mail or posts is a system for transporting postcards, letters, and parcels physically. Postal services can be private or public, although many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, the national postal system has generally been designated a government monopoly, at the cost of prepaid articles. Proof of payment is often in the form of postage stamps, but postage meters are also used for bulk mail delivery. Modern personal postal systems are usually distinguished from national postal agencies by the name of "courier" or "delivery service".
Postal authorities often have functions other than mailing letters. In some countries, postal, telegraph and telephone services (PTT) oversee the postal system, in addition to telephone and telegraph systems. Some state postal systems allow for savings accounts and handling applications for passports.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU), founded in 1874, includes 192 member states and establishes rules for international mail exchange.
Video Mail
Etymology
The word mail comes from the medieval English male , referring to the travel bag or package. It was spelled that way until the 17th century, and different from the male. French has a similar word, malle for a bar or big box, and mÃÆ'¡la is an Irish term for the bag. In the 17th century, the word mail began to appear as a reference for the bag containing the letter: "bag full of letters" (1654). Over the next hundred years, the word mail began to be applied strictly to the letter itself, and sacks as mailbag . In the nineteenth century the English usually referred to the letter as a letter being sent abroad (ie aboard the ship), and posted as a letter for local delivery; in the UK Royal Mail sends posts , whereas in the US, the US Postal Service sends mail . The term email (short for " e lectronic mail ") first appeared in the 1970s. The term snail-mail is a retron to distinguish it from a faster email. Dates have been issued for first use.
Post comes from the medieval French poste , which eventually comes from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere ("to put or place").
Maps Mail
History
The practice of communication with written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back almost to the invention of writing. However, the development of a formal postal system took place much later. The first documented use of an organized courier service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs use couriers for the diffusion of their decisions in the territory of the State (2400 BC). The earliest surviving piece of letters is also Egyptian, dating to 255 BC.
Persian
The first credible claim to the development of the real postal system comes from Ancient Persia, but the point of discovery remains questionable. The best documented claim (Xenophon) attributes the discovery to Persian King Cyrus the Great (550 BC), which mandates that every province in his kingdom will arrange for the reception and delivery of posts for each of its citizens. He also negotiated with neighboring countries to do the same and build roads from the city of Pos in West Iran to the city of Hakha in the East. Other writers praised his successor Darius I of Persia (521 BC). Other sources claim a much earlier date for the Assyrian postal system, with credit given to Hammurabi (1700 BC) and Sargon II (722 BC). However, Mail may not be the primary mission of this postal service. The role of the system as an intelligence gathering apparatus is well documented, and the service (then) is called angariae , a term that in time comes to show the tax system. The Old Testament (Esther, VIII) mentions this system: Ahasuerus, king of the media, uses couriers to communicate his decisions.
The Persian system works at the station (called Chapar-Khaneh), where the messenger (called Chapar) will ascend to the next post, where he will exchange his horse with the new one, for maximum performance and speed of delivery. Herodotus describes the system in this way: " It is said that for many days throughout the journey, so many people and horses stood along the road, every horse and man at a one-day travel interval, and this did not stay either by snow nor rain or heat or darkness from completing their designated course at all speeds ". This verse is clearly shown at the Post Office of James Farley in New York, although it has been slightly reconciled to either Snow or rain or the heat or the gloom of the evening accompanying these couriers from their quick rounds of designated completion.
India
Economic growth and political stability under the Mauryan empire (322-185 BC) saw the impressive development of civil infrastructure in ancient India. The Mauryan people developed an initial Indian mail service as well as public wells, vacation homes, and other facilities for the general public. The usual trains called Dagana are sometimes used as postcars in ancient India. Couriers are used militarily by kings and local rulers to convey information through runners and other operators. The head of the post office, the head of the intelligence service, is responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the courier system. Courier is also used to send personal letters.
In South India, the Wodeyar dynasty (1399-1947) of the Mysore Empire uses a letter service for espionage purposes so as to acquire knowledge relating to things that happen at great distances.
By the end of the 18th century, the postal system in India had reached an impressive level of efficiency. According to Briton Thomas Broughton, Maharaja Jodhpur sent daily offerings of fresh flowers from his capital to Nathadvara (320 km distance), and they arrived in time for Darshan's first religion at sunrise. Then the system underwent complete modernization when the British Raj established full control over India. The Postal Code Act XVII of 1837 stipulates that the Governor-General of India in the Council has the exclusive right to deliver letters by mail for rent in the territories of the East India Company. The letters are available to certain officials at no cost, which is a controversial privilege as the years go by. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on 1 October 1837.
