Send someone you appreciate an official 'Continue and Persist' Letter

[adnanaga]

Every day, thousands of Cease and Desist letters are issued, telling people to stop what they’re doing (Looking at you, David Chang). What a bummer!

That’s why we created: The Continue and Persist Letter. A official-looking legal letter that encourages and uplifts people, one that tells people to keep doing what they’re doing! Surprise someone you appreciate by sending them a Continue and Persist Letter.

[omoikane]

> A official-looking legal letter [...] Surprise someone

Having received actual legal letters before, my personal experience is that I would much rather receive normal looking holiday cards to encourage me in continuing whatever I was doing, rather than being surprised by official-looking letters.

It might be different if this service offered help in other ways, but currently it seems like a practical joke of dubious taste.

[growt]

I agree. I would rephrase it „send someone you appreciate and that you wish had a mild heart attack this official looking letter“

[egorfine]

Depends. I would be spooked and frightened but then I would be delighted.

[Tempest1981]

Yeah, rather dark lawyer humor, I guess. No thanks.

[DavidSJ]

On a few occasions I’ve called the phone number on a professional vehicle’s “how’s my driving?” bumper sticker to report the driver for good driving. It’s always a fun experience.

[sharkweek]

Amazing idea. I’m sure the person on the line is… not used to this.

I remember one time having a super helpful person at Home Depot walk me through a home project I needed some advice on so I asked to talk to their manager to compliment/thank them.

After a few minutes the manager came over and looked so ready for me to berate them about something only to look incredibly shocked that I was actually complimenting the service I had just received. Was nice for everyone.

[Pikamander2]

I've thought about doing that kind of thing but always worry that it might end up hurting them if the company has some kind of binary "number of complaint line phone calls" metric for each employee.

I've heard too many horror stories about employees/stores getting punished when you give them 4 out of 5 stars since (according to upper management) it implies that something was less than perfect.

[nicbou]

I often give drivers a thumbs up when they are careful around bikes. German drivers are especially wary of cyclists, and I'm often surprised by how constantly they look out for me.

[RyJones]

I’ve done that in bad weather. The professional drivers will keep the speed over the passes. I love reporting this. I’ve seen so many people drive in the ice and snow like it’s dry pavement and end up crashed.

[unsupp0rted]

I've tried similar things and the person on the other end isn't interested. I'm bothering / interrupting them by trying to call in and praise someone. They're not being incentivized to take praise calls.

[resize2996]

I have done this and was told that the driver gets a safe driving certificate. (I was specifically calling because I had watched a semi prevent an accident by turning on their flashers and blocking lanes)

[teaearlgraycold]

When working with technicians I like to tell them and their manager that they’re doing a great job, 5/5 stars. I usually also throw in that whatever they’re being paid, it’s not enough.

[DonHopkins]

The customer service people at 1-800-EAT-SHIT laughed at me when I did that. Then they sold me some of my own "Don't like my driving? Call 1-800-EAT-SHIT!" bumper stickers.

[michaelcampbell]

I do the same at restaurants; ask to see the manager then tell them that my server has been extraordinary (when they have been). I try not to do this when it's obviously busy, etc. I also don't try to fool them with a stern "see your manager" demand then trick them.

[croisillon]

I once called the "send us your ideas" feedback hotline of a highway station, suggesting this and that. The person on the phone was like "ok... but do you have complains? why are you even suggesting ideas?"

[stogot]

I should start doing this. Fine idea

[bragr]

This reminds me of how my father (a lawyer) sent fake subpoenas to invite people to his brother's bachelor party. Most found it hilarious but it freaked a few people out. I suspect that this would have the same problem.

[sharkweek]

I remember in college (early 00s when music piracy was huge) someone set up a site where you could enter an email and it’d send them a fake letter from the RIAA about the downloading they were doing.

Sent one to my college roommate and sat quietly while he got home from class and checked his email. He obviously started panicking until the link in the email revealed the joke. He didn’t think it was funny and swore cold blooded revenge that I’ve yet to receive. Still keep one eye open at night.

[rietta]

As a business owner, I can tell you certain letters have a look to them before opened and can trigger anxiety and “heart skip a beat.” A letter looking like its from a law firm is going to trigger concern and even calling an attorney. Not fun to then have the rug pulled out. Reminds me of the terrible pranksters who worry people and then say “it’s just a prank.”

