This whole thing is extremely cringe. There isn’t any other way to put it. Trump. His executive order. The compliance. It’s all cringe.
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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Interesting discussion about this on the OpenStreetMap forums.
The resolution is introducing "official_name" tags, referencing "en_us", because "en" is not just the U.S.:
https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/gulf-of-america-gulf-of-mexico/124571/11
So when OsmAnd or OrganicMaps start to support them, maybe your locale settings will change the displayed name there as well.
Current description of that node: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/305639190/history/80
So maybe that could be a reason for everyone around the world to stop using en_US locale settings. XD
Would be shame if google are snowed under with reports the name is wrong :-)
Genuinely curious... How does Google handle other oceanic naming that isn't agreed upon Worldwide?
bing still shows correctly for me.
Time for a repeat comment: Organic Maps does everything Google Maps does (except traffic conditions), and is FOSS. Please encourage places to contribute business information to Open Street Maps.
I'm all for swapping apps, but Organic Maps doesn't even have my home address. And I live in a major metropolitan area.
My test search for the UPS store up the street sent me 4km away. So...not great.
Add it to OSM?
That solves the problem this time, but it doesn't help if I'm trying to navigate somewhere new.
If it doesn't have the address for a 30-year-old house in a major metropolitan area, then I just don't think it's a viable replacement for Google Maps, unfortunately.
I use Google maps mostly to find out where things are, and unfortunately OSM does not have as many places as Google Maps. I can add one or two places I notice are missing (even though the phone interface isn't that easy) but Google Maps consistently has better information, so I mostly use organic maps for when I already know the address or already know the location is in its database.
Just swapped apps. Thanks for the suggestion!
Also, report an error to google maps:
It reads: I read "Gulf of America". That must be a mistake.
I can't seem to do this from the phone app
Obviously that's not going to make one iota of difference. They're an American company and they have been ordered by the president of the country to do this. They already do similar things in other authoritarian countries like China and Turkey, because anything else would risk the safety of Google employees.
If you don't like it, change to a non-American product and/or vote for a different president.
I somehow have a feeling that being president of the USA does not mean you can do whatever you want and people have to follow... Google Map, for one, is a product of a private company, not a Federal Service of the USA - so if they want to call it "Gulf of Google", they could!
Then you're right, they already protect/black out places and some places' names, however the Gulf of America, like the Channel of Washington are just bs that in the worst case scenario will live 4 years. So it's a joke and I like joking too
The American president can only order so much. As of yesterday, the BGN has changed the name, but this affects Federal Government usage. Google as a private company could continue to use the common name if they wanted to.
This is why Open Street Maps has a "name" field and "official name" field, for where these two aren't the same. This is already the case for the English names "Saigon" and "Ho Chi Minh City" which refer to the same place in Vietnam.
Well, that's apparently for the courts to decide. In the meantime they have an executive order to contend with. Google has reclassified the U.S. as a "sensitive country" along with other authoritarian regimes and I'm convinced that this is partly out of concern for the safety of Google employees. Who knows what maga cultists might do if they don't comply.
I'm currently in France, this is what I see on Google maps
Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)
What a f*cking joke 😂
Maps.me shows the real name
As does mappy.cz
I'm in Canada, and Google maps shows me the same as what you are seeing.
I'm gonna start creating new pubs, bars and so on, everywhere I go, and call them Trump's Mexican Deli, Donnie & Elon's vacancy hotel, and so on. Please contribute (use an alternative google account)
I’m in the process of migrating my saved locations and addresses to Organic Maps. Bye Google.
Cool.
In not at all related news disabling Google maps on your Android device can often be a source of delight! I never knew how capable organic maps was and it has a very nice auto integration.
That's a weird flex by South Canada.
Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
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What a great time to download Organic maps
How does it compare to OsmAnd?
Also a great choice. I prefer organic maps for a variety of reasons (like ability to contribute to the maps), but a lot of people prefer OsmAnd. They are both very good.
It’s a massive upgrade in terms of aesthetics and privacy!
I love that it's not google, and the UI is nice, but the lack of realtime traffic info is a real blocker for me
You might be interested in Magic Earth it is also built on OpenStreetMap but includes crowdsourced traffic data. If you are in a big city then it's likely they have good data for your area.
is there a web version?
The change reflects Google's policy of adhering to official government names for geographical locations.
OK, so why am I seeing Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) from Canada?
Same here in Europe.
This is highly irregular for several reasons:
Google adheres to official government positions, yes, but as far as I'm aware the American government hasn't made the name change official yet. Members of the government have said that they'd do this, but I don't think this idea has passed any process yet. So then why is Google "updated" their maps?
When Google adheres to official government positions, they are local. In example, when you're in China and look up Taiwan, it'll appear as part of China. In other countries it'll appear as either an independent country or a disputed territory, depending on that government's official position on the matter. What we DON'T see is something like "Taiwan (China)", as Google supposedly has no intention on forcing the policies of one government upon another government, and as far as I'm aware the rest of the world hasn't agreed to changing The Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America.
If anyone's interested, here's what it looks like in Europe. The good news: this is the first time I've had to use Google Maps in a loooong time (ignoring embedded maps in other sites). OpenStreetMap is wonderful and there are some superb apps powered by it, including the ever-excellent Organic Maps.
From the Wikipedia for Gulf of Mexico:
While the Interior Department confirmed that the Gulf of America name was effective for U.S. federal agencies, on January 24, the change does not apply in an international context.
If Justin Trudeau gets active on this, you can probably get it to Gulf of Canada (Gulf of Mexico) (Gulf of America).
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What the fuck is this shit?
Expect in the near future:
Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) (Gulf of CUM)
Greenland (New Alaska) (New Siberia)
Gaza Strip (New Houston)
Falkland Islands (Las Islas Españolas) (Les Îles Napoléon)
Antarctica (American Liberty Glacier)
And you'll see Amerida right at the bottom of the picture, that's the capital of Floricatan in the country of America..... Have you guys noticed how our country's name is not America? I would be a fucking retard if I named something "of America" when my country's name isn't America. As an example, all Mexican coins say "estados unidos mexicanos" or something like that. But the country is Mexico. Mexico is in America, but they don't say "mexico of America", because they are not fucking retarded.
(viewed from Canada)
Same in Europe
Same in a little bit to your west Europe.
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