OpenStreetMap mappers brace for 'Lake America' edit war after Trump renaming order
Lake Ontario ("Lake America")
US President Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' has already taken effect in the GNIS database, prompting a community discussion on OpenStreetMap about how to handle the change. Mappers are following the precedent set by the Gulf of Mexico/‘Gulf of America’ debate: adding `official_name:en-US=*` tags while leaving the primary `name=*` unchanged unless on-the-ground usage shifts. The thread, started by CAM-Gerlach, aims to confirm consensus and guide mappers, with the Data Working Group already monitoring the relation. Early edits to change `name=*` were swiftly reverted, and the community expects more attempts as the order is officially published.
We are all leaning back, getting some popcorn and waiting for the edit war to start.
- gizajob
Canada should change the name of the country below them to “Bottom Canada”
Honestly can’t believe there’s a few million very smart people in America who have to put up with this. Bridges for Americans worldwide are being burned to the ground and there’s no sign of a new enlightened political age arriving on any horizon. Canadians also don’t seem to understand that this situation is only going to get worse and America can no longer be considered a friend.
- cebert
I apologize to my Canadian friends. This is embarrassing.
- JKCalhoun
Simple policy (Apple, Google, etc, can adopt):
Changes to major landmarks require a 5-year grace period (wait 5 years).
- graemep
Lots of countries change the names of things, even countries themselves.. Bombay to Mumbai, Ceylon to Sri Lanka, Turkey to Türkiye etc. Yes, some of those are specific to a name in a particular language and all have precedents rather than being entirely new. However, it is a precedent for governments deciding the names of things.
This, as its just made up, reminds me a lot of political/nationalist renaming of things like roads which is very common in parts of South Asia.
- butokai
I am Italian, and we get quite pissed when the government issues executive orders (the head of state can't do it), although it happens relatively often. I live in France, and when the president resorted to using them it felt like he was threatening democracy.
The US mechanism seems the strongest of the three, and people have considered this a normal thing in a democracy long enough for this to happen.