4 ms·

My house has a name, not a number, not that uncommon in the UK, especially for a 200-year-old building. I think there’s a bit of false equivalence going on her

My house has a name, not a number, not that uncommon in the UK, especially for a 200-year-old building. I think there’s a bit of false equivalence going on here as well regarding zip codes (several thousand addresses, or thereabouts) and a UK postcode (maybe 10-15 houses). You could genuinely address a letter to me using something like: 4, L226ET That’s all it would take. No, that’s not my address, characters within changed to protect the guilty, but my address could look just like that.

pasc1878 2mo ago
Yes but you could not address a couple of places I have lived in in England like that. First was a house in a small cul de sac – with no number just a name. Second was a flat – there are two number 1s in the same post code.
- spacedcowboy 2mo ago
  By all means, the variety in addressing is a constant software-developer trap. The above will cover the 99% case though. There are even buildings with multiple postcodes (DVLA is one such, I believe)
  - pasc1878 2mo ago
    So that allows developers to create systems where I can't get the local council to deal with a problem? Of course the developers who wrote the council tax system understood that it was aren't crap like those who deliver the 99% solution – they had my address and the other number 1 as separate. Or post does not get delivered as it is addressed wrongly?
tonyarkles 2mo ago
Am in Canada where postal codes are somewhat street name-dependent even when that doesn't strictly make sense. Through a quirk of history, my corner house's address is on the otherwise vacant side street instead of on the main thoroughfare... the result being a unique postal code for our house, and 3 letters and 3 numbers would likely deliver mail to my house with no other information at all. I haven't tried it yet but I want to, just to see.
advisedwang 2mo ago
4, L22 6ET doesn't work very fast/reliably in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ss7A20EVpk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ss7A20EVpk
- spacedcowboy 2mo ago
  I mean, that video said the number/postcode combo actually worked, but arrived a day later after manual sorting. I might just try this :)
thenthenthen 2mo ago
My house has no less than 6 numbers. Everything is a number here. Until it isnt
eszed 2mo ago
I was going to point out the same thing. At least in the UK, it's a bit of an urban vs rural, or maybe urban vs village, divide. Small communities can rely on names; larger polities need numbers. This was pointed out in TFA, but not that the practice continues in, well, practice right down to the present day. Anecdote: my then-partner and I very nearly bought a terraced house in a small-ish UK town. It had a number, but no name, and we fantasized about giving it one, and arrived at one that would have been perfect for the property. I'm sad that purchase fell through, for the practical reason that we were looking immediately after the financial crisis, so it would have been an incredible investment, but also because the house will never be called by what felt like an almost pre-destined moniker. Instead, we moved into a (rental) property that had born the same name since (at least) the late-17th century. History is thick in some parts of the world. And, yes: UK postcodes are marvelous. They almost make the rest of the address superfluous. Are they the most rational day-to-day "object" that country has ever developed? I can't think of anything else that might match them.
SoftTalker 2mo ago
US Zip+4 (the "long" zip code) is quite specific. I've never tried to address a letter using only e.g. addressee name and zip code but it would probably work. Closest thing I can think of are my tax returns which I address something like: IRS KANSAS CITY, MO xxxxx Some older US house numbers are just sequential (or incrementing) along a road but many are based on some "origin" point and increase by e.g. 100 for each standard city block. Usually even numbers on one side of the street and odd on the other. But there is no dependably consistent scheme from town to town AFAIK.
bijowo1676 2mo ago
L226ET looks like a literal geohash A lot of GIS computer systems and apps like Uber use these to locate person/building

pasc1878 2mo ago

Yes but you could not address a couple of places I have lived in in England like that. First was a house in a small cul de sac – with no number just a name. Second was a flat – there are two number 1s in the same post code.

spacedcowboy 2mo ago
By all means, the variety in addressing is a constant software-developer trap. The above will cover the 99% case though. There are even buildings with multiple postcodes (DVLA is one such, I believe)
- pasc1878 2mo ago
  So that allows developers to create systems where I can't get the local council to deal with a problem? Of course the developers who wrote the council tax system understood that it was aren't crap like those who deliver the 99% solution – they had my address and the other number 1 as separate. Or post does not get delivered as it is addressed wrongly?

tonyarkles 2mo ago

Am in Canada where postal codes are somewhat street name-dependent even when that doesn't strictly make sense. Through a quirk of history, my corner house's address is on the otherwise vacant side street instead of on the main thoroughfare... the result being a unique postal code for our house, and 3 letters and 3 numbers would likely deliver mail to my house with no other information at all. I haven't tried it yet but I want to, just to see.

advisedwang 2mo ago

4, L22 6ET doesn't work very fast/reliably in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ss7A20EVpk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ss7A20EVpk

spacedcowboy 2mo ago
I mean, that video said the number/postcode combo actually worked, but arrived a day later after manual sorting. I might just try this :)

thenthenthen 2mo ago

My house has no less than 6 numbers. Everything is a number here. Until it isnt

eszed 2mo ago

I was going to point out the same thing. At least in the UK, it's a bit of an urban vs rural, or maybe urban vs village, divide. Small communities can rely on names; larger polities need numbers. This was pointed out in TFA, but not that the practice continues in, well, practice right down to the present day. Anecdote: my then-partner and I very nearly bought a terraced house in a small-ish UK town. It had a number, but no name, and we fantasized about giving it one, and arrived at one that would have been perfect for the property. I'm sad that purchase fell through, for the practical reason that we were looking immediately after the financial crisis, so it would have been an incredible investment, but also because the house will never be called by what felt like an almost pre-destined moniker. Instead, we moved into a (rental) property that had born the same name since (at least) the late-17th century. History is thick in some parts of the world. And, yes: UK postcodes are marvelous. They almost make the rest of the address superfluous. Are they the most rational day-to-day "object" that country has ever developed? I can't think of anything else that might match them.

SoftTalker 2mo ago

US Zip+4 (the "long" zip code) is quite specific. I've never tried to address a letter using only e.g. addressee name and zip code but it would probably work. Closest thing I can think of are my tax returns which I address something like: IRS KANSAS CITY, MO xxxxx Some older US house numbers are just sequential (or incrementing) along a road but many are based on some "origin" point and increase by e.g. 100 for each standard city block. Usually even numbers on one side of the street and odd on the other. But there is no dependably consistent scheme from town to town AFAIK.

bijowo1676 2mo ago

L226ET looks like a literal geohash A lot of GIS computer systems and apps like Uber use these to locate person/building