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*imagines a jet fighter with 10,000 stamps on it*

On the contrary. If the USPS did handle patents, then we wouldn't have this problem, because they'd mangle or lose all the paperwork in transit.

"I'm thinking, ok, the Postal Service is supposed to be a government agency right?" Wrong. Its a business like Fedex or UPS.

It used to be a government agency though, which explains such things as the myriad of federal laws dealing with mailboxes, who can deposit things into them, etc. It also explains why you can still reach their web site at www.usps.GOV, although you now get redirected to a .com.

Other problem is receiving. It's needed another ngo to receive (to don't pay taxes/customs for it) and it needs to be in a city with a major dock (in Brazil there is about 4 cities like that) to receive the computers. And distributing may also be a problem, like having contact with other NGOs in the country not just those in your city.

In Brazil I know two NGOs that recycle computers:
* CDI - but they use only windows (have a contract with microsoft), have some burocracy to give the computers to NGOs (like use only windows and need someone 40hours/week dedicated to computer courses) and often trow useful parts away (because can't use windows with them).
* MetaReciclagem - they use linux, have a nice structure but aren't national (altought it's located on a huge city that can absorb any amount of computers sent to them)

In US i know ACCRC - they use linux, i know they have sent computers abroad, but until what i know just to political organizations that eventually redistribute them (don't know if you have something against that)

Sending complete computers is expensive, although it's not very expensive to send small valuable parts, like you can send several memory modules or one motherboard with processor, or even harddisk and pay U$6. Use the usps site to calculate (and use Economy Letter Post).
It may look it don't worth to pay that much, but here hardware is more expensive, like, an used 1gb hard disk would cost no less than 25-30U$.

In my particular case I'm volunteer on a small NGO here in Brazil and we use some computers for teaching (in fact 4, we don't have room for more). They have low memory (32MB), so sometimes is boring wait for openoffice and other software loads. They also have 2 free slots each, so it would be interesting to receive some EDO memory modules, of over 8MB each. If you have many EDO memory modules around and is willing to send them, they're welcome :)

I've used this under Mozilla on windows. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to get my desktop machine completely converted to KDE on FreeBSD yet, so I can't say whether this works on non-Microsoft OS'es.

Fraud is not a problem in the US if you follow my suggestions. Money orders are supposed to only be cashed with proper identification. Therefore, if the information doesn't match up with your driver's licence (or other ID), you don't get the money. This makes it very difficult to cash a money order and not be easily traced. Of course, there is still the problem of law enforcement involvement.

While this does shut out the rest of the world, quite simply: better safe than sorry. Until there is another system in place, it just isn't worth the risk doing anonymous transactions like eBay internationally.

US companies are a different matter. They can be held to higher standards much more easily than an anonymous seller on eBay. There is no reason a company should not be doing international business, unless it violates export laws (such as crytographic software).

Typical American attitude, you see the rest of the world as a threat not an oppertunity...Or perhaps such a system would be better left to Europeans who seem to understand that people on the other side of an international border often want the same thing you do. Right.

USPS Manual: Money Orders

This post is actually pretty interesting, I'm surprised it's not moderated higher. Except that I can't find any mention online of return addresses being required now. This page recommends it, but says that only certain mailing services require it. I guess I'll have to ask someone the next time I actually go to the post office.

And you can get it now!

Express mail rates

When I occasionally see something I want on ebay, the seller has usually listed it 'US Only' or just as bad, seems to have found the most expensive possible means of shipping.

Being a poor student who lives in New Zealand, I just send a note to the seller asking if they'd be willing to sell to me, but most importantly, including details of USPS's Global Priority Mail - Flat-rate Envelope (large) which is US$9, and asking if they'd be willing to send the item (usually books) in that, and that I'll be paying by Paypal (maybe not the best, but the most accepted).

Most sellers are just worried about the hassle of shipping, and making sure they get paid. If I make it easy for them, most people have no problem.

