Gulf of America - Gulf of Mexico
community.openstreetmap.org
President Donald Trump just said during his inauguration that he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Aside from the political aspects, how does that even work? How does OSM choose a source for that? I’m curious! Also, somebody executed what I thought while I wrote this post:
  • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.worldEnglish
    22·
    1 day ago

    Looking at a map, it would really be best named the Gulf of the Americas.

    But otherwise is this reminiscent of Erdoğan’s decree changing the name of Turkey to Turkiye.

    A map should show the established name, i.e., the most widely understood designation, the one that enjoys the most consensus, including among specialists, historians, and so on. In a sane world, dictators do not get to wake up one morning and decide to change our maps.

    It’s still the Gulf of Mexico.

    • itslilithEnglish
      4·
      21 hours ago

      Different situation, I’d say. You get a say how your own countries, cities, etc get named. No one is forced to accept it, but it’s a matter of international respect to do so.

      You don’t get to rename a geographic feature. Much less one that’s outside your borders.