Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mail Questions tagged with 'mail' at Ask MetaFilter. Tue, 08 Jul 2014 17:35:54 -0800 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 17:35:54 -0800 en-us 60 Requesting a French police report. Enclose €5 for stamps? I need to request a police report from a French city. The <a href="">USPS doesn't sell</a> International Reply Coupons anymore, and I can't mail coins. I can send a €5 bill (about US$7) to cover the €2 postage, or nothing at all. I have included my email and fax in the letter as well as a self-addressed envelope. Is it a good idea or bad idea to include the five Euros?,2014:site.264841 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 17:35:54 -0800 wnissen Why would former tenant use my address sending mail? Why would a former quasi-tenant address a package to an erroneous address and write my address as his own? This package just got "returned to sender" and he hasn't lived here in 7 months! Should we be worried? My SO and I had a troublesome tenant who moved out last January. One of the problems we had with her was that she invited over her boyfriend to permanently stay with us without any notice.<br> <br> Today, we received a package addressed to an unknown person (address covered by a USPS sticker) and the sender of the package was the former tenant's boyfriend, who had written our address as his. <br> <br> The USPS office return the package to the sender (our address) because it was impossible to deliver. <br> <br> My question is: why would this man use our address to mail stuff? Should we be worried? We did not end the tenancy in the best of terms, and it makes me uncomfortable that he is using our address 7 months after he moved out of this house, after never being officially a tenant. This man and his girlfriend are not very responsible at all, and I am worried about what this box could contain. It also doesn't seem likely that this is the only time he has used our address as his, and we happened to find out. I feel it has to have happened more times. <br> <br> A neighbor came and told us he came to look for this box a couple of days ago (it hadn't arrived yet) which also supports the idea that he is aware he is using an address (we thought he may have gotten confused).<br> <br> What should we do if anything?,2014:site.264820 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 12:36:23 -0800 Tarumba What is going on with my mail? My local post office happened to lose a piece of (certified) mail that was important to me- so I was busy chasing them around for the past month to no avail. However, today the green "return receipt" card finally arrived back on my doorstep. But unsigned and the (online) tracking still doesn't indicate it was actually delivered. Do they get sent back unsigned? Did it just fall off and get mailed here? Help solve my mail mystery! Bonus question- it was sent to the NYSED, and I can't remember if they signed/stamped or dated the last "green receipt card" I received. Do they usually sign or stamp them with their address as a general rule? Thank you!,2014:site.263811 Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:07:41 -0800 bquarters Email help from Gmail experts; Difficulty - key GTD needs would be nice I want to fly through my email. GTD/Zero inbox style. Trouble multiple accounts including .Mac, gmail and Gmail for business. I thought I found a desktop client - MailPilot for OSX - but it's just not doing well enough (it's development is too slow.) Meanwhile, I hear that you can be super clever with Gmail - More inside! I’m a big believer in triaging email - mostly because I can’t it in front of it all day-I get 2-3 times of less than 20 min…and then can really deal at the end of the day.<br> <br> So, it’s GTD style. Anything less than 2 min, answered right away during those windows.. Everything else is set aside and gone through later.<br> <br> Apple Mail began to fail for me - mostly because of some plugins I used were buggy (MailTags and Mail Act on.) I gave up Apple Mail for MailPilot about 2 months ago. <br> <br> MailPilot has literally what I want - a quick, keyboard driven way to:<br> * reply<br> * set aside<br> * archive<br> * Sent to a list<br> * Remind me in x days<br> <br> And read or not, it sits in the inbox till processed.<br> <br> Except the rest of the MailPilot experience? Painful. Poor message creation, difficulty with attachments, no data detectors, difficulty following longer threads.<br> <br> ————<br> So, basically, gmail geniuses - how would you deal with this?