Roma
The first well documented postal service is the Roma service. Held at the time of Augustus Caesar (62 BC-14 AD), the service was called cursus publicus and was equipped with a light carriage ( rhedÃÆ'Â| ) drawn by a fast horse. At the time of Diocletian, a parallel service was established with a two-wheeled cart ( birotÃÆ'Â| ) drawn by an ox. This service is provided for government correspondence. But other services for the residents are then added.
China
Some Chinese sources claim a postal or postal system dating from the Xia or Shang dynasties, which will be the world's longest delivery service. The earliest reliable courier system was initiated by the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), which has relay stations every 30 li along the main route.
The Tang Dynasty recorded 1,639 post houses, including the maritime office, employing about 20,000 people. The system is managed by the War Department and personal correspondence is prohibited from the network. The Ming Network has 1,936 posthouses every 60 li along the main route, with fresh horses available every 10 li between them. The postal network is a major part of corruption in the later part of the dynasty. The Qing, before the foreign occupation and reorganization of the Imperial Mail, operates 1,785 homes throughout their land.
Imperial Mongolia
Genghis Khan installed a messenger system and a royal heading post called ÃÆ'â € "rtÃÆ'¶ÃÆ'¶ inside the Mongol Empire. During the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan, the system also covered the territory of China. The post station is not only used for transmitting and sending official mail but also available to travel officials, military men, and foreign officials. These stations assist and facilitate the delivery of foreign and domestic tributes in particular and general trade execution.
By the end of Kublai Khan's rule, there were more than 1,400 posts in China alone, which in turn had about 50,000 horses, 1,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 400 carts, 6,000 boats, over 200 dogs, and 1,150 sheep..
The stations are 25-65 km (16 to 40 mi) apart and have reliable helpers working for the postal service. Foreign observers, such as Marco Polo, have proven the efficiency of this early postal system.
Other systems
Other important postal services were created in the Islamic world by Mu'awiyya's khalifah ; the service is called barid , for the name of the tower built to protect the streets where the courier travels.
Before the Middle Ages and during their time, postal pigeons were used for pigeon posts, taking advantage of the singular qualities of this bird, which when taken away from its nest may find its way home due to its highly developed orientation orientation. The message is then tied around the pigeon's foot, which is liberated and can reach its original nest.
Mail has been transported by several other methods throughout history, including dogled, skiing, balloons, rockets, donkeys, pneumatic tubes, and even submarines.
Charlemagne extended to the entire empire system used by Frank in north Gaul and linked this service with that of the missi dominici .
Many religious orders have private mail services. In particular, the Cistercians have one that connects more than 6,000 monasteries, monasteries, and churches. The best organizations, however, were created by the Knights Templar. The newly institutionalized universities also have their personal services, ranging from Bologna (1158).
The widespread blindness was accommodated through the ministry of scribes. Illiterates that need to communicate dictate their messages to scribes, other professions now generally disappear.
In 1505, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established a postal system in the Empire, appointing Franz von Taxis to run it. The Thurn and Taxis families, later known as Tassis, have operated postal services between the Italian city states from 1290 onwards. Following the abolition of the Empire in 1806, the Postal Shift-Notes system continued as a private organization into an era of postage stamps before being absorbed into the new German imperial post system after 1871.
In 1716 Correos y TelÃÆ' Â © grafos was established in Spain as a public mail service, available to all citizens. The postal delivery officer first worked in 1756 and the post office box was first installed in 1762.
Postal updates
In the United Kingdom, prior to 1840 letters are paid by the recipient and fees are determined by the distance from the sender to the recipient and the number of sheets of paper not by fixed tariffs across the country with severe restrictions. Sir Rowland Hill reformed the postal system based on the concept of postage and prepaid. In his proposal Hill also called for official pre-print envelopes and adhesive stamps as an alternative way to ask the sender to pay for postage, when prepayment is optional, leading to the discovery of a postage stamp, Penny Black.
Modern transportation and technology
Postal system is important in the development of modern transportation. The train carries a railroad post office. During the 20th century, air letters became the transportation of choice for letters between continents. The troops began using post trucks. Mail handling is becoming more and more automatic.
The Internet came to change the conditions for physical mail. Email (and in recent years social networking sites) have been a fierce competitor for the physical mail system, but online auctions and internet shopping are opening up new business opportunities because people often get items purchased online by post.
modern mail
Modern letters are organized by national services and privatizations, mutually reciprocated by international rules, organizations and international agreements. Letters and paper packages can be sent to almost any country in the world relatively easily and cheaply. The Internet has made the process of sending mail-like messages almost instantly, and in many cases and correspondent situations using electronic mail where previously they would use letters. The volume of paper letters sent through the US Postal Service has dropped by more than 15% since its peak at 213 billion pieces per year in 2006.
