[WiZ] Keith to a Mythtery

[WiZ]

For a period of several months, Keith received important letters to someone he did not know and did not live at or near his address. This never bothered him, and he made no effort to return the mail or track down the recipient. Why not?

BOATS. Caveat Earlispoilor.

[LemonCurry]

Is Keith H/A/M?

Is the intended recipient always the same? Is he or she a real living person? Is the sender always the same? Is the content of the mail relevant? Does Keith read the letters? Keep them? Do something relevant with them?

[Earnest]

To be sure: can we assume that Keith receive the letters directly at his house? (E.g. in contrast to his place of work or study/directly on hi hands/peculiar situations such as keith being a soldier in a war)

Did the someone sign rhe letters? With his/her real name? Was the someone writing the letter always the same person? HAM?
Did the someone represent an organization? An istitution? Advertisement relevant? Did he/she write directly and exclusively to keith? Also to other people?
Did Keith reply every time? Does keith do this for job? Does he reply to strangers? Maybe working in a magazine? Did he know the recepient? Had he ever relevantly seen him face to face? Had something to do with him/her? Did Keith reply to questions made in the letter? Maybe filling a questionnaire? Giving info to the recepient? Relevant how he traced back the recepient? Was it relevantly simple to do so?

Relevant the content of the letter? Personal? Always the same topic? Several topics? Work? Sport? Events? Health? Instructions? Safety?

Period of several months: several months after he made a subscription? After he bought something? Had done something relevant?

important letters --> important for Keith? For someone else? For people living in a certain area?

[peter365]

Do the letters have Keith's address on them? His name? Are the letters legal in nature? Does he receive the letters through the mail? Is someone making an error?

[WiZ]

LemonCurry

Is Keith H/A/M? yeth

Is the intended recipient always the same? yes Is he or she a real living person? yes Is the sender always the same? yes Is the content of the mail relevant? yes Does Keith read the letters? no Keep them? no Do something relevant with them? no

Earnest

To be sure: can we assume that Keith receive the letters directly at his house? yes (E.g. in contrast to his place of work or study/directly on hi hands/peculiar situations such as keith being a soldier in a war)

Did the someone sign rhe letters? yes With his/her real name? yesish Was the someone writing the letter always the same person? yesish HA yes to both M? irrel
Did the someone represent an organization? yes An istitution? yes Advertisement relevant? no Did he/she write directly and exclusively to keith? no Also to other people? but to other people, yes
Did Keith reply every time? no Does keith do this for job? no Does he reply to strangers? Maybe working in a magazine? n/a to both Did he know the recepient? Had he ever relevantly seen him face to face? Had something to do with him/her? no to all Did Keith reply to questions made in the letter? no Maybe filling a questionnaire? Giving info to the recepient? n/a to both Relevant how he traced back the recepient? no Was it relevantly simple to do so? no!

Relevant the content of the letter? yes Personal? no Always the same topic? yes Several topics? no Work? yes Sport? Events? Health? no to these Instructions? yes Safety? no

Period of several months: several months after he made a subscription? After he bought something? Had done something relevant? no to all

important letters --> important for Keith? no For someone else? yes For people living in a certain area? no

Peter

Do the letters have Keith's address on them? yes His name? no Are the letters legal in nature? yes Does he receive the letters through the mail? yes Is someone making an error? no

[LemonCurry]

Does Keith know why he gets the letters?
If Keith tried to send the letters back to its intended destination, would he succeed? Would they end up at Keith‘s address again?

Is something special with Keith‘s address? With the intended address? Do they share some trait?

[peter365]

Is Keith's surname relevant at all? Would the letters represent good news for the intended recepient? Is someone being sued? has someone relevant died?

So the envelope contains the intended recepient's name and keith's address? Does the sender have a reason to think the person lives with Keith or at Keith's address? Is the type of abode Keith has relevant? Does he live in a house? Detached? APartment? Above a business? Do any of his neighbours receive similar letters?

[trebor]

Is Keith acquainted with the sender? The intended recipient? Is Keith the sender? Does Keith have to read this mail to know that it’s important? Is it immediately apparent it’s important mail just from looking at the envelope? Are the letters from a lawyer? The police? Are they jury summonses? Are they from the government? An executor?

[WiZ]

LemonCurry

Does Keith know why he gets the letters? no
If Keith tried to send the letters back to its intended destination, would he succeed? no Would they end up at Keith‘s address again? possibly

Is something special with Keith‘s address? no With the intended address? yope Do they share some trait? yope

Peter

Is Keith's surname relevant at all? no Would the letters represent good news for the intended recepient? potentially Is someone being sued? no has someone relevant died? no

So the envelope contains the intended recepient's name and keith's address? correct Does the sender have a reason to think the person lives with Keith or at Keith's address? no Is the type of abode Keith has relevant? no Does he live in a house? assume yes Detached? APartment? Above a business? assume no to these Do any of his neighbours receive similar letters? no

Trebor

Is Keith acquainted with the sender? irrelevant; he likely knows of them The intended recipient? no Is Keith the sender? no Does Keith have to read this mail to know that it’s important? It would probably confirm the importance, but see next question Is it immediately apparent it’s important mail just from looking at the envelope? yes Are the letters from a lawyer? The police? Are they jury summonses? no to these Are they from the government? yes An executor? no

[LemonCurry]

Was there a flaw in the postal system that made it impossible to send the letters to their intended place?
Was the intended place "new" and not yet implemented in the postal system?
Did the letters contain instructions how to fix the flaw?

