I found the whole "renaming things war" the first time stupid; as it peaked with renaming "master" to "main", highlighting both an ignorance and literacy problem.
This time around, it's just as stupid, it's just coming from the other side.
I'm hoping this exposes both sides to how ridiculous this crap is.
I'm interested in the names that stayed out of the war. Git Branches were an open field of conflict, but "Masters" programs somehow were not.
The reason I've heard is that contemporary Academics were simply comfortable with their terms, and unwilling to change them. It was inertia, which combined with their power as America's secular theologians, weighted the discourse away from their privilege.
Per the link, they're just following the US Geographic Names Information System updates. What _should_ be the standard here, if not to follow the official naming policies?
but it changes regularly (see https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/305639190). How the map providers deal with this tag is up to them. There's actually a huge discussion how to deal with this. It's... complicated:
In the Czech Republic at least, Google Maps now shows "Mexický záliv (Americký záliv)". I'm not sure which countries still see the original name other than Mexico.
I think that people are uncomfortable with the idea that Google Maps is centralized and can unilaterally change what you see. Having an offline version of a map helps protect against sudden change (go forward or retroactive).
As an aside, I do really like organic maps. I keep it installed with downloaded maps for when I travel to places with poor signal, including hiking trails.
Oh, so you just blindly agree with whatever he says and just blindly use Google services whilst ignoring the reasons people might have issues with them?
The McKinley name for the mountain was by a prospector, ginning up support for a presidential candidate. A bunch of people showed up, started digging for gold, and just ignored the local names for things.
Denali is historically relevant, and locally relevant. It seems like a reduction in politics, not a continuation.
The mountain has a long history of name changes and many of the changes have been political. Denali is a name that seems to have some significant local support.
There it is, just like clockwork, the whataboutism appears.
Seriously though, let the locals be in charge of naming things. As a Texan, I've always just called it the Gulf. But if asked, it's full name is Gulf of Mexico, named after the Mexica (the Aztecs to you and me).
Are there other instances of differing names by country? I don't mean language differences. I found it strange that for the rest of the world, they'll see both.
But this isn't a territory dispute this is just an internal US name change.
Here in the Czech Republic it now shows up as "Mexický záliv (Americký záliv)". Why are they adding "Americký záliv" in a parenthetical? It's not like the executive order has any effect outside the US. Why would they change the name in any way anywhere but in the US? By what reasoning would they change the name in the Czech Republic but not in Mexico? US official naming means nothing to Mexico just as it means nothing to Czech Republic.
Google has been far too eager to please Trump and implement his silly ideas. I don't even think it's the president's job to name geographical features, and certainly not for the rest of the world.
Someone recently pointed out that this sort of thing is a test to divide the people into two groups: those who comply, and can be counted on to comply with whatever comes next, and those who protest, and are clearly a problem that might need to be dealt with. The people who are silent can generally be counted on to remain silent.
But even if you don't care about such political implications, it's ridiculous that Google is also forcing this onto the rest of the world.
But I was already planning to rely more on OSM anyway. I suggest that everybody who objects to this grandstanding do the same.
You give them too much credit, they just follow the money/power. A few years ago it was virtue signalling about diversity &co, now we're on the other end of the spectrum, god knows what tomorrow will bring.
> it's ridiculous that Google is also forcing this onto the rest of the world.
Yeah I was surprised (and frankly annoyed) by this as well, I don't see the value of showing this to everyone in the world when all of this relates to a "drama" played out in one country over the course of one presidential term with close to zero chance of extending that to another term (the guy is already 78 years old and it's showing in his ever more erratic behavior). I sure hope we can forget about this nonsense 4+ years from now...
At least it hasn't been renamed to "Gulf of the United States".
America is not exclusive to the US but a whole continent, for the much larger part comprising many more spanish/portuguese speaking countries and also Canada.
The US basically is only the increasingly annoying bully in the middle.
So did Google have to comply with this? Couldn’t they just pretend it never happened and keep it Gulf of Mexico and never address it or respond to questions or comments about it?
Also if you zoom out enough it shows the name as both.
Readit News
This time around, it's just as stupid, it's just coming from the other side.
I'm hoping this exposes both sides to how ridiculous this crap is.
For me, no rename will ever surpass freedom fries:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries
The reason I've heard is that contemporary Academics were simply comfortable with their terms, and unwilling to change them. It was inertia, which combined with their power as America's secular theologians, weighted the discourse away from their privilege.
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I use Organic Maps, and also have OsmAnd. Great maps, poor search. I'd love to know if there's an app with better search.
"official_name:en-US"="Gulf of America"
but it changes regularly (see https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/305639190). How the map providers deal with this tag is up to them. There's actually a huge discussion how to deal with this. It's... complicated:
https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/gulf-of-america-gulf-o...
As an aside, I do really like organic maps. I keep it installed with downloaded maps for when I travel to places with poor signal, including hiking trails.
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The McKinley name for the mountain was by a prospector, ginning up support for a presidential candidate. A bunch of people showed up, started digging for gold, and just ignored the local names for things.
Denali is historically relevant, and locally relevant. It seems like a reduction in politics, not a continuation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali#Naming
Seriously though, let the locals be in charge of naming things. As a Texan, I've always just called it the Gulf. But if asked, it's full name is Gulf of Mexico, named after the Mexica (the Aztecs to you and me).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf_naming_dispute
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War#cite_note-77
For example, Islas Malvinas (for Argentina) / Falkland Islands (for the UK).
Here in the Czech Republic it now shows up as "Mexický záliv (Americký záliv)". Why are they adding "Americký záliv" in a parenthetical? It's not like the executive order has any effect outside the US. Why would they change the name in any way anywhere but in the US? By what reasoning would they change the name in the Czech Republic but not in Mexico? US official naming means nothing to Mexico just as it means nothing to Czech Republic.
Someone recently pointed out that this sort of thing is a test to divide the people into two groups: those who comply, and can be counted on to comply with whatever comes next, and those who protest, and are clearly a problem that might need to be dealt with. The people who are silent can generally be counted on to remain silent.
But even if you don't care about such political implications, it's ridiculous that Google is also forcing this onto the rest of the world.
But I was already planning to rely more on OSM anyway. I suggest that everybody who objects to this grandstanding do the same.
Yeah I was surprised (and frankly annoyed) by this as well, I don't see the value of showing this to everyone in the world when all of this relates to a "drama" played out in one country over the course of one presidential term with close to zero chance of extending that to another term (the guy is already 78 years old and it's showing in his ever more erratic behavior). I sure hope we can forget about this nonsense 4+ years from now...
America is not exclusive to the US but a whole continent, for the much larger part comprising many more spanish/portuguese speaking countries and also Canada.
The US basically is only the increasingly annoying bully in the middle.
Also if you zoom out enough it shows the name as both.
https://etvbharatimages.akamaized.net/etvbharat/prod-images/...
Google Maps now shows the 'Gulf of America'
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43007052