Enable an AI agent to recognise physical postal mail, assess its handling and delivery state, and determine appropriate next actions from recorded evidence.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Postal identity and composition Establish what constitutes the mail under consideration and how its letters and packages are grouped.
Postal scope
Recognise the physical referent and establish its connection to a postal flow.
Evidenced postal membership
Record the basis for treating these letters and packages as mail, including uncertainty about acceptance or operator scope.
- Which physical letters or packages does the term mail identify in this observation? definition
- What acceptance record, custody event or other evidence connects them to a postal service? provenance
Collection membership
Describe mail collections without merging their identities with those of bags or individual items.
Time-bounded mail grouping
Record membership, counts and containment at the time observed, preserving splits and consolidations.
- Which items or counted quantities belonged to this bag's contents or dispatch at the recorded time? measurement
- Does this identifier identify a reusable bag, the mail currently inside it, a dispatch or an individual postal item? boundary
Addressing and routing Connect delivery addresses and dispatch destinations to the appropriate level of mail.
Delivery address evidence
Capture the available destination information and ambiguities on letters and packages.
Address readability and conflict
Distinguish observed address marks from interpretations, corrections and competing instructions.
- Which destination and recipient details are readable on the item, and which are inferred or missing? measurement
- What evidence establishes which address applies when labels or forwarding marks conflict? provenance
Dispatch route
Relate mail groupings to their next processing destination and applicable routing instructions.
Bag destination versus item destination
Keep collective routing marks distinct from the addresses of enclosed mail.
- Does the destination on this bag or dispatch label identify an intermediate facility or a final delivery destination? boundary
- Which next sorting or transfer action is supported by the route record, and which mismatches require review? action
Postal treatment and handling Identify the service instructions and physical handling constraints attached to the mail.
Service designation
Record operator-specific service markings and the evidence supporting their interpretation.
Item-specific service instructions
Associate service and handling designations with the items or groupings to which they actually apply.
- Which service designations are evidenced for this mail, and are they attached to individual items or the whole dispatch? provenance
- What verified operator instructions determine whether these items may be grouped, separated or prioritised? action
Physical handling basis
Describe measurable and declared properties relevant to moving the mail.
Mail load and declarations
Preserve the measurement basis and distinguish declared contents from inspected contents.
- What mass, dimensions and item count were measured, and do those measurements include the bag or other container? measurement
- Which handling marks or contents declarations accompany the mail, and who supplied them? provenance
Custody and mail integrity Track handoffs and condition observations at the level actually evidenced.
Postal handoffs
Record movement between custodians and processing locations without filling gaps by assumption.
Handoff evidence scope
Attach each custody event to its observed mail unit and preserve unresolved membership or timing gaps.
- Who transferred and received the mail, where and when, according to which record? provenance
- Does the event verify each item's presence or only the transfer of a bag or dispatch? boundary
Containment and damage
Assess visible packaging and containment conditions without asserting unseen contents are intact.
Observed mail integrity
Separate observations of seals, bags and wrappers from conclusions about enclosed letters, packages or goods.
- What damage, wetness, opening, leakage or seal discrepancy was observed, and on which container or item? measurement
- Which protective handling or escalation action is authorised by the applicable procedure and observed condition? action
Delivery and exceptions Determine the evidenced outcome for mail and the basis for resolving unsuccessful delivery.
Delivery evidence
Distinguish processing arrival, delivery attempts and completed delivery.
Delivery completion basis
Record what the delivery evidence establishes under the applicable service, including who or what received the item.
- What does the recorded event establish: facility arrival, delivery attempt, deposit, recipient handover or another outcome? definition
- Which item-specific evidence supports the delivery outcome, and what receipt conditions applied? provenance
Undelivered mail disposition
Record unresolved delivery reasons and the authority for subsequent treatment.
Hold, redirect or return
Connect exception evidence to applicable instructions without inventing deadlines or disposal powers.
- What recorded condition prevents delivery, and is the reason confirmed or provisional? provenance
- What verified instruction, deadline and authority permit holding, retrying, redirecting, returning or otherwise disposing of this mail? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of mail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- noun.communication
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Facets: substance
- information
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- readable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- first class, 1st class, first-class mail, 1st-class mail, express, express mail, pony express, parcel post, bulk mail, third-class mail, third class, junk mail
What it is Filled
Mail is the collective physical consignment of letters, documents and parcels accepted for conveyance and delivery by a postal service, often grouped in bags or other transport receptacles.
