What do you think of physical mail?

[Quinn]

i love mail!1 used to do it all the time as a kid. but now everyone i know is overseas so mail is expensive, and i dont want to say my address online.

[Y2KStardust]

I got further into postcrossing recently and getting mail once every few weeks has felt so nice! As has sending it :3

[Memory]

unfortunately i never redeemed my keys for the postbox i rent, so i am unable to do anything with it :(

[shevek]

If anyone needs a mixed approach (due to having bad handwriting, not having much to write about, being forgetful of throwing the letter into the box, lack of stamps etc.) here is postcard bot. You send a picture to the number on the page via sms, they'll send it for you as a postcard. Address and payment is done via the bot that sends the sms. Haven't tried it yet.

[starbreaker]

My wife once told me she missed getting love letters in the mail, so I started writing them and mailing them without a return address while running errands alone.

[di]

I love getting fun physical mail, from family, friends, and zinesters. It's very special.

When it comes to pen-pals - as interesting as the idea of having a pen-pal seems, I honestly find it hard to maintain, unless we have some sort of preexisting real-life connection or relationship. It's hard to get to know someone's personality, tone, and sense of humor just from their writing, or to bond over shared interests when there's a big time gap between writing. Plus, our busy lives take up our energy. When we're practically strangers, it's easy to just end up journaling about ourselves instead of trying to listen to one another.

Nevertheless, receiving postcards, stamps, letters, & words from across the world is a nice feeling. I keep them and paste bits into my diary.

here is postcard bot. You send a picture to the number on the page via sms, they'll send it for you as a postcard. Address and payment is done via the bot that sends the sms.

That's so awesome! I was just recently looking for a way to send photo postcards. You know, like they did in the old days. I ended up using Shutterfly, but I'll keep this site in mind

My wife once told me she missed getting love letters in the mail, so I started writing them and mailing them without a return address while running errands alone.

This is so romantic

[starbreaker]

This is so romantic

Which is why I do it. Keeping a marriage going over 20 years takes work.

[Seryndelle]

I've rediscovered my love for snail mail over the past few months! I have two pen pals at present, both of whom are IRL friends of mine that also happen to be in my D&D party. I used to write letters all the time during COVID (primarily to a different friend of mine), but I fell out of the habit when the world opened back up again and I could see people face-to-face.

But what sparked my renewed passion for sending and receiving letters was actually a card sent to me by one of my friends for my birthday! I likewise sent her a card for hers a month later, and she sent me one back thanking me for the present I'd bought her. I think that was the one that really hammered home how much I needed to get back into the wonderful world of letter-writing, because it had been years since I'd received a thank-you note, and I wanted very much to reward such behaviour amongst those who are dearest to me!

So I dusted off my old typewriter—an Olympia SM8 (similar to the one pictured below except for a few of the buttons)—and now I sit with it every week or so hammering out replies to whatever lovely things happen to come through my letterbox from my friends!

[Eunice]

Can't believe I haven't answered this thread yet! I love snail mail. I've been penpalling since I was 11 years old, and as I'm now 63, that's a lot of ink, pens, paper and stamps! It's a rare day when I don't get at least one letter. I used to love using fountain pens and I have a large collection. Sadly, with age, I have arthritis in my hands. So now I use an electric typewriter, a Nakajima AX-150, that I've named Mayumi. My husband bought it for me last year, brand new! Oh yes, they are still being made today. There are lots of penpal groups and clubs on the 'net, especially on facebook, ironically.

[nuclearblues]

I absolutely love getting mail! unfortunately most of what I receive these days is bills, college information, bank information, and other nasty adult stuff... but I do my best to have fun with it still. I send letters to my cousin because she doesn't always have a stable internet connection, my friend from kansas that I met at a 4-H state exchange years ago because we both have similar historical and sci-fi based interests and like to give each other trinkets, and one of my internet friends that I swap stickers with and occasionally send mixtapes to. I have a PO box through my university so I don't feel too nervous about the issue of address if it's someone I'm close enough to for them to know my school. I think it's a great way to connect and it causes me to think over the content of my message more than just a text or IM would, similar to the reason I enjoy forums so much.

[Kie]

I have sent physical mail to online friends many times and keep a collection of letters I've received! However I wouldn't personally go past doing so beyond special occasions like birthdays or festivities. Mostly out of fear of the mail getting lost. Our postal service has inproved a lot in the past years but letters still disappear from time to time!

[_ghost_]

I love the idea of sending physical mail to friends, but it's just not convenient for me right now; I currently live on a campus where most of my friends are within walking distance, so even if I took things down to the mail room, they would all have to go to the exact same place to pick it up. It's just easier to go find them and talk in person--which is definitely a blessing that I will miss when I'm no longer in university. Hopefully I'll be able to start sending snail mail as a more tangible form of connection when we're all separated, instead of solely relying on text.

Still, if anyone is interested in being a digital penpal, please feel free to email me.

[candycanearter07]

If I knew anyone really well, I would like to do something like that.

[fawn]

I love mail. I've actually recently decided t otake up penpalling with some of my longterm online friends and I'm super excited to dive in and get creative with it!! I can't wait to have a little collection of love letters and doodles from my overseas friends.