What Are You Thinking?

[Angel]

Short answer: It depends on where they are, what you're sending, and what they've got as a "mailbox", as the US Postal Service is pretty reliable on the delivery aspect of things.

Long answer: If you're asking about residential mailboxes, those are generally unlocked and can be placed right beside the front door of the residence, or classically, near the sidewalk (but technically still on the property) for the mailperson to come by, put the letter in, and go on their way. There's no requirement for a name to be on the mailbox for correspondence to be received-- anything addressed to that location will end up there, whether it's letters, gift parcels, promotional material (store circulars, flyers, brochures), etc. When mail is sent to a recipient that no longer lives at the address, returning it is as simple as writing "UNKNOWN" or "UNK" on the envelope and putting it back in the mailbox. The mailperson will pick the correspondence back up the very next day and it'll be returned to the sender or whatever else the postal service does with it.

Unlawfully possessing someone else's correspondence is 100% a federal crime under the US Code, quoted thus:


On the rare occasion someone's accidentally received someone's mail, the proper way to handle it is noted above: write "UNK" on the envelope or otherwise personally go to the nearest postal office to explain that the person no longer lives at that location. Sometimes misplacement isn't that gross and the mail in someone's box actually belongs to the neighbor just next door. In which case, we just leave it in their box or personally hand it to them.

Then there are the integrated "hole in the door" mail slots that therogis mentioned, but parcels of a certain size can't fit through those, so they're only good for protecting, well, envelope-sized mail. Anything bigger than the slot will be left at the doorstep or sent to an Authorized Service Center for pickup if not a second attempt at delivery, detailed below.

For areas that don't have a door-to-door mail service or recipients that don't want certain things to be sent directly to their house for whatever reason, they can rent out private mailboxes owned by the postal service and located right in the premises. PO Boxes obviously have a finite amount of space but there are different sizes available, with a key to access it and everything. In the event of interstate or international parcel delivery, they can't handle Direct-to-PO-Box shipping since they're not authorized to put anything in the recipient's name or in their box; they literally don't have the keys to get to it. That's resolved by letting the US Postal Service handle the "last leg" of the delivery, making them responsible for the package, and they put the mail in for the recipient to pick up. Or in the case of the United Parcel Service, they have Authorized Service Centers (storefronts or actual warehouses) to serve as the final destination for mail, that the recipient picks up. And they have to provide verification. And the person at the Authorized Service Center has to scan the barcode on the parcel to confirm pickup, get the receipt signed, etc.

I mean, it's a really involved process.

But I'm guessing you meant just regular mail like letters and stuff.

Thanks for answers, everyone. And yes, this is what I meant - normal, domestic mail (sorry for not being clear).

In the UK, almost everyone has a letterbox (the hole in the door) and anything that doesn't fit is either placed in a designated safe place (chosen by the recipient), or else taken back to the post office and kept for a limited amount of time to be collected. If it remains unclaimed, it gets returned to the sender.

The idea of an unlocked container for correspondence that can be accessed by anyone is something I'm not sure I can fully get my head around. So there's NOTHING stopping someone from stealing out of them? Is it just a sort of trust/honour thing where people just wouldn't even dare?

I know this is all a bit weird, but it's something I've genuinely wondered about for ages.

 

[Carlos]

Short answer: It depends on where they are, what you're sending, and what they've got as a "mailbox", as the US Postal Service is pretty reliable on the delivery aspect of things.

Long answer: If you're asking about residential mailboxes, those are generally unlocked and can be placed right beside the front door of the residence, or classically, near the sidewalk (but technically still on the property) for the mailperson to come by, put the letter in, and go on their way. There's no requirement for a name to be on the mailbox for correspondence to be received-- anything addressed to that location will end up there, whether it's letters, gift parcels, promotional material (store circulars, flyers, brochures), etc. When mail is sent to a recipient that no longer lives at the address, returning it is as simple as writing "UNKNOWN" or "UNK" on the envelope and putting it back in the mailbox. The mailperson will pick the correspondence back up the very next day and it'll be returned to the sender or whatever else the postal service does with it.

Unlawfully possessing someone else's correspondence is 100% a federal crime under the US Code, quoted thus:


On the rare occasion someone's accidentally received someone's mail, the proper way to handle it is noted above: write "UNK" on the envelope or otherwise personally go to the nearest postal office to explain that the person no longer lives at that location. Sometimes misplacement isn't that gross and the mail in someone's box actually belongs to the neighbor just next door. In which case, we just leave it in their box or personally hand it to them.

