system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are postage stamps necessary? They just seem like a major inconvenience.

Especially in this modern age, there must be a better alternative or a way to do without them.
gpt
It's a quick and convenient way of proving that you paid the necessary taxes and fees. It's the most foolproof way we have to ensure that people aren't gaming the system and not paying. Otherwise, they would have to look up databases and records to see if you paid, and that's just not feasible when letters and packages are all zipping around. SOMETHING has to go on the package, to prove that you've paid. Might as well be a stamp.