<br> <br> Extra Credit: I’d still like some a great OSX (and win8) experience. I heard *great* things about Postbox.,2014:site.263237 Sun, 08 Jun 2014 15:46:21 -0800 filmgeek USPS lost my passport. What now? Somehow the USPS has lost my passport, which was mailed from NYC to Boston. What are my next steps? So I recently applied for a Belarussian tourist visa at the Belarussian consulate in NYC, with my Indian passport. The visa was granted, but they required a further week for processing, so I provided them with a self-addressed USPS envelope, with tracking, so that they could send the passport to my apartment in Boston. <br> <br> A week or so later, we saw that the package had entered the USPS tracking system, and then a day or so later, it was in Boston.<br> <br> Unfortunately at that point, it took a random detour to Indianapolis (!), where it stayed, getting pinged around from one sorting center to another. The last I heard of it was on Memorial Day, where it was tracked as leaving a particular Indianapolis shipping center. <br> <br> Today I called USPS, and they say they will open a case within the next 24 hours, and then the case worker I am assigned will investigate the case within the next 72 hours from that. What are my chances here? Has anyone had similar happen to them? Did you get your package in the end? Should I start the 2-3 week process to get a new Indian passport right away? I have a trip planned to Montreal on July 4th (I have a green card, so don't need a Canadian visa thankfully, but I will still likely need to show my passport at the border) and a two week trip to Belarus planned starting July 14th, for which I will need both my passport and a Belarus visa. Any advice for me?,2014:site.262954 Tue, 03 Jun 2014 07:56:16 -0800 peacheater Write should I write in a letter to a prisoner? My best friend is in jail, and he going to be in jail for a very long (10 to 25 years) time. I'm thinking about writing my first letter to him. What do I say? My friend Bill has been my best friend for about 30 years. He was always there for me, I want to be there for him. I'd like to begin to correspond with him, but I'm not sure how to start. I know what topics to avoid, and what items not to send, I just don't know how to broach the subject of Bill being in jail.<br> <br> I put $50 in his account when he was first arrested, and I sent him some junk food via an online service that sends care packages to prisoners. I suppose I could use those two events as part of my first letter but still all I come with for an intro is "Hey Bill! Sorry to hear you are in jail and will be for a long time. Aside from that, how are things?",2014:site.262421 Sat, 24 May 2014 07:42:04 -0800 Anonymous The mail must go through! Do you know of any children's books featuring mail? As in, a penpal or mailing letters. Specifically for an eight year old girl but I'm open to all suggestions! For the past year, my niece and I have been exchanging cards and letters and to my delight she has gotten really into it! I am sending her a correspondence kit with all kinds of fun stuff for her birthday and I would like to include a related book, fiction or nonfiction. (Because I always include a book in all gifts to children - I'm a book pusher.),2014:site.262058 Sat, 17 May 2014 11:12:35 -0800 cessair Oops UPS I had a return to Amazon. I printed the label they provided and put it on the envelope. I didn't realize it was a UPS label and not USPS until last night when I went to check the status of my return. I had accidentally put the envelope in a USPS mailbox on Monday last week, April 1. What is going to happen my package? I have called the local post office several times and no one answered. I left one message when I got voicemail. I tried to call main USPS number and they are having high call volume. I waited for 10 minutes on hold. <br> <br> The label has my return address. <br> <br> The tracking says that a label has been printed but it hasn't been scanned anywhere. <br> <br> I can't get to the actual post office in person until Friday. <br> <br> I tried google but just get a lot of info about getting a mailbox with USPS or UPS, not what happens you accidentally put something in the wrong mailbox.,2014:site.259986 Tue, 08 Apr 2014 07:33:50 -0800 sio42 Apple Junk Mail folder, I wish I could quit you. Why can't I? I have a Mac (Mavericks) and iPhone (iOS 7), and I use the Mac mail client for both. My email is hosted on Google for domains. Some time in the past few months, my mail has started putting perfectly legitimate mail into my Junk folder. It's not marked as junk- I've turned off junk mail filtering altogether, so I don't even have that option anymore, and by my logic nothing should wind up in my Junk folder <em>at all</em> at this point. How can I get my mail to behave properly? All of the mail that gets routed to my Junk folder is either mailing list-related, or an otherwise automated email from an app. Some similar kinds of emails do make it to my Inbox, and sometimes mail from sources that usually land in Junk <em>do</em> make it to my Inbox.