[sharkweek]

When I owned a small business every letter from the IRS, no matter how benign, was nightmare inducing.

Never got anything serious from them as most were “we’ve update some random piece of info on your profile” notifications, but still made me nervous every time.

[UniverseHacker]

Really? I think most people get plenty of benign letters from law firms. I do for things like consumer class action lawsuits I’m eligible to join, and stuff related to getting paid for things I invented….

[thepuppet33r]

It's a clever concept, but I'm leery of having someone send a letter on my behalf to someone.

You all haven't trademarked the idea, have you? I think I'll just write a few of these up myself and send them out.

[jagged-chisel]

> I'm leery of having someone send a letter on my behalf to someone.

Agreed. I don’t know what other junk mail will be included, nor how my recipient’s data will be used.

[akoboldfrying]

Good idea. Elsewhere in the comments, user kynetic mentioned that their terms include:

> We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.

Which somewhat takes the shine off this in my opinion.

(That, and also: How hard is it to post a letter yourself?)

[thayne]

Also, I don't actually have a physical mailing addresses for people I would like to send something like this to, like maintainers for my favorite open source projects.

[FloorEgg]

Trademarked the idea?

I don't think that word means what you think it means...

I'm not OP, and I'm no lawyer, but I'm sure you're free to try this concept for yourself.

Three ways to protect IP

Trademark is for logos and names Parents are for methods and inventions Copyright is for works of art and writing

They might be able to trademark the phrase "continue and persist", but it's not likely. If they had they would have put a little TM or (r) next to it.

It's not sufficiently original to qualify for copyright protection.

And it's so far from being patentable I hope I don't have to explain why.

[sph]

Pro tip: Send it to Nintendo with a picture of Mario to receive a Cease and Desist letter in exchange.

[usmanmehmood55]

Real

[royal__]

Cool idea! It sounds like you're offering it for free, with the option for a donation. How are you going to deal with the influx of what I imagine will be hundreds of free requests? Won't that get pretty expensive fast?

[MichaelCharles]

The pessimist in me says this is the regular old "If it's free, then you're the product" situation.

This seems like a clever way to collect valid mailing addresses. People are also likely to include personal information in their praise messages, which could be valuable data.

Their Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy state they reserve the right to share collected information with service providers, business partners, and affiliates. They can use your data for "other purposes" including "data analysis" and "identifying trends." They can share your information with "business partners to offer you certain products, services or promotions."

[adnanaga]

OP here - There will be a lot we won’t be able to get to Hahahh but we want to try and send out as many as we can!

[heysammy]

What's stopping you from just... sending a letter or a postcard? Benefits:

1. It comes from your heart.

2. You don't leak PII to internet randos.

3. It shows you put some thought into it.

4. Writing letters is fun, and the post office needs all the help and support it can get. While you're at it, why don't you give THOSE folks some praise, too?

5. A personalized letter doesn't look like something official and frightening. Seriously, you're underestimating how many people this is going to unnecessarily scare, at a time when our institutions are failing more and more.

Maybe we don't need to automate away every last bit of being human.

[qingcharles]

I tried to donate the $3 but Ko-Fi won't let you donate less than $5. I'm trying to donate the $5 but the blue Pay Now button does literally nothing. Will try again later :) Please continue.

[gcr]

Same. It seems like the Ko-Fi platform won't let me select any payment method.

Thank you for running this service! I'll pay it forward when things recover.

[darnfish]

Continue and…?

[NortySpock]

I have found postcards to be a great way to send encouragement, sympathy notes, or thank-you notes.

The small space on the post card for writing means you can usually only fit a few sentences in (keeping the time investment short) and you don't even need to fold up the letter into an envelope. You can start with a few post cards bought from a gift shop, and if you like the habit, you can get themed boxes of 100 postcards from an online retailer for $20. (e.g. birds, or cats, or Disney Princesses).

[ChilledTonic]

It would be nice to have a pdf copy of the letter downloadable for those who are outside of the USA.

[adnanaga]

Just added it to the site!

[0x1ceb00da]

That's their moat.

[davely]

Love the idea!

But! I don't love the idea of sending PII for friends and family to an unknown source in order to facilitate this.

You can ask your friendly neighborhood LLM for a template and go to town!

"I'd like to create a positive spin on "Cease & Desist" letters for the holidays that I could send to friends. Let's call them a "Continue & Persist" letter.

