So ... parcel tracking by USPS has been down for about a week.

[eppur_se_muova]

You can still track parcels if you have registered for Informed Delivery, but the faster package tracking page ( https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackAction ) has been showing an error message since last weekend. I wonder if they're shutting it down and just haven't put up the right message yet.

Uglicans have been trying to break the USPS for better than 3/4 of a century now, and they keep succeeding, bit by bit.

[Tim S]

1. Informed Delivery accounts are free & work, so what's the gripe?

I spent my career in IT (over half of it in government). Servers & services come and go, but the core service remains available (perhaps you have to wait a few extra seconds, but nothing inordinate)

Remember the bad old days when there was *no* ability to track USPS from your home at all? Is it so bad to see the glass half-full? The sky isn’t always falling, despite what Chicken Little says.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. They're deliberately making it less convenient, so private industry looks more competitive. Or just bleeding USPS dry

with budget cuts and firings, which Uglicans use in 'Death of a Thousand Cuts' manner.

I used to be able to leave a tab open to that page. Click on that tab, click on refresh, and there you go. Follow packages daily. This has worked just fine for YEARS. Maybe there are technical/security reasons why they can't do that anymore, but if so, they should at least announce it.

Informed Delivery requires a login every 5 minutes, plus a few more mouse clicks for *each* package. If you were shipping packages through eBay, you might understand a little better.

There was a time when there were no roads or bridges at all, but if that doesn't make it acceptable to suddenly return to that state without notice or justification. Or is should I see that glass as half-full ? Progress should not be rolled back deliberately, and this smells deliberate, since Uglicans have been attacking USPS relentlessly for years. It's not paranoia when they tell you they're out to get you !

[Tim S]

5. Maintaining servers and services isn't as simple as running AntiVirus on a PC

The folks in government that design and maintain the servers that provide the service are at the mercy of the lowest bidder. This means changes in hardware, virtualization, subsystems & cloud provider can happen each fiscal year. If some backend software stops getting security updates, rapid changes are needed to prevent cybersecurity incidents. This means affected public-facing applications may need to end and some sort of replacement put in place. The people that maintain these systems don’t want to see any changes just as much as you do. Status Quo is Golden.

If you don’t want to login every 5 minutes to track your USPS packages, I have a work-around that works in the “USPS Mobile” app that’s available at Apple’s App Store. Login to “Informed Delivery” to obtain a Tracking Number and copy it. Then switch into the “Track” section and paste that number. It creates an entry that’s saved in the app’s Track section and does not require any login to view. (This is exactly what I do). I don’t know if this work-around works inside a web browser. But it’s something, and something is better than nothing.

DeJoy destroyed the best postal system on earth and we all suffer the consequences daily. But don’t assume that a web app changing or disappearing is intentional malice. 99% of the time, it’s a change due to being forced to deal with a software vulnerability. These systems are complex and consist of hundreds or thousands of software components. IT teams needs to constantly keep on top of *each* component’s vulnerability status and remediate ASAP to avoid a newsworthy cybersecurity incident. (The time between when a vulnerability is announced to when it is actively bring exploited on systems is a matter of hours, so simply checking once a day is not sufficient. The folks that do this work are unsung heroes because if they do their job right, you’ll never know about it)

[maxsolomon]

3. I get regular updates on all the packages I've sent, or my wife is receiving, through the Shop app.

All through USPS. I haven't noticed that tracing is down.

[Vinca]

4. That's interesting. I ordered something from a company on the other coast that usually ships the same day.

There's been no indication it's been sent, which I assume is an automated message, but it would be very off if it hasn't. Wonder if the Post Office is the problem. I'll give it a few days and see.