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Published

mail

vr.tr.mail · thing-q49845

Let an agent handle mail by service, item type, tracking, customs, prohibited items and consumer rights, and help people spot postal scams.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.PRC
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Sending Posting items.

Postage

Prices.

Postage

Postage.

  1. How much postage is needed for this size and weight? measurement
  2. From the official operator price list? provenance

Prohibited

Restrictions.

Prohibited

Prohibited items.

  1. Is this item prohibited or restricted in the mail, such as lithium batteries? provenance
  2. Which rules apply? provenance
Tracking Where is it.

Status

Tracking.

Status

Tracking status.

  1. What does the official tracking service show? provenance
  2. What does the status mean? definition

Lost

Claims.

Lost

Lost items.

  1. How can a lost or damaged item be claimed? action
  2. Within what time limit? measurement
International Customs.

Customs

Declarations.

Customs

Customs declarations.

  1. What customs declaration is needed? provenance
  2. Which duties or VAT might apply? provenance

Restrictions

Destination rules.

Restrictions

Destination restrictions.

  1. Does the destination country restrict this item? provenance
  2. Where is the official list? provenance
Safety Scams.

Scams

Fake messages.

Scams

Delivery scams.

  1. Is a message asking for a redelivery fee likely a scam? boundary
  2. How can it be reported? action

Suspicious

Suspicious items.

Suspicious

Suspicious items.

  1. What should someone do with a suspicious package? action
  2. Which authority should be called? provenance

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
thing
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.PRC
Other names and narrower kinds
mail boat, mail delivery by animal, submarine mail, local post, City post, airmail (since antiquity), municipal official mail, fan mail, military mail, surface mail

What it is Filled

The system for collecting, sorting, transporting and delivering letters and parcels, operated by postal services and couriers, and the items sent through it; historically carried by boats, animals, trains and aircraft.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle mail by service, item type, tracking, customs, prohibited items and consumer rights, and help people spot postal scams.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Physical delivery network
  • Universal service obligations in many countries
  • International rules via the UPU
  • Customs apply across borders

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Open, read, hold back or destroy mail addressed to someone else.
  • Redirect mail without the addressee's authority.
  • Send hazardous or prohibited items through the mail.
  • Send mail that impersonates a postal service, such as fake delivery notices.

Only with a human decision

  • Opening or seizing suspicious items.
  • Changing a person's delivery address.

May

  • Sort, track and deliver mail the agent is authorized to handle.
  • Report delivery status to the sender or the addressee.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Privacy of correspondence is a long-standing right.
  • Fake delivery messages are a common scam targeting everyone.

Who is affected

  • Senders and addressees
  • Postal workers

Owners Filled

Steward

The postal operator while in transit; the addressee once delivered.

Master systems

  • Postal address databases

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q268592 - registry parent class
  • Q7590 - registry parent class

related

  • transport and industry - category
  • postal service - operator
  • Universal Postal Union - international body
  • email - another sense

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.mail
  • Wikidata: Q49845 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49845)
  • UPU tracking number: S10 format item identifiers

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Stamps, postage labels and barcodes
  • Post boxes and postal vans
  • Email is electronic mail, a separate sense
  • Letters, parcels, post boxes, vans and sorting centres.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • track letters and parcels
  • check postage and prohibited items
  • complete customs declarations
  • recognise delivery scams

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Delivery scam messages
  • Sending prohibited or dangerous items
  • Unexpected customs charges

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Universal Postal Convention
  • EU Postal Services Directive
  • Dangerous goods rules for mail

Context of use required Filled

  • Communication and delivery of goods.
  • letters
  • parcels
  • registered and tracked mail
  • airmail
  • historical and specialist mail such as mail boats

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q49845: mail - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Mail - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should item types be separate entries?
  • How should postal operators be linked?
  • How should the email sense be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q49845/spec.json