How can I make something cute and uplifting that I could send to friends for the holidays. I guess I need some personalization options like name, and one thing I'd like them to continue doing (optional).

Can you help me create an official looking, but fun form letter that I can fill in the send to people? Thank you!"

---

[Your Name or Family Name]

Department of Holiday Joy & Encouragement

[Your Address or City, if desired]

[Date]

OFFICIAL NOTICE

Re: Continue & Persist Order

Dear [Recipient's Name],

In the spirit of the holidays and in recognition of your outstanding contributions to the world, the Department of Holiday Joy & Encouragement has issued this Continue & Persist order for you.

This order officially requires you to continue being your amazing self and persist in spreading joy and kindness throughout the year. Please note the following specifics of your order:

1. You must continue to [something wonderful they do, e.g., make everyone laugh, inspire others, or bake the best cookies]. Your efforts in this area have been truly exceptional and have brought countless smiles.

2. Under no circumstances are you to cease being the incredible [friend/parent/artist/etc.] that you are.

3. This order is valid indefinitely and cannot be revoked (even if you try to protest with modesty).

Failure to comply with this order will result in an overflow of love, gratitude, and probably more letters like this one.

We at the Department of Holiday Joy & Encouragement commend your contributions to making life brighter and sincerely hope you have the happiest of holidays.

Warm regards,

[Your Name or Family Name]

Director of Holiday Cheer

[dmurray]

This is pretty good! An LLM is actually the right tool to generate this kind of copy that demands a given style but is ultimately soulless.

[pvaldes]

"...And here is a magnet pin with the logo of the company, to fix this letter on your fridge at home if you want, so your children and partner can read it also". That would be chef kiss

[mvkel]

"A happy person tells one; an unhappy person tells nine."

Little efforts like this help even things out

[zoklet-enjoyer]

In 2024, Chang's company, Momofuku, drew criticism after sending cease and desist notices over the use of their trademark "chili crunch."[65] In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Momofuku argued that the trademark was not intended to stifle any competition surrounding the sauces, stating that "When we created our product, we wanted a name we could own and intentionally picked 'Chili Crunch' to further differentiate it from the broader chili crisp category."[66]

On April 12, 2024, Chang issued a public apology regarding the issue on his podcast, The Dave Chang Show, stating that Momofuku had not intended to upset with their legal actions, and noted that Momofuku would no longer attempt to enforce the trademark.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Chang

[71bw]

How does this relate to the topic?

[aszantu]

if it's free, you're the product, better yet, you're giving away your friends and families adresses for free. I like the idea though^^ might send a few on my own

[aetherspawn]

I think the rules are you have to put a Show HN: in the title when you self post

[dec0dedab0de]

I don’t think that’s a rule, but it does give you a better chance of being noticed because it goes on the show list.

[ocal5]

Yes, but, they admit they’re not lawyers :’ )

[7373737373]

Love the idea, it's similar to the formal letters of http://www.bureauofcommunication.com/

[g4zj]

No thanks. Receiving an "official-looking" letter would only make me anxious.

[borski]

This is brilliant. This is one of the best things I’ve seen all year.

My father was diagnosed with liver cancer about a month ago, and I have had a rough time of it since. I needed this positivity in my life.

Thank you for reminding me of the good in the world; sometimes we all need a dose of that.

If I can buy you guys beers, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to help build some future boondoggles. :)

Email is in my profile. (The irony of my domain being owlpost.lol is not lost on me haha)

[oneeyedpigeon]

What a brilliant idea! It's a shame this is USA-only - would be nice to get that added to the HN title.

I can see why they would have this restriction, but there IS a payment option, so they could offer it with whatever feels is required. Still, all the best US cousins!

[LoveMortuus]

I got so excited, already started to fill out a form to send the letter to my friend who recently got diagnosed with breast cancer and after they removed it they find that it had already spread, and since she's business oriented person, I'm sure she would appreciate this.

But guess what, it's US only, again...

[spuds]

I have to say I'd be absolutely delighted to receive a letter like this. Not just the indicator that I'm doing something right (already huge for me, given the degree to which I struggle with people pleasing), but also the humor and extra care/time involved. Feels like it would strike enough of the right nerves to be quite moving even. Definitely agreeing with others that we could use more of this in the world (well, I could definitely use more of it, at least.)

[indus]

As a startup founder, my journey is super lonely.

There is seldom a flutter of thanks—-rarely does anyone come to me saying, “Splendid!”