Of course, getting a company to do so is a whole different ball game.
:(

One tactic among many: EVERY time you obtain or receive a Business Reply Mail

Every issue of Scientific American comes with no less than six BRM subscription cards. Most magazines are just as bad. Oftentimes junk mail includes BRM envelopes, to facilitate your reply. What you need to understand is that the companies do not pay postage for Business Reply Mail, unless the cards and envelopes are actually mailed. Yes, they pay an annual fee for the license; but actual postage is only charged for each piece of mail actually processed.

In other words: When you throw these items in the trash, you achieve nothing. If you mail them, however, not only are you forcing the companies to pay postage (plus their costs in processing dead-end replies), but you're actually giving their money to the post office -- theoretically, helping to keep down the cost of our stamps. ;-)

crib

The USPS does, in fact, have the equivalent to a perpetual patent on delivering letters within the country. Parcels and international letters are open to competition. See this.

"the companies that are sending these items are directly bearing the cost of your DoS."

Costs passed on to the consumer.

"Sure, Sears can probably afford to send out one more letter, but catalogs are more expensive to print and mail."

No, they're cheaper. Instead of sending at Standard Mail rates, they're either mailed at Periodicals or Bound Printerd Matter. And the printing is also cheaper because there's no envelope stuffing or card folding involved. And the lighter-stock paper is cheaper.

"All these companies are getting screwed out of real money"

Measured in cents or franctions of cents per recipient. And depending on how much they're shipping and where, it may actually be cheaper for them to add in a few extra addresses to bump the mailing into the next rate (we're not talking bandwidth here). The more mail they have going to a three, five or nine-digit ZIP code, the finer level of presortation they can do and the cheaper the postage for everything in that particular sack of mail.

And don't forget these mailers are interested in addresses whether you're really interested or not. If you're not giving them Ralsky's address, rest assured that they're probably interested in buying his address from his bank, credit card company, car dealer, etc. The whole philosophy of bulk mail is that you're sending this information to people who may not know they're interested in something the mailer is selling.

The worst money loss comes from paying $0.37 + fee for the Business Reply Mail card you send in. If you feel guilty, don't use the BRM card and pay for the postage yourself. (Just putting a stamp on a BRM card/envelope doesn't work unless you remember to cover/obscure the "Business Reply Mail" box above the address, the five vertical bars to the left of the "stamp" area, and all those horizontal bars along the right-hand side.)

"the companies that are sending these items are directly bearing the cost of your DoS."

Costs passed on to the consumer.

"Sure, Sears can probably afford to send out one more letter, but catalogs are more expensive to print and mail."

No, they're cheaper. Instead of sending at Standard Mail rates, they're either mailed at Periodicals or Bound Printerd Matter. And the printing is also cheaper because there's no envelope stuffing or card folding involved. And the lighter-stock paper is cheaper.

"All these companies are getting screwed out of real money"

Measured in cents or franctions of cents per recipient. And depending on how much they're shipping and where, it may actually be cheaper for them to add in a few extra addresses to bump the mailing into the next rate (we're not talking bandwidth here). The more mail they have going to a three, five or nine-digit ZIP code, the finer level of presortation they can do and the cheaper the postage for everything in that particular sack of mail.

And don't forget these mailers are interested in addresses whether you're really interested or not. If you're not giving them Ralsky's address, rest assured that they're probably interested in buying his address from his bank, credit card company, car dealer, etc. The whole philosophy of bulk mail is that you're sending this information to people who may not know they're interested in something the mailer is selling.

The worst money loss comes from paying $0.37 + fee for the Business Reply Mail card you send in. If you feel guilty, don't use the BRM card and pay for the postage yourself. (Just putting a stamp on a BRM card/envelope doesn't work unless you remember to cover/obscure the "Business Reply Mail" box above the address, the five vertical bars to the left of the "stamp" area, and all those horizontal bars along the right-hand side.)

"the companies that are sending these items are directly bearing the cost of your DoS."

Costs passed on to the consumer.

"Sure, Sears can probably afford to send out one more letter, but catalogs are more expensive to print and mail."

