DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is there still a measurement that’s considered “proper” for how close a stamp is placed to the top and the right side of an envelope? I seem to remember that years ago, correct placement was considered proper etiquette.
GENTLE READER: Etiquette governs behavior among people, a fact obscured by the public’s -- though not etiquette’s -- obsession with the disposition of the silverware.
As the stamp is now more likely to interact with a machine at the post office than a clerk, it need only be in reasonable reach of that machine.
But as the recipient of the letter may see it before it lands in the trash, Miss Manners counsels that the stamp not be placed so as to draw unwanted attention on its way out. It should be far enough from the edges that it will not detach, and even enough that it does not suggest the poster was in no condition to be writing letters.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)