Yet, the day continues, operated by a calendar.

The lack of thanks does not make me anxiouz, but I continue on my journey because I signed up—to create. Create something out of thin air, something out of my figment of imagination.

But there are moments where I am vulnerable, alone. In those moments, I look for a post-it where it says, “Continue and Persist.”

Thanks for creating this. I’ll wait for this. Maybe someone, someday.

[TripleChecker]

Having received a C&D letter or two in my day, I can still remember the unpleasant feeling of getting one. This would be a pleasant surprise, once the user recovers from thinking it was a cease and desist :)

Also, 1 typo to fix ('acknoledgement' on homepage: https://triplechecker.com/s/771583/continueandpersist.org)

[theendisney]

Long long ago i and friends would smoke a ton of weed and write letters that we never send. They went something like...

Dear sir, you must feel privilaged to receave a letter from someone as important and distingushed as me. It was well earned and deserved i assure you (which is the best kind of assurance) It of course pains me greatly to see my greatness overshadowed but there is joy in being reduced to an observer in awe.....

Ill let myself out

[GregTravel]

Juding by the content you were not far from the truth... :-)

[Ylpertnodi]

"Long ago....".

[tomashubelbauer]

I think something like Keep and Persist would roll off the tongue better, though it is not perfect English. I can't think of another verb that would still rhyme and fit better. Overall well meant idea, but I echo others sentiment that this could really freak some people out. I'm trying to decide whether I'm in that group or not. Probably yeah.

[gwd]

Make sure and watch the video -- excellent satire on the "local ambulance chaser ad". These guys are having a lot of fun.

[callumprentice]

https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2007/03/second-lifes-resp...

Our legal dept (person) did this in 2007 and it made me so happy.

[Towaway69]

Something similar that I once created was https://spread-the.love which is a service that sends a random person somewhere on the planet a positive SMS.

Of course the SMS is discontinued because of costs but the idea still exists.

[mattclarkdotnet]

Very funny, completely American, mostly unrelatable for the rest of the world. Please continue and persist.

[ghusto]

I don't mind America-only stuff — I think countries should have _more_ country specific stuff! — but it's rather frustrating when you only find out half way through the process of signing up / filling out a form. The presumption that all English speaking people are American is tiresome.

On the other hand, I can't blame people for it either, since it's equally tiresome to be world-inclusive by saying "This is for an northern American audience" at the top of each website that requires it. If only there were some way to un-obnoxiously denote this ... <cough> TLDs <cough> ...

[DocTomoe]

Oh, wow.

I mean, I love the sentiment. It's a cute idea.

But something that on first look looks ike another legalese quagmire on my desk would raise my blood pressure way beyond what my doctor tells me is healthy. By the time I realised this was meant as an encouragement, the damage would already have been done.

Maybe show appreciation in something that masquerades less as yet another fire to put out.

[alabhyajindal]

The Law words we know section in the video might be a reference to Cherdleys! https://youtu.be/9iVcDNxsXrY?si=PBgk6naBPUj98k08&t=102

[wslh]

You make my day! instantly brought to mind the many people I care about. It's one of the simplest yet most meaningful, and impactful ways to express respect, appreciation, influence, and encouragement to those closest to us.

[remram]

I don't think I would enjoy receiving one of these. It looks scary, and the PII side of things is creepy.

If you like my work, say so on social media. That does way more for me than this novelty panic-inducing letter.

[neom]

Cool that they have an office in the capital of the north east corner of the GTA.

[emptiestplace]

Hypothetically, if I had to violate someone's personal privacy like this, I think I'd be leaning toward doing it for someone I don't like. And even then, I would never.

[setr]

How is this a violation of personal privacy? Sending mail? Submitting name & address to a business, a readily available datapoint for probably anybody?

[karlgkk]

> violate someone's personal privacy

Lmao what explain your math

[GlacierFox]

What's going on here? What planet are you from to come up with a comment like this? Haha wtf.

[fuzztester]

Achtung! Halten! Verboten!

[jakubsuchy]

One often overlooked aspect of owning a trademark : once you have it, you have to defend it. Not a surprise David Chang's lawyers are trying to enforce it. They have to

[brna-2]

@adnanaga the e-mail you specified for contact on the site does not work: [e-mail] gmails says it is miss-configured.

I was wondering for EU, could I get the document template.

[adnanaga]

Yes! It's on the site too - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Um9z87Zv_zLRZRRHpii-Mwm...