No, they're cheaper. Instead of sending at Standard Mail rates, they're either mailed at Periodicals or Bound Printerd Matter. And the printing is also cheaper because there's no envelope stuffing or card folding involved. And the lighter-stock paper is cheaper.

"All these companies are getting screwed out of real money"

Measured in cents or franctions of cents per recipient. And depending on how much they're shipping and where, it may actually be cheaper for them to add in a few extra addresses to bump the mailing into the next rate (we're not talking bandwidth here). The more mail they have going to a three, five or nine-digit ZIP code, the finer level of presortation they can do and the cheaper the postage for everything in that particular sack of mail.

And don't forget these mailers are interested in addresses whether you're really interested or not. If you're not giving them Ralsky's address, rest assured that they're probably interested in buying his address from his bank, credit card company, car dealer, etc. The whole philosophy of bulk mail is that you're sending this information to people who may not know they're interested in something the mailer is selling.

The worst money loss comes from paying $0.37 + fee for the Business Reply Mail card you send in. If you feel guilty, don't use the BRM card and pay for the postage yourself. (Just putting a stamp on a BRM card/envelope doesn't work unless you remember to cover/obscure the "Business Reply Mail" box above the address, the five vertical bars to the left of the "stamp" area, and all those horizontal bars along the right-hand side.)

Tie the envelope to a brick. Yes, the USPS will actually deliver that and charge for it.

When heavy items such as bricks, 2 x 4s, etc., are found in the mails with a BRM card or envelope
pasted, stapled, or taped on them as an address label, the pieces should be treated as are other
nonmailable items found loose in the mails. If the sender cannot be identified, the matter should be
disposed of as waste. If the misused BRM card or envelope is affixed as an address label to a
sealed parcel or container, the piece should be treated as dead mail. Please note that these
procedures should be followed when a BRM card or a BRM envelope is attached to such heavy
items. It is obvious in such cases that the piece is being used in a manner other than that intended
by the distributor.

AOL CD's are sent presort standard and if you write refused/deceased/etc. on it and put it back in your mailbox, it will get recycled by the post office. I'm a letter carrier. No junk mail ever gets returned to the sender. See:

http://pe.usps.gov/text/qsg/q015.htm

Unless it has an endorsement, it's getting tossed.

-aaron

They're called the "Private Express Statutes."

USPS.gov PDF File (Google cache)

"The Private Express Statutes are a group of laws under which the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has the exclusive right, with certain limited exceptions and suspensions, to carry letters for compensation."

It also seems that the USPS wasn't trying to control eMail, but add a service to their physical handling of mail to speed up delivery.

• Solicitations in Guise of Bills, Invoices, or Statements of Account (39 USC 3001(D); 39 USC 3005)

  1.2 Required Disclaimer

  The solicitation must bear on its face either the disclaimer required by 39 USC 3001(d)(2)(A) or the notice:

  • THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

  The statutory disclaimer or the alternative notice must be displayed in conspicuous boldface capital letters of a color prominently contrasting with the background against which it appears, including all other print on the face of the solicitation and that are at least as large, bold, and conspicuous as any other print on the face of the solicitation but not smaller than 30-point type

There's no sign of the required disclaimer in Verisign's fake invoice. This is a matter for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which has law enforcement powers. They can also cancel Verisign's bulk mailing permit, or deny them permission to mail at all.

