[ppml] PPML Digest, Vol 7, Issue 5

[Michael.Dillon at btradianz.com]

> It seems quite clear to me that the statement of interpretation is NOT 
> meant to suggest that "Private Residence" should be placed in the zip 
> code field.  First of all, as has already been mentioned, you need the 
> ZIP+4 to narrow it down to a small area.  Second, that would still not 
> make it "street name and number."

I am puzzled by the way that you, and others,
make a distinction between ZIP+4 codes and 
ZIP codes. I always thought that U.S. ZIP codes
had been changed, many years ago, to a 9-digit
number written as nnnnn-nnnn. I assume that the
PostalCode field in the whois, is capable of handling
arbitrary text such as the full zip code or the words
"Private Residence".

> ARIN meant "street name and number," not "any field that might narrow 
> things down to street name and number in some cases."

The actual text of the ARIN statement was:
   The Board, by sequential adoption of these two proposals, has 
   interpreted street address to mean that element of a postal address 
   that conveys the street number and name.

Since it is clear that the Canadian postal code does convey
the street number and name, it should also be replaced by
"Private Residence". I assume that the full U.S. zip code
similarly conveys the street number and name because the
USPS states here:
http://www.usps.com/history/history/his3_5.htm
   The sixth and seventh numbers denote a delivery sector,
   which may be several blocks, a group of streets, a group
   of post office boxes, several office buildings, a single 
   high-rise office building, a large apartment building, or 
   a small geographic area. The last two numbers denote a 
   delivery segment, which might be one floor of an office 
   building, one side of a street between intersecting streets, 
   specific departments in a firm, or a group of post office boxes. 

> I think ARIN has been quite clear here.

I think that ARIN has been very unclear and very ambiguous.

When you look at the Canada Post document quoted by Owen
DeLong and the USPS document quoted by me, you can see that
the PostalCode field does pinpoint a persons physical 
residence to a very small geographic area and therefore
publishing this code defeats the privacy intent of the
policy.

--Michael Dillon