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It could be true that this is the normal cycle of moving boxes from low-use to high-traffic areas, as claimed. Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. Even

It could be true that this is the normal cycle of moving boxes from low-use to high-traffic areas, as claimed. Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. Even that transparency would not be demanded were the postmaster general not actively and deliberately taking a role in make USPS services worse. With the status quo, nobody would care about 13 boxes removed in Missoula, Montana. So either the USPS needs to be clear about what they're doing and when and why, or they need to improve service so much that people assume the best, rather than the worst.

Rebelgecko 6y ago
>Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. USPS has a free API that gives you the location of every collection box. I wonder if anyone has been archiving that data over time to compare?
- privong 6y ago
  > USPS has a free API that gives you the location of every collection box. Do you have a link for this? It would be useful for filling out post box information on openstreetmap, I'd think. I found the USPS "Web Tools API"[0] but it seems to focus on pricing, tracking, and address verification. I didn't see anything about querying USPS locations (except for package pickup). [0] https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/ https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/
  - Rebelgecko 6y ago
    I may have slightly misremembered. I can't find it in their officially documented APIs either. However if you inspect your network traffic while doing a search on their "Find locations" page, it's not too hard to find the address of their REST API. However since it's not documented it might be rude to hit it too hard
- pwinnski 6y ago
  This is a fantastic idea, and I'm pretty sure that if nobody has been before now, someone will now!
JKCalhoun 6y ago
If the optics are bad, a sensible thing would be to defer moving the mailboxes until after November 4.
ardy42 6y ago
> It could be true that this is the normal cycle of moving boxes from low-use to high-traffic areas, as claimed. Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. Even if that's the true reason for this, this project (and any project that reduces USPS capacity or capabilities) needs to be delayed until after the election to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

Rebelgecko 6y ago

>Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. USPS has a free API that gives you the location of every collection box. I wonder if anyone has been archiving that data over time to compare?

privong 6y ago
> USPS has a free API that gives you the location of every collection box. Do you have a link for this? It would be useful for filling out post box information on openstreetmap, I'd think. I found the USPS "Web Tools API"[0] but it seems to focus on pricing, tracking, and address verification. I didn't see anything about querying USPS locations (except for package pickup). [0] https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/ https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/
- Rebelgecko 6y ago
  I may have slightly misremembered. I can't find it in their officially documented APIs either. However if you inspect your network traffic while doing a search on their "Find locations" page, it's not too hard to find the address of their REST API. However since it's not documented it might be rude to hit it too hard
pwinnski 6y ago
This is a fantastic idea, and I'm pretty sure that if nobody has been before now, someone will now!

JKCalhoun 6y ago

If the optics are bad, a sensible thing would be to defer moving the mailboxes until after November 4.

ardy42 6y ago

> It could be true that this is the normal cycle of moving boxes from low-use to high-traffic areas, as claimed. Without transparency, it's hard to be sure. Even if that's the true reason for this, this project (and any project that reduces USPS capacity or capabilities) needs to be delayed until after the election to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.