Enough: I don’t have a zip code
Ireland doesn’t have zip codes (per se: Dublin has postal codes, but they’re not strictly analogous to zip codes). Almost all the time, this is not a problem. Ireland is small enough to get by without needing such a system, and so has avoided introducing one so far.
This is going to change; Eamon Ryan plans to introduce an national postal code system by 2009 (whether on not this is actually going to happen is debatable; proposed changes on this subject have died before).
But in the meantime, Irishmen continually have to suffer the regular annoyance of being prompted constantly for out not-existent zip code. Usually, it’s not so bad; entering a random string generally gets you by. Other sites, in the name of rock-solid input validation, check the validity of said entry and reject any code deemed non-existent.
Now, normally I applaud thorough input validation (I especially like it when sites check the top level domain of an email-address to ensure its existence); but if you’re going to insist on a valid zip code, it’s important to understand that postal coding is not a universal policy.
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