't ripped me off yet, although the spam tries to-but at least I can delete that.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:24am

New ad campaign: Mp3s are useless and unreliable. Use cassettes instead. The music you can feel.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:27am

When I throw an email away, it doesn't go to a landfill
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Robert Ring, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:27am

Holy crap ... They're right!

So long, suckers! *disconnects internet*
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:30am

Back in 1981...
the USPS had email, but couldn't even do that profitably. Or with anything resembling adeptness.

"The USPS would set up a network where a message would originate electronically. It would then be sent to one of a handful of participating postal offices that had terminals, where it would be printed out. The hard copy of the message would then be delivered to its destination - essentially in the same manner and with the same speed as first class mail."

So... like a telegraph, I suppose. Only at a loss of $5 per piece of 'electro-mail':

"A message was priced at 26� - and for each email message, the USPS was said to lose around $5."

More info at this link: http://cybertelecom.blogspot.com/2011/09/us-postal-service-versus-email-historic.html

Like how the USPS had to override the FCC to get this money-losing system rolling and other such hilarity.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:31am

Re: Re: Re: Death and!
I'm surprised (and thankful!) that we don't have something like that already. Sending email is like stealing from the government.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:32am

Re:
The music you can feel.

I spent a lot of time "feeling" said music while attempting to retrieve it from various cassette decks and return it to its rightful place upon the spools inside the cassette itself.

Good times...

[Also, VHS.]
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pr, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:33am

Talking Points
In my town in the last few weeks there was a postal worker rally for the post office. I've noticed that there's a standard talking point about why the post office can't be cut: poor people in rural areas need to get their prescription drugs by mail, and if there was no Saturday delivery they would have to wait all the way until Monday to get them.

Unless, of course, they planned ahead and ordered them one day earlier.

When I pointed this out on the news site carrying the original article, a very well prepared troll accused me of trying to cut his great aunt who didn't like email off from the world.

So it looks like there's a whole campaign going on to keep a bureaucracy in power, complete with astroturf protest rallies and web presence.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:36am

Re:
hmmm, Now I'll have to find paper and ink and actually write my reply to Robert and then mail it to him. He should get in a few weeks.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:39am

Re:
Probably not less secure either the way most people are ignorant of electronic informatin security. Password=password
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:42am

An online virus has never attacked a corkboard?
true, but a cumputer virus is easer to deal with then Anthrax.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lord Binky, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:44am

It just misses that special touch.
I find trolling so much more personal when I do it by mail.
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cc (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:45am

"Hate the environment. It's overrated, anyway. Use snail mail today."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:54am

Re: Re: Re:
Fedex are retarded. Use Puro, cheaper and they don't leave your shipment outside your house unattended without ringing the bell ...

That being said. Yes let's all start using USPS again and wait 2-8 weeks for that damn letter. You know... old people always so that younger ones need to slow down. I guess only the USPS are paying attention.
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rstr5105 (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 8:57am

Re:
http://hackaday.com/2011/10/04/effortlessly-troll-your-friends-each-time-they-reach-for-a-snack/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
fogbugzd (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:00am

Re:
>>Sending that 4 Terabyte drive to others.

If you think about it, a mail truck with a load of Netflix DVD's has awesome bandwidth. Who needs fiber to the curb when we already have the USPS delivering to the curb? USPS FTW!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Aaron *Head* Moss (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:00am

Re: Re: Re: Death and!
Thanks guys. Next thing you know the USPS is going to try all of the above. 8) (I say this only half kidding).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spaceboy (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:09am

Re:
If Duran Duran or Pink Floyd came to my house to perform each time I wanted to listen to their music then count me in!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:10am

expectation of privacy
From a legal perspective, snail mail does have a advantage when it comes to privacy. There's serious laws against opening mail not addressed to you and law enforcement can't expect to open people's mail without following proper procedure.
With this kind of advertisement, the feds are acknowledging that people are using email in the place of snail mail. I would think that equating the purpose of the two would also signify an acknowledgement that citizens expectations of privacy should be equivalent as well.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:15am

Re: expectation of privacy
To push that analogy a little further:
The Gov has physical control of all mail moving thru their USPS facilities--at any time for no expressed reason mail can be scanned, opened, disappeared, etc and this is normal because everybody expects some mail to just never arrive.

Perhaps if all email went thru their facilities their wouldn't be complaints...