<br> <br> When I look at my email through the Google web interface, those messages are not there- they're not in the Google junk folder, they don't exist there at all. My Junk folder does seem to be in sync across my Mac and iPhone, though.,2014:site.259737 Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:53:33 -0800 mkultra Could my necklace have been taken by customs I recently made an online purchase for a necklace made with a bird skull, shipped from the UK to the U.S. Seller said it shipped on March 17, and general guidelines seem to be 5-7 days for items to arrive here from the UK (which has been my experience with other mailed items in the past). However the package hasn't arrived yet and I'm wondering if it was delayed by customs. My question is: Are there customs laws which disallow the shipment of animal bones (just regular bones, not ivory, not rare, or antique) from the UK to the U.S. -- if they are incorporated in jewelry? I'm starting to wonder if the package was seized along the way. And if customs does seize mail, is the intended recipient in the U.S. notified, and are there any sort of penalties? Google searches were inconclusive. Thanks!,2014:site.259550 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 12:02:04 -0800 cuddles.mcsnuggy It's cold back here How would I ship snowballs to my friends in Los Angeles, CA without their melting, and how much would I have to pay for it? I had the idea of a cool present for my friends in Los Angeles who have been under a lot of stress recently. I already have a good quality styrofoam box with 2 inch thick walls, from an earlier frozen food present, and I am thinking of filling it with fresh snowballs (regular snow from the blizzard that hit the area yesterday) and shipping it to them as a joke.<br> <br> (a) do I need to also put in cold packs? (b) does the box need to ship express, and how much would that be for about 5 lb.? (c) do I need to tell USPS or UPS what it is or can I lie and say ice cream?<br> <br> I would like not to pay more than $25. If it will be more than $30 I will change my mind and send them something less pointless, though I'm thinking of including some syrup so they can make snow cones.,2014:site.257115 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:00:26 -0800 bad grammar Fed up with Mac Mavericks Email (tagging, suggestions and more please!) I'm an <a href="">inbox zero</a> guy - I'm at my end with Apple Mail. I think I need to move to a new tool - Thunderbird? Outlook? Please hope me! I'm at my end with Apple Mail, my favorite plugin - <a href="">MailTags</a> isn't really working right. with Mavericks. (BTW, Mailtags allows you to "tag' messages and then those tags can be used as 'smart' criteria for smart mailboxes.)<br> <br> I'm try to embody inbox zero (having nothing unread nor using my inbox as a 'holding pen') <br> I have an iPhone where I glance at my email, but it doesn't help (beyond emergencies.)<br> <br> The goal is to quickly know my email at a glance.<br> <br> Here's the way I work right now: A email comes in, it gets checked with a bunch of rules....and put into a some smart mailbox.<br> <br> 1. All spam is removed (in it's own smart mailbox for a 1x a week glance)<br> 2. Then all 'bacn' (that's mailing lists that I want to glance at, but NOT in my main mailbox, looked at 1-2x a day; right now it gets tagged and a smart mailbox gets built from the tag)<br> 3. Then colorize everyone I know (from a certain company, from my address book). A smart mailbox removes anything that is spam or bacn.<br> <br> So, when I glance at my 'inbox' - I can quickly tell who I know and who I don't with zero clutter.I go through email to answer right away ....or toss into an "action" folder to go through when I have real time.<br> <br> Mailtags is really failing me at this point (and the developer is 'not sure' when issues will be cleared up. Mail has crashed 5x today (maybe or maybe not due to the plugin.)<br> <br> Small notes; I have too many email accounts. That's not going to change. It's about 10, with 70% being gmail or gmail for business, an Apple iCloud account and a bunch of comcast POP3 mail (which I could get rid of or filter through another gmail account)<br> <br> Yes, I'd love to be able to glance at email on my iOS device, and have it integrate - but it's not my primary device; because some responses have to be long and thought out.