4 ms·
This idea faces two major problems. The first is that the premise is trivial at best and detrimental at worst. Let's evaluate my current mail situation. Consid
by ruswick 13y ago
This idea faces two major problems.
The first is that the premise is trivial at best and detrimental at worst. Let's evaluate my current mail situation. Considering that I'm a junior in high school, I receive a substantial amount of college-related junk mail (between five and ten pieces per day), in addition to perhaps three other items. I don't understand why it is preferable to sort though my mail digitally. It is already trivial to remove my mail, quickly glance through it, and toss the junk mail into the recycling bin in my foyer. Being able to do this via a web interface means nothing to me, and certainly isn't worth my money. In fact, I would argue that this worsens my mail-reading experience inasmuch as it creates a level of abstraction that increases the time necessary to deliver the mail I do care about, like The New Yorker. Our mail system is already a travesty. I'm certainly not going to do anything to make it even slower.
The second issue, as mentioned before, is trust. I simply don't trust a startup to open my mail.
- munificent 13y ago> Considering that I'm a junior in high school, I receive a substantial amount of college-related junk mail (between five and ten pieces per day), in addition to perhaps three other items. I don't understand why it is preferable to sort though my mail digitally. Well, wait until you have a power bill, water bill, gas bill, garbage bill, phone bill, cable bill, mortgage, credit card bills, car note, doctor's bills, lab results, dentist's bills, vet bills, student loan bills, newsletters from your kids' schools, bank statements, ... Some of those need a response, some don't because you've already set up automatic bill payment, some are information you want and can then discard, some are things you need to keep for your records.
- ruswick 13y agoIndeed, this is why adding another level of complexity to an already byzantine system is pernicious. Why would I want to exert effort declaring what mail I do and don't want to receive through Outbox, then wait a substantial amount of time to receive the mail that is of value to me? If anything, simply handling my own mail is the most effectual and expedient option. The mail that I want gets retrieved and dealt with by me, and the mail that is irrelevant to me can be thrown away with trivial ease. Why would I subject myself to another level of complexity that entails extra effort on my part, an added delay, and an expenditure? The service is fixing a non-issue, if not exacerbating a real one.
- jarek 13y ago> Well, wait until you have a power bill, water bill, gas bill, garbage bill, phone bill, cable bill, mortgage, credit card bills, car note, doctor's bills, lab results, dentist's bills, vet bills, student loan bills, newsletters from your kids' schools, bank statements, ... Where do you live? Here in Vancouver, I get my power bill online as a PDF (pay with online banking), water bill via email as PDF (pay with online banking), phone bill online (auto-charge CC, among other options), internet bill online as PDF (pay online with CC), credit card bills online (pay with online banking), bank statements online as PDF... and I'm not usually prone to thinking of British Columbia as a digital vanguard.
- cfinke 13y agoOur mail system is already a travesty. Elaborate?
- ruswick 13y agoIt's intolerably slow, underfunded, and generally ineffective. There are days durring which we receive no mail, or receive it at 9:00 PM. It will take four days to send a piece of mail across town. The actual post offices are woefully understaffed and appallingly slow. In general, the system is fundamentally flawed and, from what I've read, totally inferior to the rest of the western world.
- dublinben 13y agoYou must live in a rough town. The mail is great where I live.
- gbog 13y ago5/10 junk mail in paper form! My God, such a waste... No way to stop that?
- ruswick 13y agoNo. Both the College Board and ACT profit substantially by selling information about prospective students to schools. However, I'm of the belief that most schools send rather indiscriminately, as I've gotten mail from schools that are in many cases totally incommensurate with my scores and inappropriate given my personal data.