Organization
Some countries have arranged their mail services as public limited companies without legal monopolies.
The worldwide postal system comprising each of the national postal systems of self-governing countries is coordinated by the Universal Postal Union, which among others establishes international postage rates, sets standards for stamps and operates an international Reply Coupon system.
In most countries, a code system has been created (referred to as ZIP code in the United States, postcode in the UK and Australia, and zip code in most other countries), to facilitate the automation of operations. It also includes placing an additional mark on the address part of the letter or sent object, called "bar coding." The letter coding bar for delivery is usually declared either by a series of vertical bars, usually called POSTNET coding, or blocks of dots as a two-dimensional barcode. The "block of dots" method enables encryption of payment receipt postage, proper routing for delivery, and other features.
The postal service was usually fixed in the 20th century by plane for faster delivery. The world's first scheduled postal air mail service took place in the UK between the London suburbs of Hendon and Windsor, Berkshire, on September 9, 1911. Some airborne methods proved ineffective, however, including a US Postal Service trial with rocket mail.
A receipt service is provided to confirm the sender about effective delivery.
Payments
Around the world, the most common method of prepaid fees is to purchase postage stamps to apply to envelopes before they are delivered; the less common method is to use prepaid prepaid envelopes. Franking is the method of prepaid prepaid envelopes under license using a dedicated machine. They are used by companies with large mail programs, such as banks and direct mail companies.
In 1998, the US Postal Service passed the first test of a secure system sending digital franks over the Internet for printing on PC printers, eliminating the need to license special stamp machines and allowing companies with smaller mailing programs to take advantage of options; this is then extended to test the use of personal postage. The services provided by the US Postal Service in 2003 allow the frank to be printed on a special adhesive label supported.
In 2004, Royal Mail in the UK introduced the internet based SmartStamp system, enabling printing on regular adhesive labels or envelopes. Similar systems are being considered by postal administrations around the world.
When an envelope or pre-paid package is received into the mail by the postal service agent, the agent usually indicates by way of cancellation that it no longer applies to pre-payment of the postage. An exception is when an agent forgets or fails to cancel a letter, for previously canceled stamps and thus does not require cancellation and for, in most cases, metered mail. ("Personalized stamps" endorsed by USPS and manufactured by Zazzle and other companies are in fact a form of meter labels that do not need to be canceled.)
Privacy and censorship
Documents generally should not be read by anyone other than the recipient; for example, in the United States it is a violation of federal law for anyone other than the recipient and the government to open a letter. But there are exceptions: executives often assign secretaries or task assistants to handle their mail; and postcards do not need to be opened and can be read by anyone. For letters contained in envelopes, there are legal provisions in some jurisdictions that allow the recording of the identity of the sender and the recipient.
The correspondence privacy is guaranteed by the Mexican, Colombian and Brazilian constitutions, and is addressed in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The contents control in the letters of civilians is censorship and concerns the social, political, and civil rights aspects. International letters and packages are subject to customs control, with letters and parcels often surveyed and contents sometimes edited (or even entered).
There have been cases for thousands of years that the government opened and copied or photographed the contents of private letters. Subject to the law in relevant jurisdictions, correspondence may be open or open, or content determined through several other methods, by police or other authorities in some cases relating to alleged criminal conspiracy, despite black spaces (mostly in the past , although there seems to be a continuation of its use today) opening and opening letters externally.
The email service may be allowed to open mail if no address or sender can be found, to try to find one. The mail service may also open a letter to check if it contains material that is harmful to transport or violate local laws.
While in many cases exceptional mail censorship, military letters to and from actively deployed soldiers are often subjected to surveillance. In active combat, censorship may be very strict to hide tactical secrets, prevent low morale from bad news, etc.
Rise of electronic correspondence
Modern alternatives, such as telegraph, telephone, telex, facsimile, and email, have reduced the appeal of paper letters to many applications. These modern alternatives have several advantages: in addition to their speed, they may be safer, for example, because the general public can not study the sender or recipient address of the envelope, and sometimes the traditional items of the mail may fail to arrive, for example due to vandalism to the box letters, unfriendly pets, and bad weather conditions. Mail operators due to perceived danger or inconvenience may refuse, officially or otherwise, to send mail to a specific address (for example, if there is no clear path to the door or mailbox). On the other hand, traditional mail avoids the possibility of computer malware and malware, and recipients do not need to print it if they want to have a paper copy, even though scanning is required to make digital copies.
Physical letters are still widely used in business and personal communications for reasons such as legal requirements for signatures, etiquette requirements, and requirements for attaching small physical objects.