<br> <br> I'm looking to hear about other tools you use for mail or how <em>you'd solve my situation</em> - whether it's filtering everything through a particular Gmail account, outlook, thunderbird or something else.,2014:site.256048 Mon, 27 Jan 2014 11:06:04 -0800 filmgeek IMAP difficulties on iPhone How can I prevent the default iPhone from showing ALL my emails in the inbox as well as in their respective folders? I use my iPhone and the Mac Mavericks email app to access my work email account. On the iPhone, the account is set up as an exchange account so I do not have to use a VPN to access my emails. On the desktop app, it is not possible to set up the account as an exchange account due to the lack of activesync, and I must use IMAP only (and therefore require a VPN when I am outside the office).<br> <br> On the desktop app, I have a series of folders in which I organize my various emails. When i drag an email into one of these folders, it disappears from the default inbox, as I would expect.<br> <br> When I access this same account through the iPhone (and iPad), the folder structure appears, but all the emails appear in both the folders and in the main inbox, UNLESS I shifted the email into a folder on the phone rather than on the desktop. While not a critical concern, this is nonetheless annoying because while I have "inbox zero" on my laptop, this is not reflected on my phone - I open up my iPad/iPhone mail and am not instantly sure if I have actually dealt with the emails that are in the inbox or not.,2014:site.255687 Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:32:16 -0800 modernnomad Open domains and business names for a mailing service? I want to start a service that will put real letters into the mail via a website. I kind of prefer a meaningless name that is simple, unambiguous to spell, and memorable that would grow with the site, if it began to branch out into different areas. And of course, the domain should be open. Any ideas? I've been staring at nonsense word generators for an hour and haven't found anything that fits yet.,2014:site.255300 Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:13:08 -0800 jsturgill Works like a charm, until it doesn't. Why is my iPhone choking on my mail all of a sudden? I've had an iPhone for the past three years and in all that time (going from a 4 to a 4s, and through several iOS upgrades) have never had a problem with sending or receiving mail. In the last week or so, though, my phone is having severe difficulty with "remembering" that I have mail accounts. I can try to get to an Apple store to get it checked out but the problem is intermittant enough that I'm afraid I'll carve time out of my day and the problem won't be evident when I get there, so I turn to MeFi for help. <br> <br> Specs: iPhone 4s running 7.0.4<br> Carrier: AT&amp;T and sometimes wifi while at home--doesn't seem to be tied to carrier though<br> Gmail and Yahoo mail accounts<br> <br> In the mail program, no mail program is evident--I get the "Welcome to Mail" screen with iCloud/Exchange/Google, etc as options<br> <br> In Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendars, my mail accounts are still shown under "Accounts" and the "mail" button is yes within those accounts<br> <br> Sometimes I also will go into Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendars while I'm having this problem and see Account entries with "?" as the account name and "inactive" as status. Sometimes multiple entries like this. <br> <br> If I find that the mail program isn't recognizing my mail accounts, and I forget to go into Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendars and delete the existing entry for, say, my gmail account, the "Welcome to Mail" screen will let me choose the Gmail entry, add in all my info, check me into my account, but then the "Mail" button will be grayed out in the on position (whereas contacts and calendar are not)<br> <br> Lastly, once while wrestling with this I got an error message saying something to the effect that "this account won't be able to send or receive mail". I googled this on my phone and rustled up some answer that had to do with gmail needing captcha verification, something? I went to gmail and did some kind of affirmation thing through Safari which seemed to make it better for a day or so but the problem is not solved. <br> <br> Any ideas? This is well into "first world problem" territory, although unfortunately the first known instance of this problem was last week when I missed the emails from my kid's elementary school saying that the after school program would be closed due to a snowstorm. I don't need that kind of stress. Halp?,2014:site.254932 