• Any otherwise mailable matter that reasonably could be considered a bill, invoice, or statement of account due, but is in fact a solicitation for an order, is nonmailable unless it conforms to 1.2 through 1.6. A nonconforming solicitation constitutes prima facie evidence of violation of 39 USC 3005. Compliance with this section does not avoid violation of Section 3005 if any part of the solicitation or any information with it misrepresents a material fact to the addressee (e.g., misleading the addressee about the identity of the sender of the solicitation or about the nature or extent of the goods or services offered may be a violation of Section 3005).
• 1.2 Required Disclaimer
  The solicitation must bear on its face either the disclaimer required by 39 USC 3001(d)(2)(A) or the notice: THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER. The statutory disclaimer or the alternative notice must be displayed in conspicuous boldface capital letters of a color prominently contrasting with the background against which it appears, including all other print on the face of the solicitation and that are at least as large, bold, and conspicuous as any other print on the face of the solicitation but not smaller than 30-point type (see Exhibit 1.2).
• 1.3 Surrounding Matter
  The notice or disclaimer required by this section must be displayed conspicuously apart from other print on the page immediately below each portion of the solicitation that reasonably could be construed to specify a monetary amount due and payable by the recipient. It must not be preceded, followed, or surrounded by words, symbols, or other matter that reduces its conspicuousness or that introduces, modifies, qualifies, or explains the required text, such as "Legal Notice Required by Law."

If you get a solicitation that looks like a bill, and you don't see those disclaimers in huge type, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

"Registered mail is the most secure service that the USPS offers. It incorporates a system of receipts to monitor the movement of the mail from the point of acceptance to delivery. Registered mail service provides the sender with a mailing receipt, and a delivery record is maintained by the Postal Service"
However the sad thing is that as soon as the court clerk Writes the letter in as being mailed it is Legally considered mailed. To overturn on appeal you would suffer the burden of proof that the clerk had conspired to prevent delivery of the summons! They don't have to send via registered mail and certified mail is much more lax than registered mail.
I just wish this guy luck on overturning the decision on appeal.
Here is the pdf or if you prefer the Google Text based version.

The good old USPS has a system called Pay@Delivery, which essentially acts as an escrow service, and doesn't release funds until after the Delivery Confirmation is sent through. I've used this service, and works beautifully. And, you have the financial backing of the US Government, and mail fraud protection with it automatically.

"...if you spare a little more money to mail them a money order instead, what they did magically turns into something called "mail fraud."


Actually, A little "more money" is more like $0.90. The USPS has flat rates for Money orders, and actually has started a service which directly competes with PayPal's services. It's like a secure escrow service, and funds arent released until your package is delivered. $0.90 is *well* worth peace of mind.

"...if you spare a little more money to mail them a money order instead, what they did magically turns into something called "mail fraud."


Actually, A little "more money" is more like $0.90. The USPS has flat rates for Money orders, and actually has started a service which directly competes with PayPal's services. It's like a secure escrow service, and funds arent released until your package is delivered. $0.90 is *well* worth peace of mind.

ZIP+4 isn't actually down to the unique address level for the most part - it takes it down to chunks that I believe are in the 4-20 address range.

The Delivery Point Barcode is probably what you're thinking of for unique addressing - it's the ZIP+4 followed by two additional digits (total of 11 digits); information on how to calculate it is one of those "it's complicated, call us" things. I assume that putting DPBCs on your direct mail results in a slight additional savings beyond what you get for presorting and barcoding the ZIP+4.

For info, hit http://www.usps.gov/, then keyword search for either "dpbc" or "postnet".

Let's look at another thing "powering" the US post office by way of compairison. Jeeps. You see them all over, as they won bids on an open market. The Post Office Jeeps were stripped of all insignia and were only recognizable by their form. No cardboard cut outs recomending the purchase of Jeeps ever kept the sun from shining through a USPO window. No "test drives" were ever offered. Instead, Jeep was happy to be making the sale and the use was recomendation enough. The USPO had no intentions of recomending one automobile maker over another.

Except, well, that the USPS doesn't buy them from Jeep. (Jeep, BTW, isn't a company. Jeep is a brand of DaimlerChrysler.) The USPS buys vehicles from a variety of vendors, under contract. Here, for instance, is an article (with photo) about the USPS buying electric-powered mail vehicles from Ford.

If you browse the New Business Ideas page of the USPS web site, you'll find that the Post Office is looking for new ways to generate revenue. That's why there are Federal Express drop boxes outside post offices these days--and why Federal Express is hauling Express Mail for the USPS. If they can get Microsoft to pay them money to distribute advertising in the post office, how is that different from AOL paying them to carpet-bomb America with sign-up CDs? The more ways the USPS finds to produce revenue, the lower postage costs will be. Is that a bad thing?

