> > > >I think a list with only a zip code, name, which computer/other stuff you
> > > >collect should do it.
> > > Please, zip/postal code, and country!
> > Actually I think it should be zip/postal code, state/province, and country.
> > City could be optional, actually any location info should be optional.
> Maybe the readers of this list don't realize it (it you looked closely
> it would be obvious), the zip/postal code of each country is basically
> different.
> In the US: a 5 digit number of which the first 2 digits identify the state
> (some states have more than 1 combination of the 100
> possibilities of 00 -> 99)
If you add the 4 digit extension, you might get a very fine grain.
> In Canada: ANA NAN (alpha/numeric/alpha[space]numeric/alpha/numeric)
> with the first A the province identifier (some provinces and
> territories have more than 1 letter of the 26 possibilities)
> In the UK: Possibly AAA NNN (I don't really know)
Like Canada
Germany: NNNNN
France: NNNNN
Russia: NNN NNN (Space is optional)
etc...
> Some of the details may be (probably are) incorrect, but overall that
> is the system. Consequently, just the zip/postal code is enough to
> identify the Country - State/Province/???? - City/Town/Villiage
> Any additional location information is for the reader. For example,
> my postal code of M2R 3G3 is for a group of 2 residential homes
> of which mine is 1 of them - a fairly explicit location.
ZIP without the country is worthles - for example, 90210 might be
California, but it is also an area near Nuremberg, Germany :)
> So, if you are willing to give your zip/postal code, in effect that is
> an almost exact location of, at the most, a few hundred buildings
> and often only a few dozen.
Again depending on the country - for example my ZIP in the old
German system 8(000) Munich 83 was an area with of some 150,000
people living inside - End even the new 81541 represents still
more than 60,000 people...
> So if you don't want anyone to know where you live, don't
> include your zip/postal code, just your country.
Wasn't the basic idea to get knowledge of people near you ?
In fact, a lot of interesting people might live right next
door.
For a usefull system a Country identyfier and the ZIP code
should be used, like US-90210 or DE-81541 or CA-M2R3G3
(ISO 2 Char Country identifyer plus up to 9 char for ZIP -
there is _no_ ZIP code in the world with more than 9 digits).
And for the state/province thing - that's not used outside
US/CA and defacto redundant information, since the ZIP code
already includes this - everybody knows the location of
(at least) the first two or 3 digits within his country.
Servus
Hans
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Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
Received on Wed Mar 31 1999 - 16:32:23 BST