# The 2026 edition of the SDMB Postcard exchange - new management, old rules **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 4, 2026, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779 "2026-05-04T10:06:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/81 "2026-05-25T09:57:02Z")
šŸ‘ From looking at some previous PCEs\[1\] that **needscoffee** linked to above, It sounds like that sort of thing has been done beforeā€¦ * * * 1. PostCard Exchange ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/82 "2026-05-25T13:08:23Z")
Welcome to the 2026 SDMB ā€œCanuck Freeā€ Postcard Exchange. The nomination phase is now closed. We now proceed to distribution. šŸ™ƒ Profuse thanks to all the participants who listened/tolerated my weeping, bellowing, cajoling and spamming and yet still were sufficiently generous in spirit to join in. We ended up with 29 individual Dopers, which I think is a near historic high. This includes six posters who offered to double up and six internationals. 29 is a prime number so creating the groups of four involved some mathematical licence to share the goodwill as equitably as feasible. FWIW posters were categorised broadly into USA East, USA Central, USA West, and International. The aim was for all the groups to get a selection from each category. As there are more groups than internationals, that concept went slightly pear-shaped. But all postcards in the exchange will cross over state, if not regional, lines. PMs for the distribution lists will be issued imminently. Just for giggles I have included with each posters address details their distance in KMs from the spiritual home for Dopers i.e. The Chicago Reader, their [what.three.words](https://what3words.com/) location and their [Blabex quotient](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-about-our-number-of-posts-spin-off-from-the-trolls-r-us-thread/1030098/42) as proposed by poster wolfpup. So now itā€™s all up to your good selves to make the magic happen. The nominated closing date for postcards to be mailed is **Sunday 7th June** , but early birds get the kudos. Please update the thread with your postal egress and ingress. Kind regards PT ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/83 "2026-05-25T13:19:25Z")
Just for clarification-Are the other names on the list you sent via PM the people we send postcards to? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/84 "2026-05-25T13:32:55Z")
Yes, there should be four names/nicks on the PM just sent. They are your co-correspondents. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/85 "2026-05-25T13:34:24Z")
Cool! Thank you. Just gotta remember not to send a postcard to myself. šŸ˜ ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/86 "2026-05-25T14:22:16Z")
Soā€¦ am I supposed to be in 2 groups ? So I ~~have to~~ have the privilege of sending 6 cards ? I donā€™t mind - just checking it wasnā€™t an admin error ! (Couldnā€™t you have just had 6 groups of 4 and 1 group of 5 ?) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/87 "2026-05-25T15:05:51Z")
You are not on my list, but if youā€™d be a little more specific and PM me Iā€™ll make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/88 "2026-05-25T17:29:24Z")
Yes, the furriners are also in a separate lottery, sorta outside the main draw. The permutations to the groups were several. And considered. Some core rules were maintained. Some were bent to purpose by necessity. I came up with this one. Bite me. šŸ„° šŸ„° šŸ„° ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/89 "2026-05-25T21:26:58Z")
I just sent my information, hopefully itā€™s in the nick of time. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/90 "2026-05-26T03:31:50Z")
Got my assigned postcard recipients, thanks. I come off very badly in my Blabex quotient, ugh, and have to admit I donā€™t understand what ā€œwhat.three.wordsā€ means (the link in post 82 above didnā€™t make the concept any clearer). ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/91 "2026-05-26T03:58:58Z")
what.three.words is a U.K. based proprietary geocode system that assigns a three-word identifier uniquely to each 3m x 3m square on Earth. Used for e-commerce and delivery, navigation, emergencies etc. Arguably less subject to error than if using a numeric string like GPS co-ordinates. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/92 "2026-05-26T03:59:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I donā€™t understand what ā€œwhat.three.wordsā€ means (the link in post 82 above didnā€™t make the concept any clearer). So this became popular during Queen Elizabethā€™s funeral procession. You tell " [https://what3words.com](https://what3words.com) " your location, and it assigns it a 3-word nickname. If you plug it that nickname into their website, itā€™ll link to the precise location. Itā€™s just a fun thing to tell someone ā€œred fish carā€ rather than a Google link. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/93 "2026-05-26T05:32:20Z")
Note to self: determine height of stamp _before_ writing postcard message. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/94 "2026-05-26T08:21:49Z")
And just to demonstrate an example, my first tranche of cards have been posted. Might take a while to reach parts yonder. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/95 "2026-05-26T10:12:07Z")
My three will be mailed today. Iā€™ll be away from home until the end of next week, so the soonest I can report on any received cards would be then. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/96 "2026-05-26T14:03:24Z")
I still need to get stamps. Iā€™ll try to get to the post office today. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/97 "2026-05-26T14:32:43Z")
I have lots of postcards; but still have to decide which to send. I might, or might not, wind up sending everybody the same version. I did find what appears to be postcard rate forever stamps in my stamps container; and just about enough of them. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/98 "2026-05-26T16:19:30Z")
Ordered stamps, which should be delivered by Thursday. Need to see what I have for postcards due to the furriner lottery. šŸ˜‰ I guess thatā€™s a big plus.šŸ‡ØšŸ‡­ > [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Yes, the furriners are also in a separate lottery, sorta outside the main draw. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/99 "2026-05-26T17:45:58Z")
In the hands of USPS, for parts known and otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779/100 "2026-05-26T18:00:33Z")
My postcards have been dropped in the box at an official US Post Office! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-edition-of-the-sdmb-postcard-exchange-new-management-old-rules/1029779.md?page=6)