• [The usps] has their own law enforcement branch with badges and guns.

Could that picture be more of a pitch for a cheesy cop show? "U.S. Postal Inspection Service", starring Chuck Studley as Inspector Bulge Gently, with Mary Clogg as Special Inspector Katy Aryan and Jane Smith as tenuously Hispanic Undercover Investigator Jennifer Aquilera. Plus other ethnic minority people! In the background! Doing the filing, or something!

Episode #1: This Time It's Federal...

As has been noted, they are a fucking govt. agency. usps.gov? The postal inspector can and will arrest your ass if he catches you shipping hazardous materials. Have you ever fucked with a mailman while he's delivering the mail? Its a felony. So is stealing somebody mail out of their mailbox. If you want serious proof that the usps is a real govt agency why don't you go fuck with them and find out how real they are by spending time in Levinworth. Fucking with the USPS is just as bad as screwing with the FAA, don't do it.

From usps.gov:
1775- Benjamin Franklin, first Postmaster General under Continental Congress. The usps has been around longer than The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence.
The USPS has only been around since 1971

I believe the poster meant to say that while it is part of the government, and its employees are federal employees, the post office is an independent corporation. The government cut it loose in 1970. While it may be part of the government, no tax payer money goes to the USPS and the USPS runs itself as it sees fit. And this is why they can do whatever they want with Microsoft. For more info you might see history of usps.

Technically, the USPS is a corporation wholly owned by the US government, but not actually part of it.
It's been this way since July 1, 1971 since the passage of the Postal Reorganization Act. Prior to then, the Postmaster General was a Presidential Cabinet level position (might come in handy if you ever make it onto the Millionaire show.)

Some other changes:
- Operational authority vested in a Board of Governors and Postal Service executive management, rather than in Congress.

-Authority to issue public bonds to finance postal buildings and mechanization.

-Direct collective bargaining between representatives of management and the unions.

-A new rate-setting procedure, built around an independent Postal Rate Commission.

(If you're really interested, check out a bit of history on the USPS.)

The Post Office isn't some holy place, it's barely connected with the government, and hasn't received any tax dollars since Nixon. It's basically a private organization.

Sounds like government to me, warts and all.

From the Site

United States Postal Service
The Post Office Department was transformed into the United States Postal Service, an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. The mission of the Postal Service remained the same, as stated in Title 39 of the U.S. Code: "The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities."

usps.gov has a marketing deal with Microsoft apparently. Their Web-Based Solutions page, accessable from the main usps.gov page, is "Powered by Microsoft bCentral", and promotes subscriptions to Microsoft services.

Maybe we need to add "separation of corporation and state" to our "separation of church and state" in the constitution?

The USPS today introduced their new Recycle Direct service, which allows mail recipients to redirect unwanted mail directly to a recycling center. While all first-class mail will still be delivered, customers can now choose whether to receive third-class bulk mail in each of the following categories:

• Newspaper-format flyers not mailed in envelopes.
• All material addressed to "occupant"
• Personally addressed material mailed at commercial third-class rates.
• Personally addresed material mailed at non-profit third class rates.

The postal customer's preferences will be checked during automated mail sorting, and the rejected mail will be shipped in bulk to paper recycling plants for pulping. Revenue from the recycled paper will pay for the program.

All residential mail recipients will receive a postcard announcing the program, with checkboxes to indicate which categories of mail they wish to accept. Sending back this card will inform the USPS of the recipient's mail preferences. Mail recipients' preferences will be stored by the USPS in the National Change of Address database. Sorting equipment has been using this database for years to automatically redirect mail after changes of address. The new preference system thus fits into existing mail processing.

Bulk mailers will be able to cleanse their mailing lists using the existing USPS service for deleting undeliverable addresses from mailing lists. Use of this service by bulk mailers is optional, but failure to use it will result in bulk discards at the originating postal facility.