Then there are the integrated "hole in the door" mail slots that therogis mentioned, but parcels of a certain size can't fit through those, so they're only good for protecting, well, envelope-sized mail. Anything bigger than the slot will be left at the doorstep or sent to an Authorized Service Center for pickup if not a second attempt at delivery, detailed below.

For areas that don't have a door-to-door mail service or recipients that don't want certain things to be sent directly to their house for whatever reason, they can rent out private mailboxes owned by the postal service and located right in the premises. PO Boxes obviously have a finite amount of space but there are different sizes available, with a key to access it and everything. In the event of interstate or international parcel delivery, they can't handle Direct-to-PO-Box shipping since they're not authorized to put anything in the recipient's name or in their box; they literally don't have the keys to get to it. That's resolved by letting the US Postal Service handle the "last leg" of the delivery, making them responsible for the package, and they put the mail in for the recipient to pick up. Or in the case of the United Parcel Service, they have Authorized Service Centers (storefronts or actual warehouses) to serve as the final destination for mail, that the recipient picks up. And they have to provide verification. And the person at the Authorized Service Center has to scan the barcode on the parcel to confirm pickup, get the receipt signed, etc.

I mean, it's a really involved process.

But I'm guessing you meant just regular mail like letters and stuff.

Im just gonna address the bolded. In U.S., any time you move from one address to another, remember to setup a "redirect" address. Im not sure how this works in U.K, but you can setup a redirect address.

Let's say your current address is 111 Batman Street, Gotham City... and your future address is 77 Justice League Way, Luthor Corp... then you redirect mail from Batman St to Luthor Corp. But you have to give the post office the correct address or it's going to wrong address.

Just a heads up.

 

[therogis]

Am I finally losing my mind or was https://devilmaycry.org/forums/ redirecting people to some kind of religious gaming forum for a short while?

Furthermore, if this was not an issue for anyone else, should I take this as a sign?

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

Am I finally losing my mind or was https://devilmaycry.org/forums/ redirecting people to some kind of religious gaming forum for a short while?

That legit just happened to me. I kept trying and it was going to this Faith Gamer forum. O_O Had a slight panic there.

 

[therogis]

That legit just happened to me. I kept trying and it was going to this Faith Gamer forum. O_O Had a slight panic there.

Hrmh. I kinda hoped it was a sign

 

[BrawlMan]

I wonder if this what Senator Armstrong wanted/imagine where he wanted a country where the "Strong survive, and the weak die!" If anything, it shows how bullshit the might makes right attitude, and is mostly used by cowards with no resolve or cry the moments things don't go there way.

 

[V's patron]

@BrawlMan he was thinking of some Purge nonsense mixed in with some Ayn Rand he read.

@therogis @Rebel Dynasty I missed all the fun while I slept.

 

[Morgan]

Thanks for answers, everyone. And yes, this is what I meant - normal, domestic mail (sorry for not being clear).

In the UK, almost everyone has a letterbox (the hole in the door) and anything that doesn't fit is either placed in a designated safe place (chosen by the recipient), or else taken back to the post office and kept for a limited amount of time to be collected. If it remains unclaimed, it gets returned to the sender.

The idea of an unlocked container for correspondence that can be accessed by anyone is something I'm not sure I can fully get my head around. So there's NOTHING stopping someone from stealing out of them? Is it just a sort of trust/honour thing where people just wouldn't even dare?

I know this is all a bit weird, but it's something I've genuinely wondered about for ages.

It's one part "honor system", another part "what's the point?"

With the boom of paperless notices, a majority of physical mail sent/received throughout the year is promotional material (store circulars, pamphlets, etc) and not anything pointedly important because bills and bank statements can just be received over email. Every other house is likely getting the same "spam mail", so stealing from someone else's mailbox involves a) parsing what's important to the recipient and not "spam" that they would toss out themselves anyway, b) determining from the "important to recipient" mail what actually benefits the thief to steal and is thus "important to thief", and c) uh, getting away with it......? maybe?

I mean, outside of active malice in depriving someone of their correspondence and some.... compulsion(?) to do it, there's no point in taking someone's handwritten "Happy Birthday" card, their supermarket circular, their fast food coupons, the nearest sushi restaurant pamphlet, etc. I guess if they're subscribed to a magazine? But then the magazine probably has an online publication anyway and... yeah.

I didn't think we were at risk of a mail theft crisis.

 

[Angel]

It's one part "honor system", another part "what's the point?"

