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I know this isn't unique (as USPS is heavily funded via marketing spam), but it feels very dystopian that the identity service that government programs are usin

I know this isn't unique (as USPS is heavily funded via marketing spam), but it feels very dystopian that the identity service that government programs are using is also a discount site.

p0w3n3d 3y ago
"join the dark side of the force, and get a free cookie"
lupire 3y ago
USPS is extra weird, because the recipient pays (via ad exposure) for the benefit of the sender (low postage). Of course, some mail I receive is for my benefit, but receiver can pay the sender for that (or they can put ads in the package). USPS could offer to charge me for ad-free delivery, but they don't. USPS pressures recipients to fetch and sift and dispose junk mail because there might be a critically important package. That's abusive. It's extortionate.
- cptskippy 3y ago
  > USPS is extra weird, because the recipient pays (via ad exposure) for the benefit of the sender (low postage). No this is 100% wrong. We do not subsidize bulk mail, the rates we pay are a penalty for the difficulty of processing our mail. Bulk senders only receive preferred rates if they conform to very specific specifications about presorting, proper labeling, where the mail is dropped off, how far it's traveling, quantity, size, and weight. All of these factors and more impact the cost of the USPS to process a single piece of mail. The business doing some of that preprocessing saves the USPS money and they pass the savings on to the business. USPS offers flat rate, media mail, and priority options that have dimensional and weight restrictions because those allow them to more cheaply and efficiently process those packages.
  - calfuris 3y ago
    I don't see where GP claimed that we subsidized bulk mail. My reading is that the complaint is that ads (which are by far the largest component of bulk mail) are subsidizing everything else, which leads to us paying in time and attention for the benefit of whoever wants to send us mail. It also benefits us when we send mail, but most people don't send very much mail these days.

I know this isn't unique (as USPS is heavily funded via marketing spam), but it feels very dystopian that the identity service that government programs are using is also a discount site.

p0w3n3d 3y ago

"join the dark side of the force, and get a free cookie"

lupire 3y ago

USPS is extra weird, because the recipient pays (via ad exposure) for the benefit of the sender (low postage). Of course, some mail I receive is for my benefit, but receiver can pay the sender for that (or they can put ads in the package). USPS could offer to charge me for ad-free delivery, but they don't. USPS pressures recipients to fetch and sift and dispose junk mail because there might be a critically important package. That's abusive. It's extortionate.

cptskippy 3y ago
> USPS is extra weird, because the recipient pays (via ad exposure) for the benefit of the sender (low postage). No this is 100% wrong. We do not subsidize bulk mail, the rates we pay are a penalty for the difficulty of processing our mail. Bulk senders only receive preferred rates if they conform to very specific specifications about presorting, proper labeling, where the mail is dropped off, how far it's traveling, quantity, size, and weight. All of these factors and more impact the cost of the USPS to process a single piece of mail. The business doing some of that preprocessing saves the USPS money and they pass the savings on to the business. USPS offers flat rate, media mail, and priority options that have dimensional and weight restrictions because those allow them to more cheaply and efficiently process those packages.
- calfuris 3y ago
  I don't see where GP claimed that we subsidized bulk mail. My reading is that the complaint is that ads (which are by far the largest component of bulk mail) are subsidizing everything else, which leads to us paying in time and attention for the benefit of whoever wants to send us mail. It also benefits us when we send mail, but most people don't send very much mail these days.