WHAT IS A DELIVERY RECEIPT?
RPost returns to the sender a Delivery Receipt that
is a permanent record containing details such as
proof of sending, proof of delivery and proof of
content of the message and attachments that you
sent "Registered." If a recipient disputes
any aspect of your e-mail message time, delivery
or content, you can forward the Delivery Receipt
to the recipient, who can then forward it to verify@rpost.net
for authentication. Be sure to hold on to it in
its electronic form in the event of a dispute (do
not print AND delete).
HOW AND WHEN DO I RECEIVE MY DELIVERY RECEIPT?
You will automatically receive the Delivery Receipt
in your e-mail inbox after a few minutes or hours
- but within one business day of sending -- depending
on such factors as the receivers' system, if there
is a delivery failure (mailbox full, wrong address,
etc.), or if there is a large number of recipients
the message was sent to. The Delivery Receipt is
the only permanent record you will receive detailing
your e-mail, to prove its delivery and/or its contents.
If desired, RPost can send the sender a duplicate
which they can archive for future verification.
HOW DOES RPOST PROVE IF A DELIVERY RECEIPT
HAS BEEN TAMPERED?
RPost Delivery Receipts™ are Digitally Sealed
and tamper detectable documents and use sophisticated
encryption techniques. When the Delivery Receipt
is forwarded to the RPost Registration System, the
Digital Seals™ on it are compared to the ones
that are instantly regenerated for verification.
RPost Receipts incorporate two forms of encryption
algorithms, the SHA-1 hash and Triple DES algorithm.
RPost uses encryption components which are based
on open cryptographic standards - the algorithms
defined by these standards are the most widely used
in the world today, and are counted among the strongest
available in the commercial sector. They are tested
for compliance with these standards by independent
laboratories, and validated by the United States
Government.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE AMONG THE FOUR POSSIBLE
DELIVERY STATUS LEVELS ON THE DELIVERY RECEIPT?
1. DELIVERY FAILURE
2. DELIVERED DIRECT TO MAIL SERVER
3. DELIVERED TO MAILBOX
4. OPENED
There are four levels of delivery reported in the
Delivery Receipt: The difference between the three
"delivered" dispositions has to do with
how much information RPost can elicit about the
delivery to determine the status.
1. DELIVERY FAILURE:
This might occur if there is an e-mail address
error or the receiver's mailbox is full.
2. DELIVERED DIRECT TO MAIL SERVER:
This is the minimum requirement for a document
to be deemed as legally delivered according to
government definitions. When the receiver's authorized
electronic agent signs the message, RPost deems
it delivered. In parallel, with courier or overnight
service, certified or registered mail, a document
is deemed delivered when the receiver's authorized
agent (i.e. mailroom clerk, receptionist) signs
for the document. The E-Sign and similar acts
give e-mail transmissions equal status to paper
transmissions, in most circumstances.
3. DELIVERED TO MAILBOX:
This means that the message is in the partition
of the server where you get your e-mail. A physical
mail analogy is your assistant signing for a delivery
and putting it on your desk.
4. OPENED:
This means that the receiver has opened the e-mail.
The Delivery Receipt or Read Receipt will indicate
this. A physical mail analogy is when you sign
for a package yourself.
The RPost System can determine when an e-mail
was opened MUCH of the time using a variety of
techniques, but no system can determine when an
e-mail was opened ALL of the time. This is why
RPost provides four levels of delivery: Failure,
Mail Server, Mailbox, or Opened. The RPost System
reports the level of delivery that it can be certain
has occurred:
Delivery to “Mail Server” means the
RPost System is certain that the e-mail was accepted
and signed by the recipient’s agent, or
mail server, at the designated point in time.
The e-mail may have later been delivered to the
mailbox and perhaps opened, but the RPost system
could not determine this with confidence. This
is the baseline for legal delivery as defined
by the case law and the Uniform Electronic Transaction
Act.
Delivery to “Mailbox” means that the
RPost System is certain that the e-mail was accepted
by the recipient’s agent and that agent
placed that e-mail in the recipient’s mailbox.
The e-mail may have later been opened, but the
RPost System could not determine this with confidence.
“Opened” means the recipient, or a
designee with access to their e-mail, opened that
e-mail. If the RPost system can detect “Opening”
with confidence after the Registered Receipt™
is returned to the sender, then the RPost system
will return a follow-on Read Receipt™ at
the point in time that the e-mail was opened.
It is important to note that if the Registered
Receipt™ does not indicate “Opening,”
that does not necessarily mean the e-mail was
not “Opened”. It means the e-mail
was either not opened or the system could not
determine with confidence that the e-mail was
opened. No system can determine “Opening”
all of the time.
WHAT DOES UTC MEAN IN THE TIME FIELD ON
THE DELIVERY STATUS OF THE DELIVERY RECEIPT?
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) - the new standard
world time, is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) less
daylight savings. UTC uses a 24-hour system of
time notation. To convert from UTC to your local
time you need to add or subtract hours, based
on daylight savings. For example, Eastern Standard
Time subtract 5 hours from UTC, Pacific Standard
Time subtract 8 hours from UTC (with daylight
savings).
WHAT IS THE HISTORY AREA IN THE DELIVERY
RECEIPT?
It records the Internet delivery history, the
dialog between the recipient's mail server and
the RPost Registration Systems.
WHAT ARE THE THREE ATTACHMENTS ON THE
DELIVERY RECEIPT?
RPost does not keep any e-mail messages or attachments
on the RPost Registration Systems. The original
pre-processed e-mail message sent to the RPost
Registration Systems for processing is compressed
into a file, attached to the Delivery Receipt
and returned to the sender authentication-ready
for use in case of a dispute. The second attachment
is an HTML version of the Delivery Receipt for
people who receive it in Plain Text and want to
view it in their browser. The third attachment
is a digital fingerprint needed to recreate the
original e-mail message in the event of a dispute
The receipt and attachments associated must remain
together for verification purposes.
WHAT IS A DIGITAL FINGERPRINT?
The receipt is over signed with a private digital
signature that assigns a unique 40-digit code
to the attachments, receipt components, and receipt
itself. This code is referred to as the Digital
Fingerprint of the data set and is used for authentication
in the event of a dispute. Each Registered E-mail®
and each attachment has a digital fingerprint.
This is so RPost can authenticate the e-mail content,
transmission data, and each attachment.
|
