3 ms·

Plus Codes have little application outside building addressing. If I tell you I'm at 4CFM+JW, come get me, you're going to be pretty helpless, because I didn't

Plus Codes have little application outside building addressing. If I tell you I'm at 4CFM+JW, come get me, you're going to be pretty helpless, because I didn't include the city. Want to shift a little to the east? 4CFM+JX works, but 4CFM+JY? Whoops. How about north or south? Maybe there's a way to do that, but I haven't found it yet. How about upping the precision? The size of the square is maybe 4X the W3W grid cell, but not aware of a way for plus codes to achieve a smaller cell. I'm not out here to bash everybody else's solutions. They're all pretty good, particularly when you limit them to particular applications. Mine just happens to be a slightly improved approach, and slightly less full of drawbacks than everybody else's.

Scaevolus 8y ago
8GC2CMXR+X63 is a global plus code with 3x3m precision.
Quanttek 8y ago
I'm no expert but regarding your question on precision: afaik the longer the plus code is, the more precise it gets
Erlich_Bachman 8y ago
> Mine just happens to be a slightly improved approach, and slightly less full of drawbacks than everybody else's. Honest opinion: it is not. Plus codes is the one that has least drawbacks and most advantages.
- mchannon 8y ago
  I have a real problem with people giving dishonest opinions, so good on you. But seriously, you haven't seen it yet. Ever read Green Eggs and Ham?
romwell 8y ago
TL;DR: see [3] for an overview of how plus codes work. ----------------- >Plus Codes have little application outside building addressing. This claim needs some arguing. >If I tell you I'm at 4CFM+JW, come get me, you're going to be pretty helpless, because I didn't include the city. So why would you tell me that? Either include the city, or use a longer plus code that includes the city. Example from the spec[1]: >>Nairobi Youth Sports Organization and Information Centre in Kibera, Nairobi, has the Open Location Code "6GCRMQPX9G". Using the location of Nairobi, the code can be shortened to "MQPX9G". >How about upping the precision? Use longer codes! It's all in the spec[1]. Again, quote: >>Using a single grid refinement step, we have an 11 digit code that represents a 1/32000° by 1/40000° area (roughly 3.4 by 2.7 meters at the equator). Now, regarding this: >Want to shift a little to the east? 4CFM+JX works, but 4CFM+JY? This is by design; some symbols were omitted to avoid having words in codes (which, as TFA discusses, can be problematic, e.g. some places might not be happy with codes that have EVIL in them). >Maybe there's a way to do that, but I haven't found it yet. The spec[1] is open, and it's all in there! It is not as simple as what you expected, due to the design constraint above. But that is a tradeoff that I think is reasonable. After all, these addresses are going to be punched into a computer anyway. E.g. play with the addresses here[2]. I'm really excited to see more development in this space, because one size does not fit all. However, it's important to know what existing systems get right too. (E.g.: English W3W looks like way easier to say on the phone). Disclaimer: I work for Google/Geo, the opinions expressed here are mine, and not of my employer. [1]https://github.com/google/open-location-code/blob/master/docs/olc_definition.adoc https://github.com/google/open-location-code/blob/master/doc... [2]https://plus.codes/map https://plus.codes/map [3]https://plus.codes/howitworks https://plus.codes/howitworks
- mchannon 8y ago
  >So why would you tell me that? Either include the city, or use a longer plus code that includes the city. Or I could just use a system that doesn't have that drawback. Plus codes aren't awful. I just find room for improvement. > This is by design; some symbols were omitted to avoid having words in codes (which, as TFA discusses, can be problematic, e.g. some places might not be happy with codes that have EVIL in them). So what you're saying is only an open source project could deal with this level of potential offense. I'll agree with that. People who don't like EVIL could add more precision to make EVILGH.
  - romwell 8y ago
    >Or I could just use a system that doesn't have that drawback. Which drawback? All systems have the drawback that if you don't say the entire address, you don't get the entire address. >So what you're saying is only an open source.. I was not talking about that (for that matter, plus codes are free/open source). I was just explaining why you ran into this problem: "4CFM+JX works, but 4CFM+JY?". It wasn't obvious to me why "Y" is not a valid plus-code character either until I read the spec.

Scaevolus 8y ago

8GC2CMXR+X63 is a global plus code with 3x3m precision.

Quanttek 8y ago

I'm no expert but regarding your question on precision: afaik the longer the plus code is, the more precise it gets

Erlich_Bachman 8y ago

> Mine just happens to be a slightly improved approach, and slightly less full of drawbacks than everybody else's. Honest opinion: it is not. Plus codes is the one that has least drawbacks and most advantages.

mchannon 8y ago
I have a real problem with people giving dishonest opinions, so good on you. But seriously, you haven't seen it yet. Ever read Green Eggs and Ham?

romwell 8y ago

TL;DR: see [3] for an overview of how plus codes work. ----------------- >Plus Codes have little application outside building addressing. This claim needs some arguing. >If I tell you I'm at 4CFM+JW, come get me, you're going to be pretty helpless, because I didn't include the city. So why would you tell me that? Either include the city, or use a longer plus code that includes the city. Example from the spec[1]: >>Nairobi Youth Sports Organization and Information Centre in Kibera, Nairobi, has the Open Location Code "6GCRMQPX9G". Using the location of Nairobi, the code can be shortened to "MQPX9G". >How about upping the precision? Use longer codes! It's all in the spec[1]. Again, quote: >>Using a single grid refinement step, we have an 11 digit code that represents a 1/32000° by 1/40000° area (roughly 3.4 by 2.7 meters at the equator). Now, regarding this: >Want to shift a little to the east? 4CFM+JX works, but 4CFM+JY? This is by design; some symbols were omitted to avoid having words in codes (which, as TFA discusses, can be problematic, e.g. some places might not be happy with codes that have EVIL in them). >Maybe there's a way to do that, but I haven't found it yet. The spec[1] is open, and it's all in there! It is not as simple as what you expected, due to the design constraint above. But that is a tradeoff that I think is reasonable. After all, these addresses are going to be punched into a computer anyway. E.g. play with the addresses here[2]. I'm really excited to see more development in this space, because one size does not fit all. However, it's important to know what existing systems get right too. (E.g.: English W3W looks like way easier to say on the phone). Disclaimer: I work for Google/Geo, the opinions expressed here are mine, and not of my employer. [1]https://github.com/google/open-location-code/blob/master/docs/olc_definition.adoc https://github.com/google/open-location-code/blob/master/doc... [2]https://plus.codes/map https://plus.codes/map [3]https://plus.codes/howitworks https://plus.codes/howitworks

mchannon 8y ago
>So why would you tell me that? Either include the city, or use a longer plus code that includes the city. Or I could just use a system that doesn't have that drawback. Plus codes aren't awful. I just find room for improvement. > This is by design; some symbols were omitted to avoid having words in codes (which, as TFA discusses, can be problematic, e.g. some places might not be happy with codes that have EVIL in them). So what you're saying is only an open source project could deal with this level of potential offense. I'll agree with that. People who don't like EVIL could add more precision to make EVILGH.
- romwell 8y ago
  >Or I could just use a system that doesn't have that drawback. Which drawback? All systems have the drawback that if you don't say the entire address, you don't get the entire address. >So what you're saying is only an open source.. I was not talking about that (for that matter, plus codes are free/open source). I was just explaining why you ran into this problem: "4CFM+JX works, but 4CFM+JY?". It wasn't obvious to me why "Y" is not a valid plus-code character either until I read the spec.