[jozvolskyef]

Physical mail, too, is a source of gatekeeping and bureaucracy. It is labour-intensive, expensive, and you are trading your false positive rate of digital impostors for a false negative rate of legitimate businesses struggling with unreliable mail delivery.

[octopoc]

I have started several small businesses and never had problems with mail delivery except when the business moved. The only thing labor intensive about it is the amount of junk mail, and if you have a P. O. Box then checking that can be labor intensive. What else am I missing?

[jozvolskyef]

Personal experiences with physical mail:

- Post office clerk offered to fill in cheque details for me. Recipient didn't receive the payment and sued the broke 18 year-old me. The clerk likely pocketed the money. This was over a decade ago, but coincidentally a Czech post office clerk was sentenced this week for pocketing ~$140k over a 2-year period.

- The recipient's lawsuit letter didn't reach me in time and was automatically considered delivered, causing further complications.

- DVLA refused to send mail to non-royal mail PO boxes even if the address is the official business address (UK), preventing international travel with the vehicle.

- On a separate occasion, striking Royal Mail workers prevented me from travelling internationally by delaying the delivery of my driving license.

- I used to live in an apartment with an awkwardly positioned letter box. My mail would end up in random places, usually the neighbours' more easily accessible letter box.

- Every now and then my mailbox contains mail addressed to adjacent buildings.

I also help manage a small B2C family business that is on its third address at the moment. We're renting a small section of a larger shop that is within a commercial estate. We don't have access to mail delivered to the official address. It could probably done, but it may be complicated.

> What else am I missing?

Royal Mail is one of the largest employers in the UK.

[account42]

If you don't have reliable mail delivery, you don't have a business. This is especially true for your online presence in Germany where an address at which you can receive mail is a legal requirement.