[anandbaburajan]

Thank you for creating this wholesome, weird thing!

[bongodongobob]

Smells like a way to collect addresses to me.

[Raed667]

The video is a gem ! Love what you're doing ! Can I send you a Continue and Persist Letter?

[infinitedata]

Regarding data privacy, but from a different angle, here you are not getting the consent from the actual person receiving the letter, you are getting the consent from someone else, does that allow you to use their information when the consent is not coming from the affected party?

[nashashmi]

And if you don’t contine and persist you will be in violation of the order.

[ecmascript]

Really great idea, but why free? At least take like $5 or something.

[billpg]

Can I opt out of receiving letters from this service please?

[Koshkin]

The negation of ‘cease and desist’ is ‘continue or persist’.

[alabhyajindal]

This is amazing! The promo video is very funny! CONGRATS!!

[brna-2]

@continueandpersist.org please continue and persist :)

[andytratt]

stripe integration on ko-fi seems broken.

i sent an email to ko-fi thru 2 different channels, with loom, cc'd boondoggle...

hope everyone comes back to donate once it gets fixed.

[yieldcrv]

This would freak me out but I like the concept

[jonplackett]

This is just marvellous. Well done

[wouldbecouldbe]

This will freak some people out ;)

[DonHopkins]

Only if they're doing something they know they should cease and desist doing, which is why it's so fun!

[delichon]

Illegitimi non carborundum.

[UniverseHacker]

This is an excellent idea!

[FollowingTheDao]

Two words: Climate Change

[lanewinfield]

I love this so much.

[benatkin]

ThePersistence

[metalman]

get agitated and change something

[ossobuco]

Where's the usual hardcore libertarian complaining about the "All This For Free!" nomenclature?

[romnon]

Umm, proceed and persist sounds better imo.

[chrismorgan]

Or “pursue and persist”.

“Cease and desist” has nice assonance, I feel “pursue and persist” matches a little more in that regard, though both are decent.

As regards meaning, “proceed” and “pursue” are both good, taking slightly different angles but to essentially the same purpose.

[xanderlewis]

Maybe, but ‘continue’ is a better negation of ‘cease’. Proceed can mean (usually means?) to do something one has not yet started, rather than to not cease.

[ultrasounder]

@adnanaga looking at you as a future AJ. And @chan you as the DOPE(Department of pentagon efficiency). I mean the "bar" is too low now. All you need to do is Pass the bar. Pun intended. Love it guys.I just posted a continue and persist letter to you guys. You guys made me smile and laugh. So Thank You on this Thanksgiving day

[blitzar]

I am more likely to use one of the wonderful shit-in-a-box services.

[Valid3840]

fight milk!

[revscat]

As someone who is coming to increasingly believe that 99% of the world problems are caused by powers seeking to intentionally divide us one from the other, I cannot tell you how much joy this brings me to see. I wish you great success in this effort, however small it might appear to be in the scheme of things.

[ldoughty]

I agree so much, but the pessimist in me says that this isn't _really_ free, and I don't want to plug in a cool person's info without knowing who the info is being sold to.

If this was publicly available document so I could fill in the missing bits, I'd send a dozen of these tomorrow.

[nicbou]

Gratitude goes a long way.

My job puts me on the receiving end of a lot of gratitude, and I absolutely adore it. It's one of the main perks of the job. After experiencing it, I have become a lot more lavish in my praise, and frequently email people to thank them for their work. Most of them are very appreciative of it, especially when they make their work freely available.

[127]

Nah, 99% of the world problems is caused by fraud.

[bastloing]

We need that here. So many down votes and flagged comments because one person might be offended because they don't understand the other person's perspective. So they choose to silence, shadow ban, or outright ban. Shame on you!

[hsuduebc2]

Damn that's so wholesome. Thank you

[gala8y]

If I have a friend doing... stuff, he/she already has my support and they kinda know it, you know. This is superficial, 7 yrs old kid's approach. Plus, as others mentioned already - it's none of your business to meddle around with their or mine contact data. No, thanks. Real communication with real people for me.

[rini17]

Very good idea, except over the top execution might backfire with neurodivergent people. Such overt gratitude might be perceived as demand, and demands are prone to cause triggers in many types of neurodivergence. One's autonomy might feel threatened, in extreme cases leading to meldown. If you suspect this might be the case, please consider subtler ways to show gratitude.