With the boom of paperless notices, a majority of physical mail sent/received throughout the year is promotional material (store circulars, pamphlets, etc) and not anything pointedly important because bills and bank statements can just be received over email. Every other house is likely getting the same "spam mail", so stealing from someone else's mailbox involves a) parsing what's important to the recipient and not "spam" that they would toss out themselves anyway, b) determining from the "important to recipient" mail what actually benefits the thief to steal and is thus "important to thief", and c) uh, getting away with it......? maybe?

I mean, outside of active malice in depriving someone of their correspondence and some.... compulsion(?) to do it, there's no point in taking someone's handwritten "Happy Birthday" card, their supermarket circular, their fast food coupons, the nearest sushi restaurant pamphlet, etc. I guess if they're subscribed to a magazine? But then the magazine probably has an online publication anyway and... yeah.

I didn't think we were at risk of a mail theft crisis.

Fair points. I was thinking more identity theft or when people put cash in cards etc (it's like a grandparent thing over here - £5 note, in a card, barely worth it considering the cost of a stamp these days). Not all important mail in the UK can be received as paperless yet, so things like a new bank card or PIN are still sent by regular mail.

Plus I overthink things sometimes. Fairly certain this is one of those times.

 

[BrawlMan]

@BrawlMan he was thinking of some Purge nonsense mixed in with some Ayn Rand he read

It's funny enough those terrorists at the Capitol, we're definitely thinking some Purge / White House down type of crap. Thinking they would succeed.

 

[Carlos]

It's one part "honor system", another part "what's the point?"

With the boom of paperless notices, a majority of physical mail sent/received throughout the year is promotional material (store circulars, pamphlets, etc) and not anything pointedly important because bills and bank statements can just be received over email. Every other house is likely getting the same "spam mail", so stealing from someone else's mailbox involves a) parsing what's important to the recipient and not "spam" that they would toss out themselves anyway, b) determining from the "important to recipient" mail what actually benefits the thief to steal and is thus "important to thief", and c) uh, getting away with it......? maybe?

I mean, outside of active malice in depriving someone of their correspondence and some.... compulsion(?) to do it, there's no point in taking someone's handwritten "Happy Birthday" card, their supermarket circular, their fast food coupons, the nearest sushi restaurant pamphlet, etc. I guess if they're subscribed to a magazine? But then the magazine probably has an online publication anyway and... yeah.

I didn't think we were at risk of a mail theft crisis.

I agree with this, too. This applies to garbage too. I was walking back home, only to see some idiots trying to go through my trash. Guess why? Identity Theft. Soon after that, he stopped coming to that area. The thing is, I know this happens. So I ALWAYS tear up my papers. My family doesn't. They just don't have that subconscious decision to think a day, a week, a month or a year from now. If you let your guard down, they'll steal your identity. So guard. up. Same applies with pandemic.

I have another example: I was minding my own business trying to run my website, right? RIGHT IN THE FRONT YARD... someone was trying to do something on my wi-fi. I didn't realize it until I saw my computer lagging. I went to my window, pulled my router offline. I can see this loser getting ****ed off about the signal. I could see him on the phone with someone ordering him to do something. This is why I keep my guard up. I bought a new router after that. Threw the old one away.

Security is important to me now.

 

[V's patron]

I would've preferred Xion if she was Aqua's younger sister who became a nobody.

People blame Xion for Day's problems but I'd say it's more Roxas than her. I never felt Roxas's time in the Organization needed more exploration. His scenes gave you all needed to know.

I would've preferred a game where Sora goes and tries to give him a new body. Along the way stuff happens and Xion becomes a suspect. His time in the Organization becomes more relevant. The mystery box structure helps keep the plot going rather than becoming too repetitive.

It also would reintroduce the Organization members and explores them a bit more.

 

[Morgan]

Fair points. I was thinking more identity theft or when people put cash in cards etc (it's like a grandparent thing over here - £5 note, in a card, barely worth it considering the cost of a stamp these days). Not all important mail in the UK can be received as paperless yet, so things like a new bank card or PIN are still sent by regular mail.

Plus I overthink things sometimes. Fairly certain this is one of those times.

Ohhhhhh, okay. Like a foldable birthday card with money in it. That still sounds high-risk for little reward; how would a thief know someone's birthday to pop by their mailbox and snatch the card at the right moment? Would they have to do that every day? Or week?

Debit or credit cards are still sent by physical mail here and have a sticker with instructions for how to activate it depending on the card type: make a purchase, or call the phone number provided and enter the numbers on the card and/or confirm identity, or take it to an ATM and stick it in the machine then enter the PIN, etc.

Prepaid debit cards function the same way but don't require a bank account at all, so if someone steals a prepaid card there's no danger there.

