Computer says no

holystungun9 · 09-05-2011 06:40PM

liah wrote: »

An Post has post codes for Ireland, but they refuse to give them to private companies.

Boycott them 'cuz they're the ones being insidiously petty and ruining it for everyone.

Here, here. Let's do it for ourselves! I'm free on Tuesdays and I suppose I could take my golf clubs out of the caddy. Look like a proper postperson.

Daegerty · 09-05-2011 06:53PM

Tubsandtiles wrote: »

Well lads and ladies, whats with Ireland and its lack of postcodes, people often not from Ireland laugh when I say I don't have a postcode to go with my address. Ordering something off the internet "please enter a valid" postcode....enters 1234ab . For a country where a man invented the submarine, designed the White House etc it seems incredibly stupid that alot of Ireland does not even have postcodes

A better question would be what is with inept web designers insisting that everyone enters a postcode? There are tons of countries that don't have post codes.

Post codes are something from the bad old days that were necessary when mail-sorting technology wasn't where it is today. In no way does having a cryptic little code in every address make us more technologically advanced

GPS is where it's at now

TaraFoxglove · 09-05-2011 06:58PM

ISDW wrote: »

Sometimes we do. I constantly get letters to someone with the same surname as mine, but a different first name. I have handed the letters back to the postman, yet still get another one.

Having lived in Britain, I can tell you post codes don't stop stuff like this happening. We used to get post for a house on a street with an identical name across town, despite it having a different postcode specific to that street.

YFlyer · 09-05-2011 07:00PM

slavetothegrind wrote: »

but thats one of the things i love about ireland.

you could address a letter to my name and village, county and it will get to me!!!

Letter addressed to Pat the Bollocks, Co. Kerry and he received it.

TPD · 09-05-2011 07:03PM

ISDW wrote: »

Sometimes we do. I constantly get letters to someone with the same surname as mine, but a different first name. I have handed the letters back to the postman, yet still get another one.

When I first moved here I went to the local post office and told them my name, but it still took about 3 weeks before I got any post, because it wasn't the local post office I was supposed to go to:rolleyes: We not only have no postcodes here, but also no house numbers, just a very long road with about 60 houses on it. Unless the person delivering the post or package knows you, then they don't know where the hell to deliver to.

Just stick a big sign with '9000' written on it at the bottom of your garden and slowly inform your correspondents of your newly aquired house number.

Kevin Duffy · 09-05-2011 07:10PM

RachaelVO wrote: »

Well we still get our post and packages, and if it aint broke why fix it?

How would you know if you didn't get it all, eh? Hah!

dpe · 09-05-2011 07:22PM

Daegerty wrote: »

A better question would be what is with inept web designers insisting that everyone enters a postcode? There are tons of countries that don't have post codes.

Post codes are something from the bad old days that were necessary when mail-sorting technology wasn't where it is today. In no way does having a cryptic little code in every address make us more technologically advanced

GPS is where it's at now

Name a developed country apart from Ireland that doesn't have postcodes. Ireland is certainly the only country in the EU without them. You're not wrong that there are better ways to do it, but there still needs to be an accepted database of address recognition (and GPS won't help in a tower block). Ecom businesses don't just use post codes to send packages, they also use them to reduce fraud and for customer service.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-05-2011 09:59PM

slavetothegrind wrote: »

you could address a letter to my name and village, county and it will get to me!!![

I've had stuff delivered with just my name and Dublin Areacode

stimpson · 10-05-2011 10:29AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I've had stuff delivered with just my name and Dublin Areacode

Was it:

President Mary McAleese,
Dublin 8.

Dyr · 10-05-2011 11:25AM

sean citizen
ballybogger
county culchie

Do we really want to lose cool addresses like that? I think its quaint

Cathaoirleach · 10-05-2011 11:33AM

We already have postcodes http://www.myloc8ion.com/maps/get_code8

But the government want to reinvent the wheel and come up with something of their own, just like the integrated ticketing system, which we're still waiting for since the 90s.

Cathaoirleach · 10-05-2011 12:39PM

I love how in the Gaeltacht, especially the islands, you can just have your address like this:

Seán Tharlach Ó Sé
Inis Meáin
Ireland

There's only one Seán Ó Sé on the island with a father called Tarlach, and the fear an phoist knows him!

