I understand. Only your side is allowed to express their opinions. I actually knew that already, I just wanted to test the waters. I’ll check back next year.
Do what you like, just don't insult users, groups of people, etc. Stick to the topic. You post broke every rule in that regard.
This whole renaming thing would simply be nothing more than incredibly petty BS if it were not for the fact that it is actually chaff to distract the citizenry from paying attention to the really bad sh%4 that's happening behind the chaff cloud. The 2 minutes I spent writing this comment is the sum total of time I plan on thinking about something so incredibly stupid. This is not something that warrants our attention. Be kind to your brain cells.
Apple, really you are going to cave to the stup.... idea of changing the name? You will be in breach of international law. Watch where you step, it might be a very costly decision. More than you can imagine and a lot of us, your users and share holders might migrate to the Gulf of Microsoft.
I understand. Only your side is allowed to express their opinions. I actually knew that already, I just wanted to test the waters. I’ll check back next year.
^^^ Note that the comment above is an opinion. It's also not factual and yet there is remains for all to see, which is proof that it's not factual and that he's allowed to express opinions. How 'bout them apples?
The like and dislike button are easy ways out, but they also foster a way for users to get the point across that the statement doesn’t align with the users in the forum. Sometimes the best way to get people to stop posting such things is to show them we as a community don’t want it. Thank you for expressing concern. We’re trying to make this a fun place to chat and debate tech. If you encounter something you don’t like, feel free to say so. Regardless, don’t be afraid to post here.
Thank you for saying that and explaining the matter in detail. I appreciate it very much, Wesley.
But so far, after my not having said anything "salty" at all, I've already racked up 3 Dislikes vs. 2 Likes on my earlier post.
I couldn't care less about the Hit-and-Run types who go around smashing Dislike with reckless abandon, but it seems rather clear that I will certainly be racking up the Dislikes over time by doing little more than engaging people in normal conversation. This is another example of what I said in my previous post about human nature. Human beings get a thrill from embracing the Negative.
Compounding that core problem is the fact there are a lot of Americans in this forum and the USA is pretty much 50-50 divided on a lot of topics, not just politics. I think that plays a role in convincing some to play the Negative Card and smash the Dislike button. So far, I've avoided going that route, choosing only to click Like or Informative on the posts by my fellow forum members. To me, smashing Dislike is akin to slapping somebody across the face, digitally.
Someone who types something that perfectly aligns with your beliefs will either garner no response or a Like (possibly an Informative), while someone who say the least little thing you don't like OR someone who has become (regardless of reason) a "target of hate" will be the recipient of the Dislike button. Saying that another way... If Person X has said a few things in the past Person A didn't like, Person X will likely remain The Bad Guy in the mind of Person A. And even when Person X types something that is really quite neutral and unbiased, bam! there goes the Dislike button again by Person A. The existence of a Dislike button enables targeted retribution to flourish.
FaceBook uses a different approach that is rather interesting. There is no Dislike button per se, but when you smash the Like, you get presented with a few Emoticons to choose from, one of which is the Angry Face (basically "Dislike"). However, the key differences between FaceBook and this forum with regard to Likes and Dislikes are these:
1. On FaceBook, your real name is used. In the AI forums, most people use fake names. (For the records, JDW are my initials.) 2. On FaceBook, anyone can see the names of people who put a particular emoticon on a given post. In the AI forums, names people who click Dislike are hidden.
I think those two differences make people on FaceBook think a tad bit more before going full board Negative with the Angry faces on FaceBook. I actually see more Mocking Face Emoticons on FaceBook than Angry Faces. Regardless, people who hate too much on FaceBook can be identified. You can even Block those people too. But here in the AI forums, people who smash Dislike get to remain anonymous, and they are unblockable.
Sorry to have belabored this point, but I still feel like a Negative Cloud is now hovering over us with regard to the Dislike button. I'm afraid I just don't see it as a prudent technique to keep otherwise good (and occasionally salty) forum members "in check." I know you said you have debated it at AI, but I believe it could stand ongoing debate, especially by folks at AI who make have an emotional stake in having made this decision. We are all creatures of emotion, to be sure. But even Spock had emotions. (Yes, I do believe fictional characters can make for helpful illustrations.) The question is, will we choose to suppress those emotions, or allow emotions to dictate and drive our policy decisions?
As to the Gulf of Whatever, I am on the one hand inclined to not be a fan of major name-changes of geographical locations I learned in school. But on the other hand, what I learned in school is that things change. I learned the name Burma, for example, and now it's called Myanmar. Burma is burned into my brain! I learned the Sea of Japan in school (and even live in Japan now), but Korean people prefer "East Sea" instead. And while some would try to argue East Sea is better than Sea of Japan or Gulf of America, others would point out that the Gulf of Mexico, now in dispute, has a country name in it. It's not a country neutral name. In the case of Sea of Japan, the nation with the traditionally stronger economy and military (Japan) seems to have won over the map makers. However, Mexico is not a superpower like the USA, so in light of that, Gulf of Mexico is not a name based on national power as much as tradition. And when we seek to change a traditionally accepted name, people wonder why and major debate ensues.
