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jason123

Hi everyone
(this is my first message on this forum)

Uhm... maybe this is a stupid question but can I copy paste things from the internet (wikipedia, archive.org or diffrent articles/books) and send them along with my letter?

I haven't sent any letter yet. I am new to this.

And, what first question should I ask a prisoner? "What things interest you?" or "How are you?" (I know he or she won't say i'm fine). Any suggestions on what should I ask the first time so I can start a conversation?

Kind regards.


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jason123

Thank you very much for your suggestions ! If I won't finish writing and sending today, tomorrow I will for sure. ;) Thank you ! ;)

 
jason123

Ohhh Yes, I understand now. When I printed something this had happend so very few times to me that I completly forgot about it. Usually I copy paste on a notepad or word and next print it. But, I understood now. Thank you ! ;)

 
PPAz83

I once blacked out a load of web addresses on something I sent my man...I now know that for his prison I don't have to and he must have wondered why the hell I had! Haha! The Department of Corrections website for the State you end up writing to will have all the info you need though.

I treated my man like he was any other person...because he is! Don't worry too much what you write. Just be yourself. I kept mine brief. Told him a little about myself and why I had decided to write to him. Asked about his interests etc...

 
Linny

Hi

"some facilities want you to block out the website address."

Uhm... ?!?! I don't understand what you mean to say here. ?!?!

When you print out a website, it usually puts the address to that site on the top or bottom of that page (for instance if you'd print this page it would say www.writeaprisoner.com/vbforum/etc.etc.). Since some facilities don't allow those address lines on the printed page, cutting that off or using a black marker to make it unreadable might be a good way to go about it.

Does that make it any clearer?

 
jason123

Hi

Thank you for your message !

"some facilities want you to block out the website address."

Uhm... ?!?! I don't understand what you mean to say here. ?!?!

Thank you very much for your suggestions and encouragement !
Yes, I think I already over thinked it but I'll handle it. ;)
Again, thank you very much !
;)

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Hi

Thank you for your message !

"I have become conditioned to remove website urls from all printed materials."

?!?! Like in the other message of timeto_waste, I don't understand what you want to say. :( ?!?!

Yes, I have read somewhere before that some people(prisons) don't want the inmates to have penpals.

The birthday or holiday idea.
Thank you for your suggestion and yes, it is a good idea but here would be a small problem that I don't know how much time it would take for the card to get there. I am from Romania, so I am over sea. I expect that the mail will be slower than with other people, so I expect to take 1 month or more to exchange letters. I am quite far from them.
My card won't get there at the exact time but I can send it 1 month earlier or 1 month and few weeks earlier, something like that.

Well, I'll handle it !

Thank you very much again !
;)

 
deckard

I agree with timeto_waste. I have become conditioned to remove website urls from all printed materials. I don't take the time to research whether that state is adhering to that or not because based on my experiences, they can do whatever they want whether it's printed or not, and that seems to be a standard.

I can tell you what works for me in first letters. I just pretend like Ive known them for ages. I ask a few questions. I don't mention anything pen pal related because even though few places actually have policies in place to stop pen pals, many mail room clerks frown upon inmates posting ads on prisoner websites.

If its someone that I really want to talk to and I am hard pressed what to say, I pull my trump card. I wait until a birthday or a holiday and I send a card. 95% of the time that will lead to communication and break the ice.

 
timeto_waste

Look on the states DOC website and see if they have rules for mail laid out. Some are very vague and some very specific. I have sent articles before no problem, but I believe some facilities want you to block out the website address.

As for first letters, those are always the hardest! Just talk like you would to anyone else. My first letters usually start out with the basic hey, saw you're looking for a pen pal, tell a little about myself, reference some stuff they said in their ad and ask questions based on those things. First letters can feel awkward, but once you get that first reply, things generally flow smoothly from there. Have fun and don't over think it!

 
jason123

Hi

Thank you for your message !

No, not Jpay. (in fact, i don't know sure what Jpay is).
Yes, I mean sending articles that I copy-paste from the internet and send them along with my letter - snail mail.

Ok. I'll figure something out. ;)

Thank you very much !

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Hi

Thank you for your message !

3rd page? Wow ! I don't think I am able to write even one page whole. If I write half a page it would be a lot to me.
Anyway, thank you for your suggestions !

All the best !
;)

 
VioletGrey

I'm a bit like Darkstar, not sure exactly of all the rules that go along with writing to inmates, but I print things off the internet to send to my PP and there have been no issues thus far.

Second part, just treat it like any other person you're meeting for the first time. I wouldn't worry too much about which question you should ask first. I didn't even start my first letter with any questions till the 3rd page. I don't think you should avoid questions like "how are you?" because you fear you know the answer may not be so sunny... Everyone has their good and their bad days!

Good luck with writing your first letter, hope you and your PP click! :)

 
DarkStar

Hi Jason, & welcome. :o for your first question, I'm afraid I'm too new & inexperienced myself to answer. I'm not sure if you mean copy & paste things onto Jpay? I've never actually used it, or if you mean just sending an article by snail mail.

I'm not sure internet based, but via snail mail I know people have sent articles etc. I guess it really all depends on the content.

As for the 2nd question - just relax & be yourself! :o just talk to them as you would a friend just introduce yourself, a little about you, why you decided to write to them, just ask them how they are doing, just be honest & upfront, & be prepared for whatever answers you may receive. You may find they are just grateful for the correspondence & you can just ramble on about anything, & it'll give them a little escapism for a couple of hours.

Maybe expand a little on what they wrote in their ad to start with. Be it sports or any other interests. Just be yourself. :o perhaps some of the other members can help you further with your questions too. :o