Since the advent of email, which is almost always much faster, the postal system has been referred to in Internet slang by retronym "snail mail". Sometimes, the term "white letter" or "PaperNet" has also been used as a neutral term for postal mail.
Especially during the 20th century, experiments with hybrid letters have combined electronic and paper delivery. Electronic mechanisms include telegram, telex, fax, email and short message service (SMS). There are several methods that combine mail and some of these new methods, such as INTELPOST, which combine facsimile transmission with overnight delivery. These vehicles generally use standard mechanical or electro-mechanical writing (typing), which on the one hand make communication more efficient, while on the other hand create impractical characteristics and practices that are traditionally in conventional letters, such as calligraphy.
This epoch is undoubtedly dominated by mechanical writing, with the general use of no more than half a dozen standard typographic fonts from standard keyboards. However, the increased use of computer typed or printed letters for personal communication and the emergence of emails has sparked a renewed interest in calligraphy, as letters have become more than "special events". Long before electronic letters and computer prints, however, decorated envelopes, rubber stamps and painters formed part of the letter's art medium.
In the 2000s (decades) with the advent of eBay and other online auction sites and online stores, postal services in industrialized nations have experienced a major shift to freight forwarding. This has been seen as a boost for system usage in the wake of lower paper letter volumes due to e-mail accessibility.
Online post offices have emerged to give recipients the means to receive traditional correspondence letters in scanned electronic format.
Collecting
Stamps are also objects of particular collection forms. Capture has become a very popular hobby. In some cases, when demand greatly exceeds supply, their commercial value in this particular market can be much greater than the face value, even after use. For some postal services, the sale of stamps to collectors who will never use them is a significant source of income; for example, stamps from Tokelau, South Georgia & amp; South Sandwich Islands, Tristan da Cunha, NiuafoÃ,Â'ou and many others. Stamp taking is commonly known as philatelic, though strictly the last term refers to the study of postage stamps.
Another form of postcard collection, a document written on a strong piece of paper, is usually decorated with photographic drawings or artistic drawings on one side, and a short message on the small side of the other, which also contains space for the address. In strict philatelic usage, postcards must be distinguished from postcards, which have stamps printed on the card. The fact that this communication is seen by the recipient often causes the message to be written in the jargon.
Letters are often studied as literary examples, and also in biographies in the case of famous people. Some of the New Testament Scriptures consist of the letters of the Apostle Paul to the Christian congregations in various parts of the Roman Empire. See below for a list of famous papers.
The writing style, called epistolary, tells a fictitious story in the form of correspondence between two or more characters.
An emergency mail method after being stranded on a deserted island is a message in a bottle.
Deregulation
Many countries, including Sweden (January 1, 1993), New Zealand (1998 and 2003), Germany (2005 and 2007), Argentina and Chile opened the postal service market for newcomers. In the case of New Zealand Post Limited, this included (from 2003) the right to be the sole member of the New Zealand postal administration in the Universal Postal Union, resulting in the end of a monopoly on stamps bearing the names of New Zealand.
Mail type
Mail-sized letters make up the bulk of the content sent through most postal services. These documents are usually printed on A4 (210ÃÆ'â € 297 mm), Letter-sized (8.5ÃÆ'â € "11Ã, inch), or smaller paper and placed in envelopes.
Handwritten correspondence, while once a key communication tool between a distant person, is now used less frequently because of the advent of faster means of communication, such as telephone or e-mail. Traditional letters, however, are often thought of as reminiscent of "simpler times" and are still used when one wants to be intentional and think about his communication. An example is a letter of sympathy to a grieving person.
Charges and invoices are often sent by mail, such as regular billing correspondence from utility companies and other service providers. These letters often contain self-addressed envelopes that allow the recipient to remit payment to the company easily. While it is still very common, many people are now opting to use an online bill payment service, which eliminates the need to receive bills by mail. Documents for confirmation of major financial transactions are often sent by mail. Many tax documents too.
New credit cards and corresponding personal identification numbers are sent to their owners by post. Cards and numbers are usually sent separately for a few days or weeks apart for security reasons.
Bulk mail is emails that are prepared for bulk shipments, often with presorting, and processing at a cheaper rate. It is often used in direct marketing and other advertising letters, although it has other uses as well. The senders of these messages sometimes buy a list of addresses (which are sometimes targeted for specific demographics) and then send letters advertising their products or services to all recipients. Other times, commercial requests are sent by local companies that advertise local products, such as restaurant delivery service ads to their shipping area or retail stores that send their weekly ads to public areas. Mass mailings are also often sent to an existing customer base in the company, advertising new products or services.