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 16:40:53 -0800 Sublimity windows live mail stopped working My windows live mail stopped working two days ago. When I start the program the message says "windows live mail has stopped working and will search the web for a solution." I have searched the web to find a solution and have tried what I found was suggested: going to the windows live essentials file and repairing it. I tried this three times and it still won't work. I am running what I assume is the latest version of explorer and windows live essentials 2011. Everything was fine until two days ago. For what it is worth the latest windows update version is KB2913152 as of 12-12-13. But everything worked until the 1st of January. Assuming I could download an updated version of the essentials, and assuming it would fix the problem, I am concerned about losing my contact list, as I can't get to them at the moment.,2014:site.254738 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 10:29:03 -0800 jtexman1 What's the best PMB (private mailbox service) in SF? I'd like to find an alternative to my current private mailbox setup. It's expensive, open limited hours, and service has not been stellar. The one I have now uses a street address instead of a PO Box, which I like. Also ARE THERE ANY STARTUPS TEARING UP THE PRIVATE MAILBOX SPACE. (I know about <a href="">Outbox</a> but that seems to require a home mailbox, which I'm trying to avoid.) Thanks.,2013:site.253210 Thu, 05 Dec 2013 16:30:13 -0800 ziggly I need a link that articulates email spoofing I have a aunt-in-law who has been forwarding me junk emails she has received from a random email address with my name as the title. I've tried to explain to her that this is likely a junk from her computer's infection, not mine. Can someone send me a link that explains how that works in a simple way for someone of her limited understanding?,2013:site.253062 Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:27:30 -0800 miss tea Cheddar for Christmas I am mailing my friends a package for Christmas. They live in Africa; I'm in the US. They asked for cheddar cheese (among other things). How do I make this happen? I know cheddar sweats a little after a half a day out of the fridge... does it ever actually spoil? Can I just drop a (store-sealed) hunk o' cheese in the package and send it off? Would vacuum packaging it help? We did once send them Chick-fil-a sandwiches, vacuum sealed, via a visitor's luggage, but that was more like 3 days out of the fridge, not 3 weeks. (And no one died of food poisoning!) I am sending the package in a USPS flat-rate box, however long that takes. <br> <br> Dry ice is not an option, so I am looking for prep/packaging suggestions. I can freeze it, vacuum seal it, wrap it in an insulated snow suit, etc, etc. <br> <br> Bonus question: is there a cheaper way to mail a huge package other than the USPS flat rate box, which is $79.95 with a 20 lb max? The price is ok but I'd like to be able to send more than 20 lbs and/or a bigger box because as it stands I am going to have to use two boxes for a jaw-dropping $160.,2013:site.252184 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 15:50:46 -0800 raspberrE MX Servers / DNS Zone File question I have a domain name hosted by GoDaddy. For a year or so now I've not had a website, I've just had some DNS settings which 1) routed my email to gApps using MX records and 2) allowed me to use Jabber through the domain name by pointing the XMBB I now have a website so on Sunday I changed name servers to point at the webhost (Rackspace) and when that happened, Jabber stopped working but email did not. <br> <br> I have checked what MX records my domain is returning using a couple of online tools and it's STILL returning the gmail servers I setup on Godaddy which I guess must be why email is still working. <br> <br> I had read that changing nameservers would mess up the MX records (&amp; that I'd need to change at the new name server?) but this hasn't happened...<br> <br> When I now go to look at the zone file on GoDaddy I get "The zone file is unavailable because the domain's set nameservers do not belong to this registrar.".<br> <br> This message took a couple of days to appear. For a long while I could still see and edit the settings.<br> <br> When I check the <a href="">MX record tool</a> it shows:-<br> "Reported by on 10/9/2013 at 1:18:01 PM (UTC -5), just for you."<br> <br> so I guess the question is how does Rackspace know what MX servers I would like? Did it <strong>inherit</strong> them from Godaddy?