[peter365]

Is there anything unusual about Keith's address? Is anything else about Keith relevant? His job? hobbies? domestic situation? Does Keith work for the agency that is sending the letters?

Do the letters contain money or a cheque? Are taxes relevant? Data Protection laws?

[irishelk]

So Keith does not know why he gets the letters, but isn't bothered by it. Does he relevantly consider it odd at all? Does he open the letters? Does he throw them away?

Is it a case of him being unsurprised that this agency has made a mistake? Is he glad that their mail is not reaching its intended recipients?

Did the government agency make a mistake? Did they want the mail to go to Keith? Or just to someone other than the named recipient? If so, do they want him to read the letters? Throw them away?
Does the recipient know the letters are going to Keith? Or to someone other than him/herself? Does s/he want them to go to someone else?

Will the named recipient ever receive the message in the letters? If so, will they receive the exact letters that Keith got? Different copies of the same thing?

[WiZ]

LemonCurry

Was there a flaw in the postal system that made it impossible to send the letters to their intended place? no, but explore
Was the intended place "new" and not yet implemented in the postal system? no, but getting warmer
Did the letters contain instructions how to fix the flaw? no

Peter

Is there anything unusual about Keith's address? no Is anything else about Keith relevant? yes, although this may not be the most useful line of questioning His job? yes, to an extent hobbies? domestic situation? no to these Does Keith work for the agency that is sending the letters? no

Do the letters contain money or a cheque? Are taxes relevant? Data Protection laws? no to all

IrishElk

So Keith does not know why he gets the letters, but isn't bothered by it. correct on both counts Does he relevantly consider it odd at all? no Does he open the letters? no Does he throw them away? no

Is it a case of him being unsurprised that this agency has made a mistake? no Is he glad that their mail is not reaching its intended recipients? no/FA

Did the government agency make a mistake? no Did they want the mail to go to Keith? not Keith specifically Or just to someone other than the named recipient? no If so, do they want him to read the letters? they want the intended recipient to read the letters Throw them away? no
Does the recipient know the letters are going to Keith? yes Or to someone other than him/herself? yes Does s/he want them to go to someone else? yes

Will the named recipient ever receive the message in the letters? yes If so, will they receive the exact letters that Keith got? yes Different copies of the same thing? no

[GalFisk]

Does Keith put the letters somewhere relevant? Is the intended recipient a person? Business? Agency? Department? Is sending the letters to Keith the best way to get them to the intended recipient? Was Keith informed about this before the first letter arrived?

[LemonCurry]

Did the sender send multiple copies of the letters to several people? Did the ender not know the correct address of the recipient?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

Does Keith put the letters somewhere relevant? no Is the intended recipient a person? yes Business? Agency? Department? no to these Is sending the letters to Keith the best way to get them to the intended recipient? yes! Was Keith informed about this before the first letter arrived? no!

LemonCurry

Did the sender send multiple copies of the letters to several people? not of the same letter, no Did the ender not know the correct address of the recipient? correct, they did not

[trebor]

Does Keith do anything relevant with the letters? Does he throw them out? Recycle them? Does someone else pick them up from his place? Will the letters arrive at the recipient’s home? Place of work? Is the recipient’s profession relevant? Is Keith’s? Do either of them work for the government?

Do the letters come from the federal gov’t? State/provincial? Municipal? Relevant what department? (Education? Health care? Arts? Transportation? Military? Anything to do with taxes?)

[irishelk]

Is the recipient going to move into Keith's house? Or stay there for a period of time? Or spy on Keith?

Does the recipient ever enter Keith's house? Does the recipient ever touch the physical letters? Open them? Do they see them from a distance? See an image of them?

Is the important part about the letters not what is inside them but that they exist? That they are delivered? Something on the outside of them?