Issues with someone stealing actual bank-associated debit or credit cards would be symptomatic of a longer-running theft situation and/or someone in the house is responsible, since, like I mentioned up top, the thief would have to know you're receiving a new card to know when to check the mail. For a replacement card they'd have to know your PIN and other details beforehand, because PINs are good for life after they're set, and IIRC are never re-sent over the mail or asked for by the bank's customer service, plus changing the PIN to a new one requires knowing what the previous number was in the first place.

... I can't even remember the last time I had to worry about stamps. Do they sell forever stamps where you live?

 

[Carlos]

Ohhhhhh, okay. Like a foldable birthday card with money in it. That still sounds high-risk for little reward; how would a thief know someone's birthday to pop by their mailbox and snatch the card at the right moment? Would they have to do that every day? Or week?

Debit or credit cards are still sent by physical mail here and have a sticker with instructions for how to activate it depending on the card type: make a purchase, or call the phone number provided and enter the numbers on the card and/or confirm identity, or take it to an ATM and stick it in the machine then enter the PIN, etc.

Prepaid debit cards function the same way but don't require a bank account at all, so if someone steals a prepaid card there's no danger there.

Issues with someone stealing actual bank-associated debit or credit cards would be symptomatic of a longer-running theft situation and/or someone in the house is responsible, since, like I mentioned up top, the thief would have to know you're receiving a new card to know when to check the mail. For a replacement card they'd have to know your PIN and other details beforehand, because PINs are good for life after they're set, and IIRC are never re-sent over the mail or asked for by the bank's customer service, plus changing the PIN to a new one requires knowing what the previous number was in the first place.

... I can't even remember the last time I had to worry about stamps. Do they sell forever stamps where you live?

Bolded: One tad bit correction here: Banks require you to GO to the branch and set a PIN. It's free, too. You can't do it over the phone or whatever. At least in U.S., this is true.

So, don't close your old debit/bank/credit card until you've created a debit/bank/credit card in the U.S. That is my biggest suggestion when moving. I learned this the hard way when I moved to Alabama for the time being. When that happened I was STUCK for weeks on being able to do anything financially.

STUCK.

 

[therogis]

It's been a while since I was feeling this hopeful.

Maybe this is false hope, but let me enjoy it for a while.

 

[Angel]

... I can't even remember the last time I had to worry about stamps. Do they sell forever stamps where you live?

I dunno about forever stamps, but they are hella expensive to get some. A book of 12 stamps costs £10.20 now. Madness...

 

[Morgan]

£10.20 for just 12 stamps? That's a ripoff. A booklet of 20 forever stamps costs just $11USD here if you buy it from an Office Depot, and they never depreciate in value. The cost of individual stamps may increase over time but a forever stamp bought even five or ten years ago still works to send the same letter as it would've worked the first time it was bought, as long as it's within a certain weight.

 

[Carlos]

I dunno about forever stamps, but they are hella expensive to get some. A book of 12 stamps costs £10.20 now. Madness...

Regular stamps are measly 50 cents or a dollar. Really. Cheap. Sooo... if you need something sent from U.S. like a Regular envelope, it's at most 5 dollars to send over. Envelope, stamp, how much it weighs, then taxes which is minimal.

It's easy peasy. You will be surprised.

 

[Angel]

£10.20 for just 12 stamps? That's a ripoff. A booklet of 20 forever stamps costs just $11USD here if you buy it from an Office Depot, and they never depreciate in value. The cost of individual stamps may increase over time but a forever stamp bought even five or ten years ago still works to send the same letter as it would've worked the first time it was bought, as long as it's within a certain weight.

Stamps used to be waaaaay cheaper. It's almost like, the internet became the primary postal service and so Royal Mail upped the cost of stamps to phenomenal levels. It makes zero sense.

Then they made it so that not only the weight matters but the size of the letter or package too. So you can have something that is the right weight limit for a stamp, but the dimensions bump it up to a different classification of post and so you need more stamps.

I rarely send letters at all these days, but if I do I'm pretty particular to make sure it won't cost me a small fortune to do it. In some cases, it has worked out cheaper to actually hand deliver the letter myself, using public transport to get there and back.

Now that IS mental.

 

[berto]

Burn the Witch is a manga that takes place in London so I was waiting for the English dub, but, much to my disappointment, but not surprise, it didn't even occur to them to make them sound cockney. Why would you give your cast of Brits American accents, ya' wankers? Is it too much to ask for the English to speak like they're from England. I would've loved to have seen this show with British accents. I love British cinema and TV so I was hoping for a bit of that on the one anime where it would've been appropriate. Wouldn't be the first anime with British accents but it would've been the first I've seen with a full British cast, even if the actors playing them weren't.