lol yes i know why ur column was started silly..what i had attempted to get acroos was that aside from sometimes not being clear on what they want on their "fill in the blank" forms the people wanting the info can sometimes cause i bigger issue especially for people in my situation because i lost a package..sorry if i rambled in my previous post but it had just so happened that i had they same issue with the whole mailing/street issue when i came across ur post. i had ordered a pillow pet for my daughter..the company shipped using fedex smartstop or something like that, which if you dont know is both fedex and usps. I had never heard of this method of shipping. So because the company didnt clearly specify what address they wanted my package got sent back to the main shipper... had they explained that they were mailing my package out to the MAILING address i wouldnt have given them my SHIPPING address which was what they stated they wanted..they were unclear! they asked for a street address (which i consider shipping) when they really wanted my mailing address..ur right they should be specific! maybe by giving an example like where you get large packages or if they are shipping to mailing they can state where you receive ur standard mail or small packages..specify! or make it simpler and ask for just mailing which as you said, " ...is always a mailing address for everyone"

@ Pete: check out my situation.... i live in a rural area that due to some population growth was able to actually have a post office and is considered a town. ok? so now instead of receiving mail in the nearby town we have our own zip code and everything. YEAH ! for us? no! I of course sometimes have shipments come to me via UPS or Fedex and need to disclose a street address..Well unfortunately in the 30 yrs that i have lived in this exact location i have never known what my street address is. never had to since i had a PO in a different city. If I needed something shipped i would instead use cross points..hwy such and such and y street. That had worked for a while until more and more places needed an actual house number or orders would not process. Luckily i was able to call some program some years back that helped you find out your RR/street and 911 addresses to people in my situation for 911 purposes. So now, if i type in the street address they gave me and not only does in NOT register in my city, it registers in a nearby town (the area i live in is still too small that for physical address purposes i have to use a zip code pertainig to that city instead of the zip code i actually live in) but its shows me about 3 miles north of where i actuallly reside...when i tried to inform them that they had given me the wrong address they kept assuring me that they had not. ggrrr i have lost so many packages to this and most of the time i have to track my order and call them to have them notate the account that they need to call me for directions or else gps will toss them to a whole different area..if im lucky enough to get the same driver from either fed ex or ups they know where to find me BUT if not i end up having to pick up my packages 4 towns down at the main shipping offices! living in a rural area is a pain let me tell you..You (pete) can at least provide either address if properly specified. me? i'm lucky enough to have 911 find me in case of an emergency!!!!!!!!!!!! below are examples of different methods i have had to use

mailing address:
PO Box ##
This City, St 12345

shipping address:
## Lost Rd
That City, St 54321
or
## Lost Rd
This City, St 12345