Capt'n Midnight · 10-05-2011 04:38PM

she wouldn't have needed the D8 bit

or President

Going back a while but I've heard that Willie Birmingham got a letter from the UK addressed to "Dublin"

garydubh · 21-05-2011 10:07AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

LOL propietry codes that actually longer than some addresses

1BowSt,D7

USA has 5 digit postcodes, by that measure we would only need 3

USA actually has an 9 Digit Zip code (5+4) plus state abbreviation plus property number all in a big look up database to locate an individual property - so perhaps up to 12 characters plus State Abbreviation!

In the UK a 7 or 8 chatacter postcode is used but also needs a property number so up to 11 chatacters and a big database to locate an individual property.

Loc8 Codes are 8 characters always and need no property number or database to identify an indidual property.

Furthermore Zip Codes and UK Postcodes change as property numbers densify - Loc8 Codes never have to change.

Speaking of 3 characters for Ireland - you can use the first 3 characters of the full Loc8 Code to identify a Zone have a look at the Loc8 Zone NP6

ParkSmart now using Loc8 Codes, Dublin City Council now using Loc8 Codes

Couriers are already using Loc8 Codes if they are in the address on the parcel - all they need is a Garmin SatNav or the iPhone App "point8" to find you and many have these already.

bnt · 21-05-2011 10:09AM

If it's a UK postcode they're after, put in W1A 1AA. The Queen will forward your porn movies to you, at no charge.

robinph · 21-05-2011 10:59AM

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Why do we need them?

So that websites will let you order stuff, so that the postman can find you and deliver stuff to you, so that courier companies can find you and deliver stuff to you, so that emergency services can find you, so that other people can find you in their GPS without needing to go through the dodgy address search on their particular system.

Why does Ireland not need them?

--LOS-- · 21-05-2011 11:48AM

we have postcodes here in Dublin, sure where else would need them

robinph · 21-05-2011 11:51AM

--LOS-- wrote: »

we have postcodes here in Dublin, sure where else would need them

Dublin does not have postcodes.

--LOS-- · 21-05-2011 11:52AM

D1
D2
D3
...........

shall I go on

robinph · 21-05-2011 11:57AM

--LOS-- wrote: »

D1
D2
D3
...........

shall I go on

So a letter addressed like this will get to you?

--Los--
D1

Those are not postal codes really, well they are codes used by the post office, but they are of no real use. They mostly just tell them which sorting office they should go to. Not going to help in any way with actually finding out where you live.

Tubsandtiles · 21-05-2011 12:05PM

--LOS-- wrote: »

we have postcodes here in Dublin, sure where else would need them

The other 26 counties

of the republic where people actually receive post too, maybe even one day we might get emails

--LOS-- · 21-05-2011 12:05PM

robinph wrote: »

So a letter addressed like this will get to you?

--Los--
D1

Those are not postal codes really, well they are codes used by the post office, but they are of no real use. They mostly just tell them which sorting office they should go to. Not going to help in any way with actually finding out where you live.

Naw you gotta have the caps.....

--LOS--
D7

maybe 'from the internet' in brackets

I know they are not real identification codes other than inside Dublin city but you can pop that into a form online and at least it wont affect the address printed on your post.

The other 26 counties of the republic where people actually receive post too, maybe even one day we might get emails

Thats crazy talk

Mike 1972 · 21-05-2011 12:13PM

Daegerty wrote: »

There are tons of countries that don't have post codes.

Such as ?

Ireland is the only EU country which doesnt have them.

Daegerty wrote: »

GPS is where it's at now

Yes but 52 degrees 18 minutes 27.2 Seconds North 8 Degrees 42 minutes 12.1 Seconds East is a tad longwinded dont you think ?

Loc8, Geodirectory or GPS codes arent worth a damn until everybody knows what their code actually is.

Bambi wrote: »

sean citizen
ballybogger
county culchie

Do we really want to lose cool addresses like that? I think its quaint

Nope its retarded

tfitzgerald · 21-05-2011 12:21PM

Still postcodes would be handy when ordering off the net

garydubh · 21-05-2011 12:25PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Such as ?

Ireland is the only EU country which doesnt have them.

Yes but 52 degrees 18 minutes 27.2 Seconds North 8 Degrees 42 minutes 12.1 Seconds East is a tad longwinded dont you think ?

