ZIP+4 codes

[pne]

A poll mostly for those who live in the United States:

Edit to clarify: "do you use it" means "do you write the ZIP+4 code on the envelope" rather than "do you use any form of ZIP code". (I take it for granted that most people write at least the basic ZIP code.)

[Poll #577139]

I'm curious, because I tend to try to find out ZIP+4 codes when I write to people in the States, perhaps for geek value; however, I've found it extremely rare for people to quote ZIP+4 codes in their addresses.

Comments

[brad.livejournal.com]

Nice poll! :-)

[pne.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

Even geekier to look at the binary code that's used to make the barcodes with the tall or short bars and figure out the ZIP+ destination point from that without seeing the zip or street number :P

[pleiades829.livejournal.com]

Interesting poll. FTR, I did mark the stuff about "knowing it for home" because although my current home with my husband is fairly permanent (we're certainly not going anywhere for awhile!) I do know the ZIP+4 for my parents' house, but I only remember that because it corresponds to the calendar year for the 5th season of ST:TNG, 2368 (now is THAT geeky or what?).

[pne.livejournal.com]

now is THAT geeky or what?

Er, rather, I'm afraid. ;)

[asciident]

I heard somewhere that the +4 makes the post office more efficient, so I use it in the (perhaps misguided) hope that the mail will get to its destination more quickly.

[joyitude.livejournal.com]

To clarify, I always address my envelopes with ZIPs, both when writing the return address and the mailing address, but I never use ZIP+4s.

[pne.livejournal.com]

That's what I meant.

I've added a paragraph (hopefully) clarifying this, though.

Using ZIP+4 to increase efficiency

[pne.livejournal.com]

I heard somewhere that the +4 makes the post office more efficient, so I use it in the (perhaps misguided) hope that the mail will get to its destination more quickly.

*nods* That's part of my thinking, as well.

And even if it doesn't actually speed up the processing in some cases, it shouldn't make it slower, either, so why not include it.

I'm not sure how much difference it makes, though, or whether it's possible to get such statistics (e.g. "mail with ZIP code takes 3.4 days on average to reach its destination while mail with ZIP+3 takes 2.9 days on average" or whatever).

I can imagine the difference is greater in bulk mailings, where pre-sorting by ZIP+4 can increase efficiency; I'm not so sure about individual items of mail.

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

I don't believe it's possible for a private citizen to look up the zip+4 code for a specific address, but I may be wrong. It is possible to find the 5-digit code, but not the last 4 digits, at the USPS website.

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

The USPS site gives the ZIP+4 (the site is actually http://www.usps.com/zip4), as well as standarizing your address. So:

18 South Second Avenue, 2nd Floor
Highland Park, NJ 08904

becomes:

18 S 2ND AVE FL 2
HIGHLAND PARK NJ 08904-2239

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

Allegedly it's possible to send mail to just "Name, ZIP+4." ZIP+4 areas are tiny—I looked up the one for my job once, and it had three or four just for our building! (Actually, now I just checked again and there are actually 20.)

Most people don't know their ZIP+4, but it's getting more common for forms to require it, and also websites have started doing a thing where they say "we found a more standardized form of your address, do you want to use that or the one you entered?" It's a tad disconcerting, actually. But that's with the ZIP+4 (and with all the abbreviations standardized, and all in caps, and so on).

[nyssa.livejournal.com]

I feel special because I'm apparently one of only three people that knows their zip4 code. I don't bother to look it up for places I'm mailing stuff to, but I will include it in my return address. (I don't even know how I know it, but I do - 2026!)

ZIP+4

[pne.livejournal.com]

Allegedly it's possible to send mail to just "Name, ZIP+4."

Interesting! I've heard the same claim for UK postal codes, where the full code also tends to encode a very small area (I think 10-15 doors was one figure I once saw).

I didn't know this could be the case for ZIP+4 as well.

it's getting more common for forms to require it

Interesting - I wonder why they would do that. As far as I know, the post office doesn't require it for delivering mail, for example.

websites have started doing a thing where they say "we found a more standardized form of your address, do you want to use that or the one you entered?"

Just as long as they do it correctly (http://www.mit.edu/~jik/ssa-zip.html)...

It's a tad disconcerting, actually. But that's with the ZIP+4 (and with all the abbreviations standardized, and all in caps, and so on).

I can imagine - sometimes when I look things up for fun on the USPS website, the result looks like something only a postal administrator could love, what with the all-caps and the abbreviations.

But then, I suppose it's the postal workers that have to deliver the mail, so it's more important for the address to look "pretty" to them rather than to the recipient of the letter.

But still, "18 S 2ND AVE FL 2" looks like a concession to an inhuman machine. "18 South Second Avenue, 2nd Floor" somehow looks more personal to me, more belonging to the era when people wrote each other letters frequently, with fountain pens on beautiful paper (rather than with quickly jotting something down with a ball-point or printing it out on a laser printer, or just sending email in the first place).

I wonder whether that makes me a bit of a Luddite in this respect.

[pne.livejournal.com]

I feel special because I'm apparently one of only three people that knows their zip4 code.

I'm actually a bit surprised at how few people do! I suppose it's something that mostly big companies sending out tons of mail care about. But yes, you do seem special :)

I will include it in my return address.

I probably should have included a question about this in the poll as well; pity you can't edit them nor stick a new poll into an existing entry.

I wonder how many private households include the ZIP+4 code when giving out their address, even if they know it.

+1 geek point for Nyssa.

[nyssa.livejournal.com]

Hooray! A geek point!

Wow, you can't edit polls at all? That seems like a sad mistake. Just like comment editing, or the lack thereof. Someone should fix that. :(

[pne.livejournal.com]

Wow, you can't edit polls at all?

*nods*

That seems like a sad mistake.

It's partly on purpose, I think, so you can't make a poll saying "Who likes flowers and bunnies?" and then, after sixty people checked the box, change it to "who's a psycho who kills their neighbours for fun?".

But yeah, it can be annoying sometimes, especially when you spot a typo or an ambiguity or you just forgot a question or two. Annoying, too, sometimes that you can't add a poll to an existing entry.

Someone should fix that. :(

You could suggest (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=suggestions) it, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[pthalo]

for current residence i meant "the one i lived in last in the states wher emy mother lives now"