Something else Google Maps does: it calls religious buildings "businesses" (if no-one has claimed them, then you'll see a "Claim this business" link when you click on them). This is a huge libel against those religions. Churches, mosques, synagogues, buddhist temples, all are "businesses" to Google.
As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
131–140 of 223 posts
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#132I deal with this with one of the web sites I maintain. I think, as noted in the article, that it seems Google sometimes uses names from advertisements as if they are canonical. In my case, the city in question puts out a very specific, very legally defined map of each neighborhood, and has for more than a century. But real estate agents make up names for the neighborhoods, or fudge the boundaries to improve selling p…
>> The company declined to detail how some place names came about, though some appear to have resulted from mistakes by researchers, rebrandings by real estate agents — or just outright fiction.
Every lawyer knows what is happening. Copyright 101 - you cannot copyright facts, a big deal for mapmakers. Google is pulling data from a map created by someone else. They are quiet about it because they do not want whoever owns that original map to catch wind that their work acts as source material for google maps.
Some map creators fight this by adding fictitious names, even streets, into maps. You can copyright fiction. So if your fake street name gets used in some other map you may have a case (the same game happened with phonebooks). No doubt google cross-checks source maps to detect such things. So it is no surprise that from this shady little battle we get the occasional strange name.
My work moved buildings a year ago (military facility). We have been trying to get our location changed on google maps for over a year, but are constantly refused. No matter what we say, taxis and pizza deliveries still go to the wrong place (a couple blocks away). Whatever source maps google uses obviously trump our opinions. We are debating installing a sign at the old location. Maybe google streetview will see it.
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#133Google puts far too much stock into the "accuracy" of its Maps data. Here's my fun story: in order to verify my dad's website with Google's 'My Business' service (now a defunct product?), they had to mail a physical postcard with PIN code to ensure the address was legitimate. Picking the mailing address was hooked into Maps/ Maps data; a "real" address had to be among their existing database of addresses. Well, my da…
[deleted]
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#134Isn’it what gazetteers are for?
https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer.html
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#135Why is this Google's fault? I walk through The East Cut nearly every day, and I admit I was confused by the rebranding. But it wasn't done by Google. There are people cleaning the sidewalks in East Cut shirts, banners that say East Cut, real estate companies that call it East Cut. It would be a little weird if Google ignored the name. Yes, "The East Cut" is a strange name. But that area as never part of South Beach (…
Isn't the East Cut referring the old name for the area (Second Street Cut) when it was the location of all the mansions before the cable cars enabled them to move to Russian Hill?
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#136Maps are, infamously, a place where "truth" is not usually an attainable goal. All cartographers are faced with the decision between creating a map that is uncontroversial vs. one that is useful. When possible they optimize for both, but when the two (frequently) are in opposition to one another, it's time to choose.
> Matthew Hyland, [...] said he considered those all made-up names, some of which he deleted from the map
Unfortunately all place names are made-up names. If everyone suddenly agrees to start calling a place by a new name, who is Google to argue? But what if people can't agree and some start calling it by a new name and others don't? And of course you can't just poll every resident for their opinion, so you're stuck with relying on other signals...like local advertising and publications.
Appeals to authority are also of dubious value. There may be an "official" map somewhere, but if it doesn't reflect the day-to-day usage of the space, is it very useful? Prescriptivist maps generally enjoy about as much success as prescriptivist linguistics -- pretty to look at, but not what you want in your back pocket.
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#137It's called East Cut, I live here. NYTimes is running out of subjects to be angry about.
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#138I deal with this with one of the web sites I maintain. I think, as noted in the article, that it seems Google sometimes uses names from advertisements as if they are canonical. In my case, the city in question puts out a very specific, very legally defined map of each neighborhood, and has for more than a century. But real estate agents make up names for the neighborhoods, or fudge the boundaries to improve selling p…
San Francisco also puts out an official map, but like many other official maps, it lacks many of the neighborhoods people expect to find: Sunnyside, Japantown, the Tenderloin, Dogpatch, Hunters Point, Mission Bay, Hayes Valley, Miraloma, Cow Hollow... and so in order to give users what they want and expect, Google has to gather data from other sources. http://sfplanninggis.org/NeighborhoodOrganizations/
What a lovely map. Glen Park BART isn't even in Glen Park in that map.
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#139Something else Google Maps does: it calls religious buildings "businesses" (if no-one has claimed them, then you'll see a "Claim this business" link when you click on them). This is a huge libel against those religions. Churches, mosques, synagogues, buddhist temples, all are "businesses" to Google.
You've got an absurdly broad definition of "libel" that would make calling a group of women "guys" slanderous.
Re: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
San Francisco also puts out an official map, but like many other official maps, it lacks many of the neighborhoods people expect to find: Sunnyside, Japantown, the Tenderloin, Dogpatch, Hunters Point, Mission Bay, Hayes Valley, Miraloma, Cow Hollow... and so in order to give users what they want and expect, Google has to gather data from other sources. http://sfplanninggis.org/NeighborhoodOrganizations/
What a lovely map. Glen Park BART isn't even in Glen Park in that map.
Yeah, according to the city, it's in the Outer Mission, directly north [sic] of Bernal Heights.