In scope
- Physical letters and packages identified as belonging to a postal flow
- Composition of mail collections and their grouping into bags or dispatch units
- Addressing, routing and delivery instructions attached to mail
- Recorded custody, processing and delivery states
- Physical condition and evidence needed to decide handling or exception actions
Out of scope
- Email messages and electronic messaging systems
- Authorship, editions and intellectual property of enclosed correspondence or works
- Mailbags and other reusable containers considered independently of their contents
- Postal operators, post offices, vehicles and sorting machinery as entities
- Goods inside packages considered independently of their postal transport
- Freight or courier consignments not established as part of the applicable postal scope
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise physical postal mail, assess its handling and delivery state, and determine appropriate next actions from recorded evidence.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The referent is a physical collection of letters or packages, rather than electronic messages or an abstract communication service.
- Postal status depends on evidence of the collection's relationship to a postal service; the presence of an address alone is insufficient.
- A mailbag can hold mail, but an empty mailbag is a container rather than mail.
- The model distinguishes a collection or dispatch from each constituent letter or package, so a collection-level event does not automatically establish every item's state.
- The postal object is its handled envelope or package; the text or goods enclosed retain separate identities.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Open, read, copy or withhold mail addressed to someone else except under lawful authority.
- Deliver mail to anyone other than the addressee or their authorized agent.
- Discard, delay or divert mail.
- Handle a suspicious package in ways that ignore the operator's security procedures.
Only with a human decision
- Holding or returning mail suspected of containing dangerous goods.
- Releasing mail to a third party claiming to act for the addressee.
May
- Sort, carry and deliver mail on behalf of the postal operator that authorizes it.
- Report damaged, undeliverable or suspicious items to the operator.
Moral aspects Filled
- The secrecy of correspondence is a long-standing right protected in many constitutions.
- Reliable mail matters most to people without digital access, including older people and prisoners.
Who is affected
- Senders and addressees
- Postal workers
- People who depend on mail for benefits and notices
Owners Filled
Steward
The postal operator while in transit; the addressee once delivered.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-06263820-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.mail
- Open English WordNet: oewn-06286287-n
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Postal-flow relationship: Presented for acceptance, accepted, in postal custody, released, unknown; supported by recorded evidence
- Observation level: Individual letter or package, bag contents, dispatch, other identified collection
- Constituent membership: Identified or counted letters and packages linked to a collection for a stated time interval
- Recorded item count: Number of letters and packages, with counting basis and time
- Measured mass: Grams or kilograms; specify whether container mass is included
- Destination and routing marks: Links to item addresses, bag destinations and dispatch routes, with their respective scopes
- Postal service designation: Operator-recorded product, class or handling designation; unknown where unverified
- Custody and processing state: Latest evidenced handoff or processing event, including actor, location, time and observation level
- Packaging and containment condition: Observed intact, torn, wet, open, leaking or otherwise damaged; uninspected where applicable
- Delivery disposition: Pending, attempted, held, delivered, redirected, returning, returned or unresolved, using evidenced operator meanings
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Envelopes and parcels bearing addresses and postage marks, often carried in labelled sacks or trays.
- Postal bags and containers carry the operator's markings and seals.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify mail and reconcile its recorded membership against a bag or dispatch inventory.
- Propose sorting or routing actions from the applicable address and verified postal instructions.
- Record consolidation, splitting and custody handoffs while retaining item-to-collection relationships.
- Flag damaged, mismatched or insufficiently identified mail for authorised handling.
- Determine whether delivery, holding, redirection or return is supported by the recorded instructions and permissions.
- Explain which mail states are evidenced and which remain unknown.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Lost or stolen mail exposes personal and financial information.
- Mail can be used to send dangerous items, threatening postal workers.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Universal Postal Convention, Universal Postal Union.
Context of use required Filled
- Mail is encountered at postal acceptance points, sorting facilities, transport hubs and delivery destinations.
- It carries physical correspondence, documents and goods between senders and recipients.
- Items may be grouped in transport receptacles for movement and sorting while retaining their individual delivery identities.
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-06286287-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: mail - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Does the registry intend mail to include individual postal items and unbagged collections, or specifically bagged aggregate loads?
- Which operators and services define the boundary between postal mail, private courier consignments and freight for this registry?
- Which operator-specific identifiers and event definitions establish acceptance, custody and delivery, and what evidence can legitimately propagate from a dispatch to its members?
- Which jurisdictional and operator rules govern inspection, forwarding, retention, return and disposal, including who may authorise each action?
- How should the INF / INF.MED placement relate to the physical letters and packages and their separately modelled informational contents?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-mail/spec.json