Also, Senators/Congressman get "free postage" privileges, perhaps they should get "free bandwidth" equivalent privileges thru the new gov email routine (& inspection) facility...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:17am

Abolish their government established mailbox delivery monopoly!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:19am

Re: Re: expectation of privacy
Or, better yet!

Task the USPS with getting the dark fiber online, connecting strong routers, and collecting money from peering agreements with ISPs and bandwidth providers.

They can call it the "USPS Internet Backbone Service" or something like that.

There we go, funding problems solved--and they'll still be doing the same job--packet delivery.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sean Palmer, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:25am

Re:
Are you joking? There is *no* security on emails. Absolutely none. Unless you're encrypting your own email before you send it, anyone on the path from one mail server to another can read your mail if they want to. Not to mention the email admins at your school or business who have access to all of your email. A letter in an USPS building or truck, or your postmaster-general-approved mailbox, is protected by federal law. It is much more secure.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:28am

Re: Why do we hold on to the past?
Are you saying you want to FIRE all those postal workers? You want to DESTROY JOBS? What kind of monster ARE you?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Beta (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:28am

know what business you're in
E-mail is highly reliable. And the sad fact is that nobody cares about security. PGP (free and open-source) gives Fort Knox security and is quite easy to use, but just try persuading your correspondents to encrypt/decrypt e-mail with it. And don't get me started about the legality of cryptographic signatures.

The Post Office would have been smarter to play up a quality of paper mail which can't easily be surpassed by e-mail: charm. There is something about holding a letter in your hand, a piece of paper prepared by the hands of someone you know, with the handwriting you recognize, the tidiness or wildness, the post-scriptum crammed in at the bottom, the creases and finger-smudges, maybe the yellowing at the edges. I have a letter my grandfather wrote to my grandmother when he was stationed in London during WWII; he wrote it on the day they announced victory in Europe, and he describes the street scenes and celebrations in a youthful longhand, similar to but different from the inscriptions in some of his books from when he was an old man. In another month I'll write a letter to a couple of my little nieces inviting them (and their parents, natch) to a Christmas party. I'll use my favorite pen and let myself go a little with the capital letters, and maybe add a sketch or two. That's what paper is still best at.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:30am

Did they mention viruses???
Use USPS,
Because its really hard to send anthrax through the internet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Daemon_ZOGG, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:32am

"New US Postal Service Ad Campaign: Email Sucks, So Mail Stuff Instead"
I guess this is the USPS's marketing division's version of: "These are not the droids your looking for".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Scooters (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:35am

Thank you, USPS. I've seen the error of my ways.
Cost of a postage stamp: $0.44
Number of friends: 122
Cost of stationary: $4
The ability to file bankruptcy to keep them in contact several times per day, every day of the year: Priceless

What a failure. Next, they'll go after Twitter in lieu of a postcard.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:54am

No Viruses through the Mail ? I thought anthrax was a Virus.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:54am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
2-8 weeks?? I've yet to have USPS mail (including packages) take longer than a week. In-state mail typically takes 1 day.

The USPS hasn't worked at the glacial pace I remember in my youth in many, many years.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Berenerd (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:57am

Re: Re: Re:
Fedex in my town wont bother to deliver it. they deliver t to the post office and the post office tells me to come get it...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Berenerd (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 9:58am

Re: Re: Why do we hold on to the past?
They will all go postal on us...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spointman (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:06am

Individuals versus companies
"gee, I can't trust this email stuff to communicate with my friends; now I'm going to start sending real letters through the USPS!"

I think you missed the point a bit. These ads aren't aimed at Joe Blow sending a love note to his girlfriend, or at a girl writing her Aunt in Nowhere, Nebraska. They're aimed at middle managers at firms, both big and small, who don't understand email and technology. They're designed to remind them that paper mail is traditional, and therefore better (yeah, right), while at the same time sowing some FUD about email. One person sending an email versus a paper letter to a friend or family member won't make or break the Post Office. One company switching all its billing to email instead of paper mail will make a measurable dent in their revenue, though.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
socalgrama (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:06am

e-mail sucks so mail stuff instead
The US Postal services has stated many times that they are loosing money or going bankrupt. If so, how can they afford this expensive ad compaign?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Atkray (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:09am

Re: The US Mail is not secure, or honest
Still safer than the TSA.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Scooters (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:16am

Re:
Nope, it's a bacteria.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:18am

Re: Re:
Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.

