Emoji Archetypes 🦋

[Emily]

• I can't make sense of the order the flags come in. Austria comes between American Samoa and Australia, which suggests this is based on the countries' English names. But others make no sense. Why does Andorra and UAE (?) come before Afghanistan?

i believe the flags are in order based on the iso country codes which is as close to a language-neutral orser as you can reasonably get

My childhood home in a small town had a mailbox until circa 2000, IIRC. Then, everybody's mailbox was removed and everybody was given a PO box in the local post office instead. (Later, circa 2015, the hours of the local post office were reduced from 8 per day to 4 per day, just to give you an idea of how the service has deteriorated (or become more efficient, depending on your point of view) over time.) So, mailboxes, and thus this kind of mail collection, are less common nowadays than they were 30 years ago.

really it depends on where you live. my late grandparents lived in a small town (~1000 people) in rural montana and they had a similar arrangement: all mail was delivered to and from the post office and everyone in town had a po box. most places, however, do get mail delivered and picked up on site. apartment buildings/complexes will generally have everyone's boxes all together in one piece of equipment near the entrance, that of course includes a slot for outgoing mail, and some newer suburban subdivisions of single-family houses will also have free-standing communal mailboxes every block or two rather than individual mailboxes. but individual mailboxes are still very common in a lot of residential neighborhoods. sometimes in rural areas you'll have individual mailboxes but with a group of them clustered together at the start of an access road so the mail carrier doesn't have to spend 20 minutes going down one long road just to deliver to eight houses or whatever

for people surprised that mail delivery would pick up from the house, what is the arrangement where you're at? do you get mail delivered to your house but not picked up from it?? or some other system

[quinterbeck]

for people surprised that mail delivery would pick up from the house, what is the arrangement where you're at? do you get mail delivered to your house but not picked up from it?? or some other system

Yes, pretty much! In the UK, most houses have a letterbox, a flap in the front door which the postman pushes letters and small parcels through. Flats have a unit near the building entrance like the one you describe.

To post something, you either go to the post office or to a nearby postbox (those iconic red pillars) - usually within a ten minute walk from your home. Each postbox has a notice indicating the time(s) post will be collected by a postman.

Admittedly I very rarely need to post anything these days, besides a few Christmas cards.

[jcb]

for people surprised that mail delivery would pick up from the house, what is the arrangement where you're at? do you get mail delivered to your house but not picked up from it?? or some other system

Yes, pretty much! In the UK, most houses have a letterbox, a flap in the front door which the postman pushes letters and small parcels through. Flats have a unit near the building entrance like the one you describe.

To post something, you either go to the post office or to a nearby postbox (those iconic red pillars) - usually within a ten minute walk from your home. Each postbox has a notice indicating the time(s) post will be collected by a postman.

Admittedly I very rarely need to post anything these days, besides a few Christmas cards.

America does have an equivalent to Britain's iconic pillar boxes that are placed around a city: https://i0.wp.com/typology.city/wp-cont ... C780&ssl=1
and "snorkel boxes": https://live.staticflickr.com/5081/5259 ... d96012.jpg

I must also note that when putting mail in a box to send, only letters and very light packages are allowed. Otherwise, it's refused, because it might contain something dangerous. Thus, larger and heavier items must be mailed in person at a post office.

[quinterbeck]

America does have an equivalent to Britain's iconic pillar boxes that are placed around a city: https://i0.wp.com/typology.city/wp-cont ... C780&ssl=1
and "snorkel boxes": https://live.staticflickr.com/5081/5259 ... d96012.jpg

Oh yes, now I remember seeing these before, in movies.

I must also note that when putting mail in a box to send, only letters and very light packages are allowed. Otherwise, it's refused, because it might contain something dangerous. Thus, larger and heavier items must be mailed in person at a post office.

Yes, the same is true here.

[Qwynegold]

i believe the flags are in order based on the iso country codes which is as close to a language-neutral orser as you can reasonably get

Ah, that makes sense! Though I wish they were sorted alphabetically according to the short form country names in the language your keyboard was currently set on. I.e. when I have the Swedish keyboard on they would be sorted according to the Swedish names of the countries.

for people surprised that mail delivery would pick up from the house, what is the arrangement where you're at? do you get mail delivered to your house but not picked up from it?? or some other system

In Sweden and Finland there are these yellow postbox here and there (they are getting rarer and rarer) that you put your letters in.

Apartments usually have a mail slot in the door that you used to get your mail through, but nowadays they are rarely used. Instead there's a collection of mailboxes at the bottom floor of the building, so the postman doesn't have to visit each floor. These boxes get quickly filled up when you're away on vacation. You also get a lot of other people's mail because the postmen just push in the mail without checking the name or address.

[hwhatting]

Mail delivery in Germany works like in other European countries.
For sending, you can also use public letter boxes (as elsewhere, only for letters, postcards, and very small parcels). There used to be separate post offices even in villages; nowadays you only find them in big cities and instead mail is accepted by merchants who have a contract with the post office, and there are automated delivery stations where you can send or receive mail and parcels.
I understand people not liking the disappearance of post offices and the reduction of hours; OTOH, people write much less cards and letters than they used to; personally, we are down to one couple with whom we still exchange paper christmas cards; all other personal communication has moved to e-mail and messaging apps...

[Raphael]

I understand people not liking the disappearance of post offices and the reduction of hours; OTOH, people write much less cards and letters than they used to; personally, we are down to one couple with whom we still exchange paper christmas cards; all other personal communication has moved to e-mail and messaging apps...

True enough; in my experience there is, however, still a fair amount of official communication happening by paper mail.

[Travis B.]

We still have local post offices here in the US (I live within walking distance of one). And while people have been writing fewer letters in recent times, much official communication still goes on by mail, and mail is now used heavily for sending packages, which makes up for the fewer number of letters.

[hwhatting]

True enough; in my experience there is, however, still a fair amount of official communication happening by paper mail.

Although in my experience, 80% of that is notifications which don't require a written response (like bills). For parcels I can use the automated boxes (which work 24/7); I basically only use the post office to buy parcel sets and to send registered mail, which is once or twice a year.

[Raphael]

Although in my experience, 80% of that is notifications which don't require a written response (like bills). For parcels I can use the automated boxes (which work 24/7); I basically only use the post office to buy parcel sets and to send registered mail, which is once or twice a year.

Well, I myself haven't really gotten used to the automated boxes yet.