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  • I personally would rather have a democratically-elected government--no matter how awful--pick names rather than have corporations pick names.

    Also, I was curious, so I looked it up: Congress passed a law (Public Law 80-242) in 1947 that allowed the executive branch to establish a single set of geographic names.

    Conservatives famously protested when the Obama administration renamed Mt. McKinley to Denali. I have no doubt that when a Democratic administration returns to power, they will rename a bunch of stuff, now that the precedence is set.

    My guess is we're going to go through a ping-pong of renames before the law gets changed to require some kind of independent group, or a super-majority of senators or something.

    by GMoromisato
  • While this specific rename looks dumb, the map providers deal with this kind of things all the time. Big georgraphical features like rivers, lakes, seas, mountains and also borders are different from different perspectives (mostly country-based).

    From outside of the US, I see "Lake Ontario (Lake America)" in Google Maps, the same way as with the Gulf of Mexico. I see "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)" and "Sea of Japan (East Sea)".

    Some names are given from one perspective (like rivers and mountains), like Rio Grande river or Mt Everest.

    by vitamark
  • I remember when tech news sites used to (rightfully) harp on about Chinese tech companies and how they should not be trusted given they satisfy every whim of the CCP.

    But now large tech companies in America can't even challenge the naming of a Lake and just folded, meekly.

    by ebbi
  • As a Canadian, I agree this is ridiculous.

    Having worked in the mapping sector for a bit, it makes sense.

    Google/Apple are not deciding what the lake is called. They are pulling data from the GNIS.

    This way people in a region will see what their government decides is the correct version for their people.

    Let's take this out of the heated debate.

    In the most of the world and Iran (strangely we agree on this), we recognize a body of water known as the Persian Gulf. For the Arab League states, they call this the Arabian Gulf.

    Is that Google being evil? Should Google decide what this is called? Or just leave it to the region to decide themselves.

    What about the border of Kashmir? How should they handle that?

    by pedalpete
  • And then he wanted New Mexico to be New America. Capitulation is not just about what they're asking for now, but also what they'll be emboldened to ask for in the future.
    by davesque
  • Hmmm, I feel like it would also be problematic if Google and Apple acted as unelected geographic authorities and deciding which names are politically legitimate
    by capnjazz
  • The executive orders are ridiculous/childish/whatever-you-call-this. That aside, if they have any legal effect, I’d expect a map company to call a feature by its legal name.

    Should a rendering of the land bordering the Southwest corner of the Black Sea show the city of Istanbul? Or must it remain depicted as Constantinople? Or perhaps even Byzantium?

    by sokoloff
  • Google and Apple (soon) make foldable phones.

    And why not? Their CEO's are foldable as well.

    "Don't be Evil"

    Folded.

    So here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. Here’s to you.

    Folded

    by k310

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