Don’t Send a Pin to Do a Text’s Job

Modern messaging clients are pretty amazing. They let you send things like picture, audio, video, and all of them natively viewable within the thread. They also let you sent one other thing, your location, you can send it as your GPS co-ordinates, or as a pin on you map app. Please don’t do that.

Please Don’t Send A Pin.

Here’s why you should not send a pin when someone asks for an address.

1. The person asked for an address, so just send that. That should be the end to it really.
2. You have no idea what phone/OS/messaging client the person using, and if it can properly handle a map pin.
3. There is a much greater chance that it’ll recognize address written in text as an address and handle it as such.
4. If the destination is a packed neighborhood, a pin can easily direct you to wrong house.
5. If it’s your address, it should be on the tip your tongue/finger and you can just type it.
6. Address written in text is universally readable, a pin is not.
7. I can easily copy-paste address written in text into contact, a pin I cannot.

Of course if the location is inside a forest/national park type of place where an address is non-existent, feel free to send a pin, but know when not to. Most of the times, if asked for an address, don’t send a pin, send the address.