No worries. In Sweden in fact we have one stamp for international post, but you can use two for domestic instead. In my case it was just an example and I wrote at the same time for a reason. I just appreciate every little effort, it’s my approach. It doesn’t have to be much to make me happy, but at the same time I believe that small things matter (that’s basically my approach to life).
Sometimes I really see that stamps where chosen carefully (like they match my interests) and then I notice it and definitely appreciate it!
Recently I got a postcard like this, front was (I assume) meaningful to a sender - it showed something local. Message was simple - like Happy postcrossing!. But this person put 6 or 7 beautiful stamps!
Let me reiterate and say I’d like to get a substantial message, where the person says something about themself or their area/country. Not one generic sentence.
I know that on very old postcards (the beginning of the 20th century) you wrote the message on the front of the postcard. There was some empty space in the picture for you to write something and the back was only for the address. I doubt anyone alive today still thinks that’s how you write a modern postcard, though.
Actually, what you described is called a postal card, which is a type of pre-paid postage stationary issued by a postal service, as opposed to a commercially/privately produced postcard which has a picture on the front and you must affix postage. Some countries, including the USA, still have postal cards.
Sorry I wasn’t answering to you or what you want I was answering to the wondering, if a postcard is a postcard if there is no message, but since here it’s talked about generic message like “Happy Postcrossing”, I thought it’s considered “no message” (because it’s not personal?), but it still is a message.
Different countries have/had different habits. Finland has had different postage for a card and a letter. And this my friend claims, if the message in the card was too long, it was considered a letter, and should’ve paid for letter postage.
I remember someone writing here about this/similar situation, maybe Italy, how they thought the message isn’t allowed to be long in the postcard. It’s not that strange.
In Finland this was too, first there were “letter card” so no picture, only address to one side, message to one, and this continued even when there was a picture.
Here is how some still send postcards in Finland, but of course I can’t know if they think the message side should be empty:
Message is a message, it’s not on opinion. Like saying some bird is not a bird, because they don’t like it. That’s not how words work
You don’t like certain message, it’s just up to you of course.
But for me, the more instructions how a message should be “write something interesting” etc, and I start thinking oh this is not interesting, what can I write, or write something “substantial”…oh no
I remember my mom telling that a postcard in the Netherlands should not be fully written, because then it would be a letter and requiered more stamps. That was a long time ago, but I am not surprised if this was in more places…
I stayed with my Austrian penfriend in 1972. I hope my memory is right on this. It was either in Austria, or somewhere that that family had travelled to, you were only allowed to write five words on a postcard (apart from the address of course). The postage was more expensive for six and more words. It struck me as bizarre at the time, and still does now.
I’m an artist, so every now and then I print a bunch of my own drawings, and some of them are ending up in my Postcrossing sending list. Though, I like experimenting with different paper material and unique textures of my prints. To each their own, I suppose.
I have an collection of old postcards and on my early cards it is written that if you write a message on the left hand side you have to pay more postage. They changed it so that a message is for inland postage only at some point. Of course that was over 100 years ago in the UK maybe they had that rule in other countries. About 100 years ago they changed the rules so that you could write a message regardless of where it was going just as long as you paid the correct postage.
I used to send the same card to everyone. Before covid I only had the choice of 6 postcards in my local tourist information centre. Just before covid it closed down. Even now it is only open for a few hours and not every day. I didnt know about where to buy postcards online until i joined this forum and my travel was strictly limited when covid was at it’s height in the UK. I am considered vulnerable to covid so couldnt visit other tourist places. Even now i buy the majority of my cards online as even though i live in a city we arent very good when it comes to tourists. I only know of 2 places that sell postcards and even then the postcards are not very good.
Few reasons. I usually get addresses in bulk (all 10 or 11), print them on a sheet & take them to my lunch break at work. To see what others want to know about me, i have to go back to profiles on my phone’s tiny screen & PC website is not mobile friendly (need to zoom in on page, not wrong, no complains). If I have stamps, cards, addresses ready, I can skip going to each profile.
Also, like I said earlier, I used to write. But the way PC is designed (again, I cherish this feature, no complaints) that I am not going to get back any reply (except Horray). So I dont think its a conversation.
I know we are a bigg community & I believe that not everybody is like me, & people who want messages, get messages from majority.
When you draw an address, you always get an e-mail with that address, the id and the profile of the addressee. When you print that e-mail, you have all necessary information at hand, if you are not willing to read it on your phone! There is no reason to blame anything on Postcrossing like you do, although you claim not wanting to blame Postcrossing. I think it is you, who does not care for whishes or interests of other users, at least that is what your posting tells me, sorry.
I understood he only prints the addresses, so there is not other info than the address and id.
(And I understand it’s nicer to take one sheet with addresses, than maybe 10 sheets of profile texts. Because addresses you glue to the card, but profiles would be waste.)
Yes, and many are very happy about getting the card, and don’t need a personalised message. It’s a “hello” from some other place. Like in so many other threads other members have told they are happy about anything that isn’t bills
I was answering to the wondering, if a postcard is a postcard if there is no message, but since here it’s talked about generic message like “Happy Postcrossing”, I thought it’s considered “no message” (because it’s not personal?), but it still is a message.
they write the sender’s name under the photo, and other side only has the address.
Like saying some bird is not a bird, because they don’t like it. That’s not how words work 
Anyway, this is getting quite off topic so I’m out of this discussion.