I personally think renaming the Gulf of Mexico is an unnecessary distraction, but Trump most likely views it as being a part of his legacy, assuming he makes the change and finds that it sticks. He seems to be the type of person who loves to proclaim, "I did that!" And I say that in a rather neutral way without expressing excessive love or hate toward the man. Ditto for Greenland. He wants to make a name for himself and claim it is also for the USA too. Even Canada. If it became a US state, can it would be a "monumental" and "disruptive" change. Trump likes such things.
Anyway, my having said all that will probably garner Dislike smashes by the haters, but so be it. Haters do what they do best — smash Dislike buttons.
The like and dislike button are easy ways out, but they also foster a way for users to get the point across that the statement doesn’t align with the users in the forum. Sometimes the best way to get people to stop posting such things is to show them we as a community don’t want it. Thank you for expressing concern. We’re trying to make this a fun place to chat and debate tech. If you encounter something you don’t like, feel free to say so. Regardless, don’t be afraid to post here.
Thank you for saying that and explaining the matter in detail. I appreciate it very much, Wesley.
But so far, after my not having said anything "salty" at all, I've already racked up 3 Dislikes vs. 2 Likes on my earlier post.
I couldn't care less about the Hit-and-Run types who go around smashing Dislike with reckless abandon, but it seems rather clear that I will certainly be racking up the Dislikes over time by doing little more than engaging people in normal conversation. This is another example of what I said in my previous post about human nature. Human beings get a thrill from embracing the Negative.
Compounding that core problem is the fact there are a lot of Americans in this forum and the USA is pretty much 50-50 divided on a lot of topics, not just politics. I think that plays a role in convincing some to play the Negative Card and smash the Dislike button. So far, I've avoided going that route, choosing only to click Like or Informative on the posts by my fellow forum members. To me, smashing Dislike is akin to slapping somebody across the face, digitally.
Someone who types something that perfectly aligns with your beliefs will either garner no response or a Like (possibly an Informative), while someone who say the least little thing you don't like OR someone who has become (regardless of reason) a "target of hate" will be the recipient of the Dislike button. Saying that another way... If Person X has said a few things in the past Person A didn't like, Person X will likely remain The Bad Guy in the mind of Person A. And even when Person X types something that is really quite neutral and unbiased, bam! there goes the Dislike button again by Person A. The existence of a Dislike button enables targeted retribution to flourish.
FaceBook uses a different approach that is rather interesting. There is no Dislike button per se, but when you smash the Like, you get presented with a few Emoticons to choose from, one of which is the Angry Face (basically "Dislike"). However, the key differences between FaceBook and this forum with regard to Likes and Dislikes are these:
1. On FaceBook, your real name is used. In the AI forums, most people use fake names. (For the records, JDW are my initials.) 2. On FaceBook, anyone can see the names of people who put a particular emoticon on a given post. In the AI forums, names people who click Dislike are hidden.
I think those two differences make people on FaceBook think a tad bit more before going full board Negative with the Angry faces on FaceBook. I actually see more Mocking Face Emoticons on FaceBook than Angry Faces. Regardless, people who hate too much on FaceBook can be identified. You can even Block those people too. But here in the AI forums, people who smash Dislike get to remain anonymous, and they are unblockable.
Sorry to have belabored this point, but I still feel like a Negative Cloud is now hovering over us with regard to the Dislike button. I'm afraid I just don't see it as a prudent technique to keep otherwise good (and occasionally salty) forum members "in check." I know you said you have debated it at AI, but I believe it could stand ongoing debate, especially by folks at AI who make have an emotional stake in having made this decision. We are all creatures of emotion, to be sure. But even Spock had emotions. (Yes, I do believe fictional characters can make for helpful illustrations.) The question is, will we choose to suppress those emotions, or allow emotions to dictate and drive our policy decisions?
As to the Gulf of Whatever, I am on the one hand inclined to not be a fan of major name-changes of geographical locations I learned in school. But on the other hand, what I learned in school is that things change. I learned the name Burma, for example, and now it's called Myanmar. Burma is burned into my brain! I learned the Sea of Japan in school (and even live in Japan now), but Korean people prefer "East Sea" instead. And while some would try to argue East Sea is better than Sea of Japan or Gulf of America, others would point out that the Gulf of Mexico, now in dispute, has a country name in it. It's not a country neutral name. In the case of Sea of Japan, the nation with the traditionally stronger economy and military (Japan) seems to have won over the map makers. However, Mexico is not a superpower like the USA, so in light of that, Gulf of Mexico is not a name based on national power as much as tradition. And when we seek to change a traditionally accepted name, people wonder why and major debate ensues.