<br> <br> Thanks!,2013:site.249960 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 11:20:53 -0800 dance Creepy mysterious packages sent to my house- help! A few weeks ago, a package was sent to my apartment from someone I didn't know in Chicago ( I live in California) They had my full name and address and I had never heard of their name. The package contained one cheap hairbrush with the tag still on. I assumed it was a mistake and forgot about it. There was no note. Today, another package arrived in the same type if envelope with only a car charger inside. Except this one was return to sender- it had been sent to someone in New Mexico who I dont know with my name and address as the return address. And the package had been ripped open a little- as if it could have been intentional or maybe not. <br> <br> I am creeped out and not sure what to do or if this is a prank or something to worry about. Also if it is something to worry about, do I go to the police and post office? Any ideas? Thanks so much for your help!,2013:site.249301 Sat, 28 Sep 2013 00:23:31 -0800 tessalations999 I need fun snail mail sent to my young kids. My 5-year-old (and therefore also 3-year-old) loves snail mail. How can I get more of it for him/them? People don't respond to his letters as often as he would like, ie, daily. He gets Click and Highlights magazines and some birthday invitations but it is too often a lonely, empty letdown when we check for the mail. I don't have the inspiration to mail to him myself and frankly I think I am not novel enough for him at this point to be an exciting pen pal. I don't want to break the bank but am open to subscriptions that are fun/educational/engaging and other ideas, eg, cool kindergarten pen pal program. I don't want this to be insanely time intensive though (for me).<br> <br> Thanks for your suggestions!,2013:site.248732 Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:56:58 -0800 rabidsegue Stop the catalogs! I've just moved into a new apartment, and the previous residents were apparently single-handedly keeping the direct marketing world in business. Every day my mailbox is filled with catalogs. How can I most efficiently stop this onslaught? I live in Wisconsin (USA).,2013:site.248257 Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:13:11 -0800 philosophygeek Will forwarding our mail twice in three months raise any red flags? Will forwarding our mail twice in three months raise any red flags with anyone? How about three times in seven months? I also need some general help on mail management and state residency since we plan to be mobile next year (we live in an RV). Currently, we work in $City and we've been living in a campground about an hour away from $City. We had our mail forwarded from our old apartment in $City to a PO Box near the campground. We changed our bank and credit card addresses to the PO Box.<br> <br> We're moving back to $City from the campground in early October. The PO Box will be impractical at best; we almost never have a reason to drive in that direction, and 90 miles roundtrip to get the mail is egregious.<br> <br> So, our options are to get another PO Box or to change our address to a family member who lives in $City. My concern is twofold: will forwarding our mail again raise red flags? And, since we're planning to leave the area next February-ish, we will need to forward it yet again.<br> <br> What should we do longer-term? The popular thing to do amongst RVers is to obtain residency in a state with no income tax and minimal vehicle regulations (South Dakota, Texas, Florida). You sign up for a mailing service with a street address and use that street address to get a driver's license and vehicle registration. The service forwards your mail to wherever you're currently staying. Has anyone here done this? Will this screw up our tax situation in our current state (we'll definitely be working here for the rest of 2013 and some part of 2014)?,2013:site.247804 Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:32:39 -0800 desjardins Please help me send a SASE internationally. I am in the US, and I would like to send letters to both the UK and Canada and include a self addressed stamped envelope. As of January 27, International Reply Coupons are apparently <a href="">no longer being sold</a> by the USPS . What are my options? What's the best way to go about this now that IRCs have been discontinued? Do I need to contact acquaintances in those countries and bribe them to send me some of their country's stamps? Buy them online? <br> <br> If the answer is "buy them online," could you please specify which type of stamps in what amounts I would need to get? I plan on mailing a basic 4 1/8" x 9 1/2" envelope. Thanks!,2013:site.246565 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:05:19 -0800 meggan