HHHmmm, average citizens are becoming a national thinktank. Ideas are coming in from people who would never have bothered to think about situations outside of their little area of the world.

I just heard on on C-SAN from an older woman that may make sense. She suggested all mail should have a thumbprint of the sender.

Thats an idea, if the mail had no thumbprint, it would be trashed. Kinda of an extreme method caused by the anthrax attacks, there are probably a lot of privacy rights areas that would be against it, but think about it, you place your fingerprints on mail as you prepare it for mailing. So fingerprints already exist, but this would force someone who is trying to prevent the mail from being backtracked could wear gloves. At least we would know the sender wasn't trying to hide their identity.

It's an idea. Might stop a lot of the junk mail we get.

Any thoughts on this suggestion?

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), October 31, 2001

Answers

"... you place your fingerprints on mail as you prepare it for mailing."

Paper is a notoriously bad receptor for fingerprints. What leaves our prints on surfaces like glass or metal are the oils we exude from our skin. Paper is fiberous and the fibers wick and disperse the oils, ruining the fingerprints. I have read that crime researchers have developed techniques for lifting prints from paper, but the quality isn't very good.

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), October 31, 2001.

LN, I think you missed the point. Cherri is saying that we would use ink or something to make an OBVIOUS print on the mail.

-- (you@think.2much), October 31, 2001.

Well let's face it, when you mail something out your fingerprints are already one it. Ya think I want to send out my thumbprint every time I mail something out? NOT!

Plus... the people we are dealing with dont care if they get busted. What good is a thumbprint to a person who processes the mail and gets sick. Sure you can track down the sender HOWEVER the person still gets sick. Anthrax in powder form infects anyone who inhales it so ya need to stop it from ever being put in the mail, not thubprint the asshole that puts it in the mail.

Just my 2 cents...

-- (not@sure.com), October 31, 2001.

Holy Shit, this is what it's come to? Finger print your effing mail? Uh huh, and of course the guys who send out anthrax aren't smart enough to make up some FAKE fingerprints are they?

No, that wouldn't happen.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeeD@yahoo.com), October 31, 2001.

Naw...just spit on it. DNA and all that. Or bleed a few drops of blood on it. Junk mail would disappear.

-- helen (i@know.everything.i.made.an.a.on.my.final), October 31, 2001.