Representatives of the postal union lauded the program. "We're tired of delivering stuff people don't want. The FedEx and UPS people don't have to do that, and so they don't get the hostility we do.", one said.

That and banning ANY sender info or header forgery, require a valid mail or phone AND e-mail contact in all commercial e-mail, and I think the spam problem will be pretty much done.

your right except the USPS isn't run by the federal goverment... it is actually a private company.


Nonsense! Can you buy stock in the USPS? Does the USPS have a "CEO"? Hmmm? I don't THINK so! The Postal Service is a federal agency that was created by vote of the Continental Congress in 1775 under the direction of Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General. Article IX of The Articles of Confederation codified the Postal Service as the only official mail delivery service in 1781. The USPS was officially codified as a part of our CURRENT federal government in 1789, and permanently made an executive department by Andrew Jackson. The USPS never has been a "private company". You're mis-interpretting the "self-funded" status of the USPS to mean that it's not part of the federal government. In reality, self-funded only means that they aren't subsidized by the general fund. If they need more money, they need to raise the price of delivery.

Next time, do a little simple research and you won't sound like such a fool.

• The House of Representatives
  
• Thomas at the Library of Congress
  
• The US Postal Service
  
• The Securities and Exchange Commission
  
• The Federal Trade Commission
  
• (FWIW: i.e. not much) The Internal Revenue Service This is one of the poorer examples, but at least you can download forms in PDF.
  
• The White House
  
• The US Dept of Justice Not as useful as the others...
  

Bubble wrap is not protective enough for major packing because it is not solid enough. It will pop when under enough stress. It is only good for preventing nicks and dings of objects banging against each other _within_ the box.

The only safe way to ship computer equipment when you don't have the original foams is:
put the equipment in a box
fill the box with packing peanuts
seal the box
fill the bottom of a much larger box with packing peanuts
put box a into box b
fill the rest of the way with packing peanuts.

this is the postal service's recommended method.

Mail is about the same as Internet from a strict legal point of view.

No. Mail fraud is a specific federal crime.

Your response is reasonable, but still wrong. Someone also has to make a determined effort on the website to steal my credit card. If I leave my door unlocked, but shut, someone has to actively try to get into my house. I want to lock my front door so that opportunistic thieves won't get in. I know that someone with access to a locksmith or a big hammer can get in anyway. The technology for basic encryption is EASY. The human side of the system is the hard part. I would like to have the confidence that my email conversations can move from gossip, to personal issues, to commercial without having to change applications to do it. I think you also miss the problem of misdirected emails. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. It happens with snail mail, too, I know. Until most of our electronic dialogues have the same protections that our real life dialogues do, I think we lose something in what we can, and are willing to, do with the internet. Finally, if you are an ISP, you can sit around and read email if you want. That is basically what Carnivore does. You can also do this if you work for the USPS, but there we can tell if a message has been read, or find out that it never reached its recipient. We don't have the same envelope protections with current emails.

The US Postal Service already implements this, although only in the barcodes and not in human-readable address labels. The full Delivery Point Bar Code consists of your Zip+4, followed by the last 2 digits of your apartment number, box number, or housenumber, followed by a check digit. See Domestic Mail Manual section C840 (requires Adobe Acrobat).

* Note: the date I saw this in the news was 10/3/00, but I can't find a link that documents the specific scheme used, though I made a note of how it worked. this page references that the zip + 4 + delivery point code could be used, but proposes a different way of doing and doesn't discuss the system I read about. Send me an email if you find a link that documents the system I outlined.

As soon as they put a stamp on it and deposited it in a government mailbox for delivery, it became a matter of Mail Fraud . There might be other ramifications for falsifying documents sent to government officials too, but I'm not sure what it would be called. Fraudulent advertising practices that are meant to bolster sales or support for a company or product can easily justify complaints to the Better Business Bureau as well.

This is blatant copy of the post #43 , which made me laugh and was not moderated funny.