Maybe we should change that to USPS truck full of DVDs......
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PrometheeFeu (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:28am

Re: Re:
"anyone on the path from one mail server to another can read your mail if they want to."

You mean kind of like dozens of postal employees handle my mail and have the opportunity to open it? Or the way if my mailbox is full or the postal worker is confused, my mail will sometimes be left in front of my door where anyone steal it?

"Not to mention the email admins at your school or business who have access to all of your email."

Yeap. That's somewhat reminiscent of the way anyone at your company's mail-room could open your physical mail if you have it delivered there.

"A letter in an USPS building or truck, or your postmaster-general-approved mailbox, is protected by federal law."

That sort of reminds me of the way the 4th Amendment makes it illegal to read someone else's email.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:36am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I order something from LA. It ships USPS. Not only does it take over a week to have a tracking update, but it takes roughly a month to get to me. Every single time. And we're not talking about a 5-10lbs package. No. An envelope. A plain little envelope. Takes exactly 32 days (excluding weekends and holidays) to come here.

Yeah, I wonder if it's not a postal guy walking from LA with my envelope. Would be faster...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PrometheeFeu (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:40am

Re: know what business you're in
My wife and I are long distance and we use the full range of communication services, video-chat, phone, social networks, email, IM and yes, snail-mail mostly for packages. We tried USPS, but gave up on them. They take too long, their insurance service is a scam and the service is poor to mediocre. If USPS wants to be used, they should try to provide a better service.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
btrussell (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:43am

USPS Holds Our Mail During Vacation, Keeps Holding It
http://consumerist.com/2011/10/usps-holds-our-mail-during-vacation-keeps-holding-it.html
[ link to this | view in thread ]
New Mexico Mark, 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:43am

Typical USPS timeliness
Good timing, USPS!

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2004/11/email_is_old_fa.html

But to give them full credit, I'll bet they are already starting to develop their anti-SMS campaign ads for rollout in 5-10 years. "Do you really trust your important messages to just go flying willy nilly through the air without even being in a sack???"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
btrussell (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 10:45am

Re: e-mail sucks so mail stuff instead
They used the net, not a piece of paper in your mailbox. Huge savings.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:02am

Re: Individuals versus companies
They're aimed at middle managers at firms, both big and small, who don't understand email and technology.

"Print out my emails and read them back to me. I can't risk having my account compromised. Also, wear some gloves when you read those emails. And get me some sort of personal ventilation system. God knows where those 'electronic mails' have been."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DannyB (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:09am

Re:
C'mon.

Use Wax Cylinders. Gramaphones. Or if you're really techy 8-track.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DannyB (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:11am

Re:
Shame on you for not recycling.

But seriously. I wonder how much energy it takes to deliver a snail-mail vs an email? Nevermind what becomes of the dead-tree medium it's written on.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:15am

Re: Did they mention viruses???
You wouldn't download an anthrax infected kitten, would you?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
P3T3R5ON (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:32am

All those years ago
The USPS went wrong all those years ago when email started taking over as a main line communication. When e-mail servers started popping up all over the place, Juno, Hotmail, etc. Back then somebody should have had the smarts to get the USPS online and make it a e-mail system. That way it would have opened the door for familiarity with the USPS and kept them in the loop of mail delivery, both electronic and paper. I don't know how many times I've heard complaints about how email is undercutting the USPS, well stop bitching and do something about it.

Now... it's to little to late.... goodbye USPS
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A Dan (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 11:33am

Re: Re:
He was saying he doesn't have to rely on the security of the email box and transit, since all the vital information is only accessed through a secure website and not sent in an easily-intercepted email anyway.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 12:16pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Wow, my experience is completely opposite of this. I order packages from all over the country, and rarely does it take more than a week for them to arrive once USPS has taken custody of them.

I wonder what the difference is?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DOlz (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 12:22pm

Re: The US Mail is not secure, or honest
You're going to have a few rotten apples in any barrel. At least the USPS prosecutes them ... unlike say the NYPD.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DOlz (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 12:26pm

Not really
"Losing a ton of money, it's apparently decided that the time is now to attack the competition."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNyhX6vmYcA
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PRMan, 5 Oct 2011 @ 12:30pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
There is one benefit from ordering through the USPS. After reporting an SSD drive missing after 3 weeks and the USPS paying an insurance claim to the vendor because they couldn't find it anywhere, I received the SSD few days later.