I personally think renaming the Gulf of Mexico is an unnecessary distraction, but Trump most likely views it as being a part of his legacy, assuming he makes the change and finds that it sticks. He seems to be the type of person who loves to proclaim, "I did that!" And I say that in a rather neutral way without expressing excessive love or hate toward the man. Ditto for Greenland. He wants to make a name for himself and claim it is also for the USA too. Even Canada. If it became a US state, can it would be a "monumental" and "disruptive" change. Trump likes such things.
Anyway, my having said all that will probably garner Dislike smashes by the haters, but so be it. Haters do what they do best — smash Dislike buttons.
I would just ignore it. As of this comment I have 3 Dislikes for saying that I refuse to use the Dislike button. You can't please everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They could just call it "The Gulf". I mean we as "Americans" love generic names.
Maybe Trump is just testing the waters for more specific nomenclature. We know he likes his name on things. If renaming it Gulf of America works then maybe he'll just name it the Trump International Gulf Club, and then move on to rename things like New Jersey as simply Eric, and the Great Basin Desert (which covers Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and California) as Barron Wasteland, etc.
This whole renaming thing would simply be nothing more than incredibly petty BS if it were not for the fact that it is actually chaff to distract the citizenry from paying attention to the really bad sh%4 that's happening behind the chaff cloud. The 2 minutes I spent writing this comment is the sum total of time I plan on thinking about something so incredibly stupid. This is not something that warrants our attention. Be kind to your brain cells.
This is the known and stated modus operandi. “Flood the zone with shit.” The purpose is disorientation. The constant churn renders any given outrage displaced by another and forgotten after a week, and it removes the ability to differentiate between the merely ridiculous and the profoundly dangerous.
Pro tip: renaming the Gulf of Mexico is ridiculous, and your time spent debating it has kept your attention from something else far more dangerous.
The discussion of the politics of the change is being interesting, but I have a rather different comment.
When I searched just now for "gulf of america" in Apple Maps, on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 18.3, it says it can't find anything. I am located in Massachusetts. Though some may say New England is not part of the Divided States of America, I beg to differ.
So the article seems to be inaccurate. Maybe the change was reverted, or only appears on a Mac; I do not know. Does it matter that my WiFi Internet access is via FiOS? Or that my IPv6 is via Hurricane Electric (tunneled from NYC)? It shouldn't.
The discussion of the politics of the change is being interesting, but I have a rather different comment.
When I searched just now for "gulf of america" in Apple Maps, on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 18.3, it says it can't find anything. I am located in Massachusetts. Though some may say New England is not part of the Divided States of America, I beg to differ.
So the article seems to be inaccurate. Maybe the change was reverted, or only appears on a Mac; I do not know. Does it matter that my WiFi Internet access is via FiOS? Or that my IPv6 is via Hurricane Electric (tunneled from NYC)? It shouldn't.
I just did a search on Apple Maps for "Gulf of America" on my M1 MBA and then on my iPhone 15 Pro Max = "No matching places found."
The same search on Google Maps resulted in several businesses: Gulf America Wire Rope, Inc; Gulf America Rentals; Gulf America Hose. Tried "The Gulf of America" and got "Google Maps can't find The Gulf of America" while showing the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico results in... The Gulf of Mexico on Apple & Google Maps as it should! Edited to add: I'm currently in Central Virginia.
When we first added reactions we had a 'lol' button which nobody used. When we later removed the dislike button, people absued the 'lol' button as 'dislike' so we had to remove that one as well. We actually just can't have nice things.
As of this comment I have 3 Dislikes for saying that I refuse to use the Dislike button. You can't please everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yet another example of what I was desperately trying to say. Very, very sad. And while it is true we cannot "please everyone," I don't think we need to advertise that displeasure or encourage it by way of a Dislike button.
Anyway, I clicked Like on your post. And I am more than happy to join you in boycotting the Dislike button by refusing to ever use it. I stand firmly against it. Whenever we truly dislike something, let's talk about those gripes. That way we know who is disliking something and can read precisely what they dislike and why. Because smashing a dislike button is done in secret and motives are hidden, it doesn't promote good conversation or good will at all.
But for now, that is all I will say on the subject.
Best wishes to all of you who stay positive by clicking only Like or Informative!
I would just ignore it. As of this comment I have 3 Dislikes for saying that I refuse to use the Dislike button. You can't please everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's probably more that you agreed that the "dislike" button should be a "laugh" button instead. What is the difference? If anything, hitting the "laugh" button may be troll-ish, IMO.
Really, hitting the "like" button on insane, troll-ish and outlandish statements is just as bad as hitting the "dislike" button simply because you disagree with a statement. I tend to ignore the more outlandish statements and I know I have a few a posters on my ignore list. Just not worth the effort when certain posts/posters are looking for a fight.