On the serious part: I don't like the idea because, without context, a word can mean very different things. Look at censoring software: I used the words "sexy gal" on my personal webpage somewhere and, at a bank where I worked, the censoring software blocked it because it was "pr0n"...The page blocked was showing old pictures of my family.
This feature will have the same effects: I use "sexy gal" and it could link to http://www.lolitagirls.com or so....Not my idea, when the context doesn't indicate porgnography at all.
But then, probably I'm wrong?

You're right of course. For the vast majority of us there really isn't anyone who's out to get us. But that doesn't mean that there aren't certian things that we would rather keep private. Furthermore, it makes a big difference when the government starts telling you what you can and cannot write.

Encryption just doesn't matter that much.

Encryption matters a lot. It's not the encryption itself that matters but the fact that I want to have the choice to communicate privately in whatever form I see fit. I reserve the right to write letters in Latin (a language unreadable by many) or in ROT13 or PGP encrypted. The point isn't about the encryption but rather it's about telling me how my personal communications must be conducted. It's true that I rarely hit the encrypt button on my mail client, but I insist on having that choice.

encryption is not like putting a letter in an envelope for mailing, because the envelope doesn't protect the contents of the letter so much as it contains them from the rigors of mailing. If people could save 15c by not using an envelope, they probably would.

It's true that envelopes do offer some benefits that aren't necessary for e-mail. With an e-mail there isn't the need to bind together various documents inside a paper wrapper. On the other hand, it would be fine with the post office if you were to use envelopes made of transparent bond but no one does that. In fact a great many people use security envalopes which have printing on the inside to make it difficult to see what is inside the envalope without opening it. Your argument about people being cheap and unwilling to pay for the security that envalopes provide is baffling to me. People do save 14c by sending a post card rather than an envalope via the US Postal Service. In addition, they save another 2-7c by not buying an envelope in the first place.

living in a safe world _is_ a good thing, for those of you who are about to suggest that no freedom is worth giving up for safety. Anyone who hasn't been mugged or assaulted on the street may sit out of any discussion about the value of a safe world.

Of course living in a save world is a good thing. I doubt that there's anyone here who will argue with that. My question for you is how will restricting people's rights in anyway work to reduce street crime? My contention is that it simply won't. Overall, it would seem that there are more ways in which we will be vulnerable to crime without access to encryption than if it is not avaliable to the law abiding.
_____________

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) E611.1.2, provide that Standard Mail must be wrapped or packaged so that it can be easily examined. Standard Mail is not sealed against inspection. Mailing at the Standard Mail rates of postage constitutes consent by the sender to postal inspection of the contents whether or not the mail piece is secured. To assure that parcels will not be opened for postal inspection, customers should, in addition to paying the First-Class rate of postage, plainly mark their parcels "First-Class".

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) E611.1.2, provide that Standard Mail must be wrapped or packaged so that it can be easily examined. Standard Mail is not sealed against inspection. Mailing at the Standard Mail rates of postage constitutes consent by the sender to postal inspection of the contents whether or not the mail piece is secured. To assure that parcels will not be opened for postal inspection, customers should, in addition to paying the First-Class rate of postage, plainly mark their parcels "First-Class".

For the rates calculations, look here, and for the $.31 QBRM number here

For more information than you possibly want, take a look at the US Post Office's US Post Office's BRM manual. Also, you can go through a process asking for refunds against the charge for mail that came in with stamps. Only really large mailing houses or people with cheap labor bother.

Sigh. Guess I didn't want to start work this morning.

For the rates calculations, look here, and for the $.31 QBRM number here

For more information than you possibly want, take a look at the US Post Office's US Post Office's BRM manual. Also, you can go through a process asking for refunds against the charge for mail that came in with stamps. Only really large mailing houses or people with cheap labor bother.

Sigh. Guess I didn't want to start work this morning.

receiving AOL CDs doesn't cost you a penny, whereas receiving spam EMail does cost you.

and you *know* that the costs are passed on to the consumer