Free SSD! It just takes a month!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
timmaguire42 (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 12:59pm

I don't how long it's going to take me to use my last 10 stamps, but if this campaign helps them stick around long enough that I don't have to eat the loss, then more power to them!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PRMan, 5 Oct 2011 @ 1:38pm

Re: The US Mail is not secure, or honest
But you have to think that it's not out of the question for each thief to average 10 reported thefts per person. So with 5501 investigations, 446 arrests is quite good.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chosen Reject (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 1:42pm

Re: Re:
Yeah, but the ping times are killer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
BeeAitch (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 1:46pm

Re: Re: Re: expectation of privacy
...at 5-10x the cost of what private enterprise could do it for...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 1:52pm

Re: Re: Re:
The bandwidth is great, but the latency sucks for videogaming!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 5 Oct 2011 @ 2:06pm

A bit of perspective, though...
At least they're trying to campaign to convince former users to come back -- instead of trying to pass laws to force them. You know, like certain other industries prefer to do.

That could still happen, and I wouldn't want to bet against it, but that is one bright spot about this campaign. No matter how much it sucks otherwise.
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illmunkeys, 5 Oct 2011 @ 2:18pm

Your were spreading a myth here.

Interestingly, USPS operates at a profit. So they aren't losing money on operations. Where they are going into the hole is due to a congressional mandate to pay 75 years worth of retirement in 5 years. Which is completely ridiculous. I'll get you links when I can get to something other than my phone.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
illmunkeys, 5 Oct 2011 @ 2:30pm

Response to: illmunkeys on Oct 5th, 2011 @ 2:18pm
Link:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/29/1021133/-Republicans-Starve-The-Post-Office-Along- With-the-Rest-of-Us?via=search
[ link to this | view in thread ]
illmunkeys, 5 Oct 2011 @ 2:32pm

Response to: illmunkeys on Oct 5th, 2011 @ 2:18pm
I wrote 5 years. I meant 10.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
illmunkeys, 5 Oct 2011 @ 2:38pm

Response to: illmunkeys on Oct 5th, 2011 @ 2:18pm
To further clarify: the usps is one of the few govt entities that is self sufficient. Ie: they don't get tax dollars. It its evidence of govt working correctly. Which makes me crack up when people claim its failing. It does more business today, due to online shopping than ever before. The _only_ reason it is failing is because of the 2006 mandate. They are funding retirement for workers not even born yet. Any company would fail with this burden.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Oct 2011 @ 6:06pm

email = environment friendly
[ link to this | view in thread ]
monkyyy, 6 Oct 2011 @ 12:09am

Re: Re:
more for dead tree, unless its nearby
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 Oct 2011 @ 3:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
where you live probably plays a big role
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cloksin (profile), 6 Oct 2011 @ 5:47am

Hypocracy
Did anyone else notice that at the end of those two ads to try and get people to stop using email and go with snail mail that you have to go online to their website to learn more about it? Kinda hypocritical if you ask me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 Oct 2011 @ 6:20am

Re: Re: Re:
At the very least, physical mail generally indicates such tampering, whereas email does not.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
btrussell (profile), 6 Oct 2011 @ 7:12am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
You have to receive it first.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Overcast (profile), 6 Oct 2011 @ 7:19am

But my email client isn't rude to me, the way the postal workers are at both the post offices near me...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
matt, 25 Jan 2012 @ 5:27pm

Re:
sites get hacked all of the time. email can be easily hacked. some things are better with a hardcopy
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cyrus, 14 May 2012 @ 11:08pm

I support paper mail.
I think paper has many more merits, I actually just spent all day in circles between 2 servers, 3 different levels of spam filters and a customer trying to send some important documents to me. And the irony is as mad as i get at the USPS for misplacing something, it has happened twice in my life. E-mail does this to me monthly. Also for security, so what if you have to shred your paper, or even burn it. At least it is one copy and straight forward. The post office does not open, scan and save a copy. My mail servers, isp, senders mail server all save e-mails, Google scans it for information and in the end, you still have to shred your HDD to really get the data off of it.

Go USPS! & the other big 3 shippers for that matter.
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