[WiZ]

Trebor

Does Keith do anything relevant with the letters? no Does he throw them out? no Recycle them? no Does someone else pick them up from his place? yes! Will the letters arrive at the recipient’s home? arguably yes, FA lurking Place of work? no Is the recipient’s profession relevant? arguably yes, FA lurking Is Keith’s? An aspect of it is Do either of them work for the government? no(t relevantly)

Do the letters come from the federal gov’t? yes State/provincial? Municipal? no to both Relevant what department? yes (Education? Health care? Arts? Transportation? Military? no to these Anything to do with taxes?) no

IrishElk

Is the recipient going to move into Keith's house? Or stay there for a period of time? no to both Or spy on Keith? noish

Does the recipient ever enter Keith's house? no Does the recipient ever touch the physical letters? yes Open them? yes Do they see them from a distance? See an image of them? no to both

Is the important part about the letters not what is inside them but that they exist? no, what is inside them is important That they are delivered? somewhat, explore Something on the outside of them? an aspect of this is relevant

[trebor]

Does the recipient have a home? If so, is it a house? Apartment building? Condo? Are they homeless? Are they constantly on the road and living out of a suitcase?

[WiZ]

Does the recipient have a home? no! If so, is it a house? Apartment building? Condo? n/a to all Are they homeless? yes! Are they constantly on the road and living out of a suitcase? no - they are not quite so nomadic as that

[trebor]

Is it one homeless person who's relevant? More than one? Does that person come themselves to collect the mail? Does a third party come for them? Perhaps someone from a shelter? Does Keith work for a homeless shelter? For another organization that the homeless might use?

Is it relevant what address the homeless person had before they became homeless? Has Keith ever been homeless? Keith receives the letters at his home address, correct? And not at another address of his?

Does the mail have a specific intended recipient? Is the intended recipient simply "anyone who is homeless"? (I'm imagining a scenario where they might be trying to count the homeless population or something.)

[gregoryuconn]

Does the homeless person plan to take mail out of Keith's mailbox? DO they in fact doso?

[WiZ]

Trebor

Is it one homeless person who's relevant? yes More than one? no Does that person come themselves to collect the mail? yes Does a third party come for them? no Perhaps someone from a shelter? no Does Keith work for a homeless shelter? probably not For another organization that the homeless might use? as above

Is it relevant what address the homeless person had before they became homeless? no Has Keith ever been homeless? assume no Keith receives the letters at his home address, correct? correct

Does the mail have a specific intended recipient? yes Is the intended recipient simply "anyone who is homeless"? (I'm imagining a scenario where they might be trying to count the homeless population or something.) no

Your last question does remind me of our old census forms, which allowed for someone of no fixed address to draw the bridge under which they lived as best they could. Since the census moved online, we have lost that little gem.

GregoryUConn

Does the homeless person plan to take mail out of Keith's mailbox? DO they in fact doso? Yes to both!

[GalFisk]

Does Keith never see the mail to the homeless person? Is Keith's profession relevant? His schedule?

[WiZ]

Does Keith never see the mail to the homeless person? Correct! Is Keith's profession relevant? no His schedule? yes (this is the relevant aspect of the job)

[irishelk]

That detail about the census is fantastic, and given that many of ours are still done on paper, I wish there was more of an artistic component!

Is Keith completely unaware that he (or his mailbox) is receiving these letters? Did he sign off on it before it started? Is the sender aware that the address is not that of the homeless person?

OK, reverse-formulating a plot here...did the homeless person pick a home where the resident is regularly gone at certain times of the day, then use that as their mailing address so they can receive important letters? If it's something like this, were they trying to do government paperwork that requires an address? Perhaps receive financial aid? Respond to a subpoena/court order? Register to vote?

[trebor]

If irishelk hasn’t uncovered enough, is Keith a night watchman? Is the homeless person using the address on job applications?

[WiZ]

IrishElk

That detail about the census is fantastic, and given that many of ours are still done on paper, I wish there was more of an artistic component!

I think a few New Zealanders would be happy about a return to the paper forms. Photorealistic sketches of culverts aside, there was a bit of outrage that it was impossible to select both 'male' and 'female' for the gender question when the forms moved online, and there's that unpleasantness with our not having reliable data after 18 months due to a massive undercount...

Is Keith completely unaware that he (or his mailbox) this is receiving these letters? yes! Did he sign off on it before it started? no Is the sender aware that the address is not that of the homeless person? no

OK, reverse-formulating a plot here...did the homeless person pick a home where the resident is regularly gone at certain times of the day, then use that as their mailing address so they can receive important letters? yes! If it's something like this, were they trying to do government paperwork that requires an address? yes! Perhaps receive financial aid? Respond to a subpoena/court order? Register to vote? no to these but...

Trebor

Is the homeless person using the address on job applications?

***** SPOILER *****

An enterprising homeless person was applying for jobs and jobseeker benefits. As one needs a postal address for these, they were able to get their correspondence sent to Keith. The homeless person could walk by Keith's house daily, and knew that Keith worked late hours and would not check his letterbox until late evening. Keith never knew the letters arrived.

Congratulations, Trebor and IrishElk on the solution, and thank you everyone for playing!

[irishelk]

Good one, and clever job-seeker! Thanks!

[Lynne]

In the UK you can use your local JobCentre as a care of address if you are homeless and applying for jobs. Not everyone knows that.