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Ask HN: Why the Hell Would You Validate an Area Code?

4 points by idontwantthis ↗ HN
Area codes get added in the US. Why do so many computer systems reject area codes that it thinks don’t exist? What is possibly the advantage to guessing that the user might have typed their own phone number wrong vs the possibility that you actually don’t know what all of the area codes are? /rant

I am the proud owner of 1 year old area code phone number and I am routinely locked out of text and phone systems. I just found out a major delivery has been waiting for me to set up a time for two weeks because their automated call system can’t contact me and just logs it as didn’t answer.

3 comments

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dave4420
And if you were going to validate it, why would you do so at the point of use and not at the point of entry?

(Probable answer: it’s a distributed system, with different parts built to different philosophies and standards.)

CaliforniaKarl
Area codes are not US-specific, they’re North America-specific. Some area codes are for areas outside of the United States, and may be charged at International rates.
ofalkaed
I would guess the headaches caused by new area codes is less than the headaches caused by typos. The one that gets me is fractional addresses, surprising how many sites do not allow 1/2s; most of the restaurants here use the same POS system which does not take 1/2s, makes getting delivery a bit of a crap shoot if my neighbor is drunk when I order, most of the time he redirects delivery driver to my house.