[Techtalk] Sending floppy disks thru the mail

[Telsa Gwynne]

On Mon, Sep 16, 2002 at 07:01:36AM -0700 or thereabouts, Liz Young wrote:
> 
> Years ago, I received a package of software (three floppies) through the 
> U.S. Mail that were damaged (twice).  The good set was finally sent in 
> a cardboard disc package labeled "Software Enclosed!  DO NOT X-RAY!".  
> That might be worth a try.

We tend to write "Magnetic media: do not X-ray" on ours. 
It doesn't always work, but's pretty successful. Just in
envelopes, not great big parcels. 

Not everyone _reads_ the "do not X-ray" part, of course. And
sometimes you wish they hadn't: I once knew someone who swore 
his mother had posted his exam certificates on to him with the 
legend "Certificates   Do Not Bend" on them and that they had 
arrived folded through the letterbox with "Yes they do" appended. 
I have my doubts on the "yes they do" part, but I credit the "folded 
up to pass letterbox" part.

I have also known people stick a stamp on the floppy and write
the address on the disc label. This apparently works far better
than you might expect. They can see it's a floppy then. 

Come to think of it, it's good to make it very clear what's in
the envelope. Here's an example of why I say this. I knew someone
who lodged in university with an elderly good-hearted landlady 
who ran some kind of revival church in her downstairs room. This 
person had a floppy disc sent to him in a Jiffy bag (padded brown 
envelope). You couldn't see into it. You could hear "a device" 
(literally, I suppose) if you rattled it gently. And, _most_ 
unfortunately, the sender didn't know the real name to post to, 
so sent it to the guy's mud nickname. 

Which was "Anarchy".

Faced with this, sent to her home where she had her chapel 
meetings, addressed to "Anarchy", it is really no surprise at
all that she called out the Bomb Squad.

So "Magnetic media: do not X-ray" is my advice, but don't
go overboard with notes that are _too_ cryptic!

Telsa