# Increasing the Location field

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [August 6, 2002, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578 "2002-08-06T09:34:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 15\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/1 "2002-08-06T09:34:43Z")

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In some debates my nationality is more relevant than my actual location. Therefore I wish to have my Location field read “Dublin, Ireland (English ex-pat)”. However, as you can see  
\<=== it cuts the field at 24 characters. I have noticed that there are some posters who have a longer location field. I have tried spoofing it by altering the submission form (feel free to slap my wrist), but clearly the database limits the submission to 24 characters only too. Is there any way to increase this?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/2 "2002-08-06T11:12:28Z")

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I thought it was longer than that; didn’t we have someone who had their address extended all the way up to ‘the universe’?

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/3 "2002-08-06T11:15:22Z")

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Yes, that’s one of the ones that stuck out. I wonder if they filled it in while we were using the older version of the vBulletin?

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**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/4 "2002-08-06T11:22:49Z")

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And here’s mine. It’s longer than what you’re wishing for.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/5 "2002-08-06T11:24:06Z")

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When did you enter your location then, **Another Primate**?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/6 "2002-08-06T11:44:41Z")

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_English ex-pat in Dublin_ will fit, if that’s any help. (mentioning that Dublin is in Eire seems a little superfluous)

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/7 "2002-08-06T11:45:53Z")

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The trick is not to type onto the end, but to insert in the middle of the text. Then it will let you go to the maximum length.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/8 "2002-08-06T12:10:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*  
> \*\*_English ex-pat in Dublin_ will fit, if that’s any help. (mentioning that Dublin is in Eire seems a little superfluous) \*\*

I had thought of that, but the “City, Country” convention is common in the US, and as this is an American board I don’t want to be confused with someone from [the many Dublins in the US](http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&address=&city=dublin&state=&zipcode=&homesubmit.x=19&homesubmit.y=7). 😉

**Anthracite** , thanks for the advice, but that method doesn’t work.

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**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/9 "2002-08-06T12:12:22Z")

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Speaking as someone in the U.S., I don’t think anyone would mistake “Dublin” for a Dublin in America. 🙂

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/10 "2002-08-06T12:47:27Z")

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Ah well, I managed to squeeze in the closing bracket, so that’ll do.

**dantheman** , oy geez, wot gives you the impression that I en’t a septic then?

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**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/11 "2002-08-06T12:49:16Z")

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A septic? A septic tank?

Damn foreign slang… 😉

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/12 "2002-08-06T14:14:25Z")

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Some people were making the location very long, so we reduced the maximum length of the location field. But if you had typed in a long one _before_ we reduced the size, it would be allowed until you try and change it again.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/13 "2002-08-06T17:18:14Z")

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Fair enough. Thanks for filling me in.

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**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/14 "2002-09-16T05:07:21Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jjimm \*  
> \*\*When did you enter your location then, **Another Primate**? \*\*

I think it was within a day of the boards coming back from the disaster, jjimm.

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**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasing-the-location-field/122578/15 "2002-09-16T07:22:53Z")

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**Arnold** : if long ones were annoying enough to make it impossible to to add any more long ones, why not also require that the existing long ones change?