[ppml] PPML Digest, Vol 7, Issue 5

[Marshall Eubanks]

Use of the 9 digit code is optional (as, for that matter, is the 5  
digit code); to
a very rough approximation, the 5 digit code is viewed as being for  
humans,
the 9 digit one, for machines.

I could not tell you, for example, the 9 digit code for my house
without looking it up, and I do not generally use in in  
correspondence, nor
do I put it in forms, not even government ones.

BTW, are you aware that Zip codes are subject to change ? When my  
central mail
facility changed from Merrifield to Dulles, my zip prefix changed  
from 222 to 201.
Such changes are relatively common in the US, especially in growing  
areas.

Regards
Marshall


On Jan 18, 2006, at 6:38 AM, Michael.Dillon at btradianz.com wrote:

>> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> PPML mailing list
> PPML at arin.net
> http://lists.arin.net/mailman/listinfo/ppml