Comments
But so far, after my not having said anything "salty" at all, I've already racked up 3 Dislikes vs. 2 Likes on my earlier post.
I couldn't care less about the Hit-and-Run types who go around smashing Dislike with reckless abandon, but it seems rather clear that I will certainly be racking up the Dislikes over time by doing little more than engaging people in normal conversation. This is another example of what I said in my previous post about human nature. Human beings get a thrill from embracing the Negative.
Compounding that core problem is the fact there are a lot of Americans in this forum and the USA is pretty much 50-50 divided on a lot of topics, not just politics. I think that plays a role in convincing some to play the Negative Card and smash the Dislike button. So far, I've avoided going that route, choosing only to click Like or Informative on the posts by my fellow forum members. To me, smashing Dislike is akin to slapping somebody across the face, digitally.
Someone who types something that perfectly aligns with your beliefs will either garner no response or a Like (possibly an Informative), while someone who say the least little thing you don't like OR someone who has become (regardless of reason) a "target of hate" will be the recipient of the Dislike button. Saying that another way... If Person X has said a few things in the past Person A didn't like, Person X will likely remain The Bad Guy in the mind of Person A. And even when Person X types something that is really quite neutral and unbiased, bam! there goes the Dislike button again by Person A. The existence of a Dislike button enables targeted retribution to flourish.
FaceBook uses a different approach that is rather interesting. There is no Dislike button per se, but when you smash the Like, you get presented with a few Emoticons to choose from, one of which is the Angry Face (basically "Dislike"). However, the key differences between FaceBook and this forum with regard to Likes and Dislikes are these:
1. On FaceBook, your real name is used. In the AI forums, most people use fake names. (For the records, JDW are my initials.)
2. On FaceBook, anyone can see the names of people who put a particular emoticon on a given post. In the AI forums, names people who click Dislike are hidden.
Sorry to have belabored this point, but I still feel like a Negative Cloud is now hovering over us with regard to the Dislike button. I'm afraid I just don't see it as a prudent technique to keep otherwise good (and occasionally salty) forum members "in check." I know you said you have debated it at AI, but I believe it could stand ongoing debate, especially by folks at AI who make have an emotional stake in having made this decision. We are all creatures of emotion, to be sure. But even Spock had emotions. (Yes, I do believe fictional characters can make for helpful illustrations.) The question is, will we choose to suppress those emotions, or allow emotions to dictate and drive our policy decisions?
I personally think renaming the Gulf of Mexico is an unnecessary distraction, but Trump most likely views it as being a part of his legacy, assuming he makes the change and finds that it sticks. He seems to be the type of person who loves to proclaim, "I did that!" And I say that in a rather neutral way without expressing excessive love or hate toward the man. Ditto for Greenland. He wants to make a name for himself and claim it is also for the USA too. Even Canada. If it became a US state, can it would be a "monumental" and "disruptive" change. Trump likes such things.
Anyway, my having said all that will probably garner Dislike smashes by the haters, but so be it. Haters do what they do best — smash Dislike buttons.
When I searched just now for "gulf of america" in Apple Maps, on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 18.3, it says it can't find anything. I am located in Massachusetts. Though some may say New England is not part of the Divided States of America, I beg to differ.
So the article seems to be inaccurate. Maybe the change was reverted, or only appears on a Mac; I do not know. Does it matter that my WiFi Internet access is via FiOS? Or that my IPv6 is via Hurricane Electric (tunneled from NYC)? It shouldn't.
The same search on Google Maps resulted in several businesses: Gulf America Wire Rope, Inc; Gulf America Rentals; Gulf America Hose. Tried "The Gulf of America" and got "Google Maps can't find The Gulf of America" while showing the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf of Mexico results in... The Gulf of Mexico on Apple & Google Maps as it should!
Edited to add: I'm currently in Central Virginia.
When we first added reactions we had a 'lol' button which nobody used. When we later removed the dislike button, people absued the 'lol' button as 'dislike' so we had to remove that one as well. We actually just can't have nice things.
Anyway, I clicked Like on your post. And I am more than happy to join you in boycotting the Dislike button by refusing to ever use it. I stand firmly against it. Whenever we truly dislike something, let's talk about those gripes. That way we know who is disliking something and can read precisely what they dislike and why. Because smashing a dislike button is done in secret and motives are hidden, it doesn't promote good conversation or good will at all.
But for now, that is all I will say on the subject.
Best wishes to all of you who stay positive by clicking only Like or Informative!
Really, hitting the "like" button on insane, troll-ish and outlandish statements is just as bad as hitting the "dislike" button simply because you disagree with a statement. I tend to ignore the more outlandish statements and I know I have a few a posters on my ignore list. Just not worth the effort when certain posts/posters are looking for a fight.