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MichaelZuo 19 hours ago

That doesnt make sense as an example. Nearly everyone on HN would be aware of the great seal of the United States?

That all formal diplomatic letters are still sealed with to this very day, without exception.

Maybe it’s just a mental shock that HQ would demand that level of formality for more mundane things?

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snozolli 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Nearly everyone on HN would be aware of the great seal of the United States?

That thing I see on podiums and backdrops?

That all formal diplomatic letters are still sealed with to this very day, without exception.

Why would anyone here know this?

We've probably all seen media depicting a medieval king pressing a seal into wax, but it doesn't mean we're familiar with it as a modern legal or procedural thing. Japan has what I assume is the same thing: hanko, a personalized, carved stamp. It's always a subject of surprise and novelty for North Americans who go there to teach English.

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mananaysiempre 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A hanko is specifically a stamp (for dipping into ink) not a seal (for pressing into wax) so it is a different thing than the ones diplomats still use. I assume the Chinese one mentioned in the ancestor post is a mistranslation and should have said “stamp” instead but maybe not—I mean, the historical large and small seal scripts are so named for their usage on signets so it’s not like there’s no precedent for seals in Chinese culture either.

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MichaelZuo 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Because there’s no reason to automatically assume the USA stopped using the great seal on the most formal stuff?

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internet2000 17 hours ago | parent [-]

We see the president signing things into law on TV all the time: It's a signature. Nobody's sealing things other than Maker's Mark bourbon bottles anymore.

	▲	ofalkaed 15 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Presidents signing stuff into law is almost always a publicity stunt (politics), once passed it becomes law in 10 days regardless if the president signed it. The exception is if it passed during the last 10 days of a session; president has to sign for it to become law so congress can know before they leave Washington. The pocket veto being a veto of inaction, president does not sign or veto a bill that was passed in the last 10 days of the session and just forgets about it in his pocket or wherever. Many sources including government sources like to pretend that the president must sign a bill into law but it is not the case. Most of how the "news" reports on this stuff is purely political and has no connection to reality.
	▲	MichaelZuo 16 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You do realize that means the stuff you see is not that important right? Or do you think literally every such piece of paper has identical importance and priority?

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baobabKoodaa 19 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Anecdotal counter example: I'm on HN and I have no idea what you're talking about.