An acknowledgment of receipt is, in communication disciplines and technologies, a return message that confirms that a certain communication has actually reached its destination.
The term acknowledgment of receipt is broad and refers to different communication situations that can occur in person, by mail, via email or in other technological scenarios. This return function ensures that the message has been received correctly and that there have been no errors, problems or other inconveniences in the communication that may be of a circumstantial, technical or personal nature.
In the traditional communication model, in addition to the message, there is a sender and a receiver, a channel through which the message is sent, a context that implies a particular transmission environment, and a code that is known by the sender and the receiver. recipient when communicating. Unsuccessful or unsuccessful communication is due to any problem due to “noise” in the transmission, which can be technical (for example, the telephone connection is broken) or human (for example, the receiver refuses to receive the message). message).
The acknowledgment rule was created primarily with the purpose of assuring the issuer that its communication has been effectively received, that is, that the transmission relationship has been successfully established.
In a mailing, for instance, of a telegram, the acknowledgment of receipt is recorded by the post office operator and, in the event that the message could not be delivered, the sender receives a note detailing the corresponding reason.
A variant of the acknowledgment is the RSVP (from French, “Répondez s’il vous plaît” or “Respond, please”), by means of which a person or institution that organizes an event and sends invitations, requires the recipients to confirm their attendance.
In computing, for example, the acronym is used ACK (for “Acknowledgment” or “Acknowledgment”), and it is common for a return message to be sent in network exchange operations, confirming that there are no errors or disruptions in the technological conversation. Depending on the protocol used, the counterpart may also be included NACK (for “Negative Acknowledgment” or “Negative Acknowledgment”), through which it is communicated that errors or failures have been detected in the message or communication sent.
These types of protocols are used on a small and large scale, and their use in the daily sending of e-mails is also very common. If it is an urgent email, of a work nature or for which the recipient wishes to know its destination, there is the possibility of including an acknowledgment of receipt in the programs for sending messages. With this function, the recipient of the email must confirm, upon receiving it, that the message has actually arrived, and the program immediately sends a return communication to the sender.
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