First Class
First-Class Mail in the US includes postcards, letters, large envelopes (flat), and small packages, providing each section weighs 13 ounces or less. Delivery is given priority over second grade (newspapers and magazines), third class (large ad), and fourth grade mail (books and media packages). First Class Price is based on the shape and weight of the goods shipped. Pieces over 13 ounces can be shipped as Priority Letters. As of 2011, 42% First-Class Mail arrives the next day, 27% in two days, and 31% in three days. USPS estimates that changes to service in 2012 will cause about 51% to arrive in two days and most of the rest in three days.
The Royal Mail UK equivalent of USPS First-Class Mail is as class 1, and is only a priority choice over Class 2, at a slightly higher cost. Royal Mail aims (but does not guarantee) to send all Class 1 letters a day after postage.
The Canadian Post's partner is Lettermail.
Registered and recorded email
Registered mail allows location and especially correct mail delivery to be tracked. Usually much more expensive than regular mail, and usually used for valuables. Registered mail is constantly tracked through the system.
Mail records are handled like regular mail with exceptions to be signed upon receipt. This is useful for legal documents where proof of delivery is required.
In the United Kingdom, recorded delivery letters (stamped as being signed for by the Royal Mail) are covered by the Recorded Shipping Service Act of 1962. Under this law, any document to which it pertains requires service through registered mail may also be served legally by registered shipments. This law stipulates that any registered shipments are deemed to have been posted at the time of posting if; (a) the goods are sent and signed at the shipping address or submitted and signed for at the local sorting office (see (c)); (b) the shipment is rejected by every person who occupies the address or (c) if the goods are not collected from the sorting office within seven days after delivery not because there is no reply to the postman and he leaves the collection card. The sorting office will return the goods to the sender after the seventh day. The sender must keep the unopened item as proof that the item has been shipped (at least in law if not actual). Although many legal cases have attempted to undermine the provisions of the Act, it has done little but strengthened the point.
Interchangeable records
The United States Postal Service introduces a test that allows "interchangeable records" (for example, 3M Post-it notes) to attach to envelopes and bulk deliveries, after which extend the testing for an indefinite period of time.
Postcards and postcards
Postcards and postcards are small message cards sent by undeveloped mail; the difference often, though not always and reliably, drawn between them is that "postcards" are issued by postal authorities or entities with postal indicia (or "cap") printed earlier on them, while postcards are issued privately and requiring an adhesive stamp (although there are some cases of postcards issued by the postal authority). Postcards are often printed to promote tourism, with resort pictures, tourist attractions or funny messages on the front and allow for short messages from the sender to be written on the back. The postage required for postcards is generally less than the postage required for standard letters; however, certain technical issues such as oversized or cutout, may result in the payment of the first class rate required.
Postcards are also used by magazines for new subscriptions. In many magazines there are paid subscription cards that can be charged and sent back to the publishing company to be charged for a magazine subscription. In this mode, magazines also use postcards for other purposes, including reader surveys, contests, or information requests.
Postcards are sometimes sent by charities to their members with messages to sign and send to politicians (eg to promote fair trade or the cancellation of third world debt).
Other mail services
Larger envelopes are also sent by mail. These often consist of materials that are stronger than standard envelopes and are often used by corporations to transport documents that can not be folded or damaged, such as documents and legal contracts. Due to its size, larger envelopes are sometimes subject to additional charges.
Packages are often shipped via some postal service, usually requiring additional postage from the average letter or postcard. Many postal services have limitations as to what packages may or may not contain, typically placing restrictions or restrictions on easily damaged, harmful or flammable materials. Some hazardous materials in limited quantities can be shipped with appropriate markings and packaging, such as the ORM-D label. In addition, as a result of terrorism concerns, the US Postal Service subjects their packages to various security tests, often scanning or x-raying packets for material that may be found in biological materials or postal bombs.
Newspapers and magazines are also sent through the postal service. Many magazines are placed in regular mail (but in the US, they are printed with special bar codes that act as postage in advance - see POSTNET), but many are now shipped in shrinkwrap to protect loose content from magazines. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, newspapers and magazines were usually posted using wrappers with cap caps.
Hybrid Email, sometimes referred to as L-mail, is the electronic filing of letters from direct mail-making computers to the Postal Service provider. The Postal Service Provider may then use electronic means to create mail that is sorted, channeled and produced physically on sites closest to the point of delivery. This is a kind of mail that is getting more and more popular with some Post Office operations and individual businesses that are venturing into this market. In some countries, this service is available for printing and emailing those who can not receive emails, such as the parent or the weak. The services provided by Hybrid email providers are closely tied to email forwarding service providers.
See also
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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