Loc8, Geodirectory or GPS codes arent worth a damn until everybody knows what their code actually is.

Loc8 Codes are Lat/long in an easy to use self checking format ready for GPS and already being used on GPS devices.

As for people knowing their Loc8 Code.. at the moment it is an elective system - so you get your code yourself when you chose to use it or when an e-commerce site or client/visitor asks for it. You can get your code for no cost here If Loc8 Codes became a National system then the significant funding required to proactively communicate a code to each person in each property in the country would be put in place.

Mike 1972 · 21-05-2011 01:41PM

garydubh wrote: »

As for people knowing their Loc8 Code.. at the moment it is an elective system - so you get your code yourself when you chose to use it or when an e-commerce site or client/visitor asks for it.

So basically Loc8 codes are (for now) about as useful as GPS coordinates, O/S grid references, Geowhotsit or any of a dozen or more potential postcode systems adopted for Ireland.

Until a system has been standardised, mandated by government and widely adopted it utility is going to be very limited.

Agricola · 21-05-2011 02:03PM

Postcodes are needed. I have an address in Co.Carlow. However unless I add on Via Kilkenny, all my post gets routed to the wrong sorting center and then has to be re-routed to the one in Kilkenny as thats my nearest place. It always adds an extra 1 or 2 days to things.

robinph · 21-05-2011 02:23PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

So basically Loc8 codes are (for now) about as useful as GPS coordinates, O/S grid references, Geowhotsit or any of a dozen or more potential postcode systems adopted for Ireland.

Until a system has been standardised, mandated by government and widely adopted it utility is going to be very limited.

Does not have to be authorised by the government to become standard usage, certainly would help though. As for being more useful than straight GPS co-ordinates...

How long does it take you to enter the co-ordinates for somewhere easy to find such as Dublin airport into your GPS? You'll have to find the co-ordinates from Google first probably and then make sure you enter them in the right order.
How long does it take you to find Dublin airport through the various POI that are already loaded with the maps on your GPS? Normal search works on finding the closest POI's to you first which isn't much good if your the opposite side of the country as you'll have a big list to go through.
How long does it take you to press "Post Code" and then enter "NN8-39-W83"?

garydubh · 21-05-2011 03:38PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

So basically Loc8 codes are (for now) about as useful as GPS coordinates, O/S grid references, Geowhotsit or any of a dozen or more potential postcode systems adopted for Ireland.

Until a system has been standardised, mandated by government and widely adopted it utility is going to be very limited.

So you would argue that as Google maps are not mandated by Government they should not be used.... strange argument especially since Loc8 Codes are already being used!

The differences between Loc8 Codes, coordinates and traditional postcodes are striking - have a look

Commercial vehicles waste fuel and money every day trying to find places, tourists avoid straying off the beaten track to tourist attractions in case they get lost, Emergency Services have difficulty find places in a hurry and Loc8 Codes are available to solve these issues - but Mike 1972 says don't use them cos the Governemnt has not given permission to do so - even though the Government promised a working system by Jan 2008 - 3.5 years ago. For the record, what was planned was a system which would only guide you to the centre of up to 50 properties - not much good for finding places!

But Mike 1972 says we cannot do anything for ourselves - we must wait until our Government helps us out!!!

We do not need the Government's permission to use a Loc8 Code;- in fact many Government agencies are already using Loc8 Codes themselves:
Dublin City Council
Cork City Council
South Dublin Co Co
Radiological Protection Institute
St John's Hospital
Teagasc
Southwest Regional Authority
Bundoran Fire Station

and thousands of other commercial and tourist organisations also

garydubh · 21-05-2011 03:45PM

robinph wrote: »

Does not have to be authorised by the government to become standard usage, certainly would help though. As for being more useful than straight GPS co-ordinates...

How long does it take you to enter the co-ordinates for somewhere easy to find such as Dublin airport into your GPS? You'll have to find the co-ordinates from Google first probably and then make sure you enter them in the right order.
How long does it take you to find Dublin airport through the various POI that are already loaded with the maps on your GPS? Normal search works on finding the closest POI's to you first which isn't much good if your the opposite side of the country as you'll have a big list to go through.
How long does it take you to press "Post Code" and then enter "NN8-39-W83"?

Very good points - all demonstrated graphically here

Computer says no

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