r/degoogle • u/NeitherShine7067 • 7d ago
Replacement MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/•
u/NeitherShine7067 7d ago
MapQuest stood up to President Donald Trump, and now its app is reaping the rewards.
The “OG of online mapping,” as the company calls itself, announced on Thursday that it would not change the name of Lake Ontario on its maps to Lake America, despite Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service. As a result, MapQuest’s mobile app downloads soared, sending the iOS app to the No. 4 position on the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts for apps (not including games) as of Monday morning on the U.S. east coast.
On Saturday, Google Maps announced it was complying with Trump’s decision, explaining that it updates Google Maps to reflect the name changes in official government sources. In the U.S., that’s the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The updated map will only be shown to users in the U.S., while those in Canada will see Lake Ontario, and those outside of the two countries will see both names.
Both Apple Maps and Google Maps changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America last year, after Trump issued a similar name-changing executive order.
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u/kvaks 6d ago edited 6d ago
changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America last year, after Trump issued a similar name-changing executive order.
What's so dumb about this is that it's pretty much universal that the dominant part (say a capital city or a dominant country) names the things after it's lesser neighbors.
In my country Oslo is the capital and biggest city. The railway between Oslo and Bergen (the second biggest city) is naturally called the Bergen Railway, not the Oslo Railway. Similarly the road between Oslo and Trondheim (the third largest city) is called the Trondheim Road, not the Oslo Road.
So when the gulf between the USA and Mexico gets named after Mexico, it's because the USA is the bigger country and names the gulf that lies between it and the other, smaller, country, which is Mexico. If there was a gulf to the North it would (likely) be the Canada Gulf, not the Second Gulf of America (see the problem here?). Trump is too dumb to understand that.
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u/Plus_Term_7584 6d ago
This is just that shallow patriotism that MAGA Americans love so much. Name something "patriot", "liberty", "America" or "freedom", but nevermind the actual meaning of those words.
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7d ago
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
What's your point?
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u/no1regrets 7d ago
Basically that no company has to change the lake’s name because an executive order isn’t legally binding.
But I agree, I don’t really get their point either. The company is still standing up against Trump by not placating to his unserious and intentionally distracting executive orders.
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u/Bungo_pls 7d ago
The name of the lake was determined by a treaty that Trump cannot override with a stupid executive order.
But as usual corpos roll over to appease the tiny dicktator at every opportunity.
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
Ahh, yes, got it. I mean, yeah, no shit google is on team dictator. mapquest is simply making a marketing move by not following suit.
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u/fdbryant3 7d ago
There is no treaty that named the lake. There are treaties that refer to the lake by that name, but that is different from a saying 'we agree this the geographic feature that is at these coordinates shall be named Lake Ontario (or however they might write it up in a treaty). Whether referencing the common name in a treaty not specifically naming it such can put it above the reach of change by an executive order is a thornier legal question than I care to try to find the answer to. And doubt anyone could say for sure until it goes to court.
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u/Kaptain202 7d ago
I think the framing should be less "MapQuest stood up to Trump by doing nothing" and more "Apple and Google maps bowed down to Trump by doing something".
I have no problem with giving MapQuest some love for their inaction. It most certainly is taking a stance against Trump. However, there is a tone difference
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u/lookamazed 7d ago
Apple Maps has not changed Lake Ontario’s name either.
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u/Ok-Cheesecake-8388 7d ago
They will. When Gulf of America happened they were delayed in changing it too.
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u/Xx_Pr0_g4m3r_xX 7d ago
OSM should get the fame more than mapquest although i still like this news
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u/SweatyAdagio4 7d ago
OSM isn't a navigational app though is it? It's what provides geospatial data but it's not an app, it's not on any app store. You can get plenty of OSM based open source navigation apps, some combine with their own proprietary data for live traffic, but OSM on its own is no alternative to Google Maps
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u/Xx_Pr0_g4m3r_xX 7d ago
Point is that OSM provides the name Lake Ontario.
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u/PsychoticDreemurr 7d ago
MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation...
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u/Xx_Pr0_g4m3r_xX 7d ago
Correct. But it is due to the name not being changed, which is on OSM's part
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u/PsychoticDreemurr 7d ago
That's not the point, though. The point involves a navigational app not changing the name.
That's like seeing a post about news lying to you, then saying "what about social media?"
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u/Xx_Pr0_g4m3r_xX 7d ago
But it's not the navigational app that didn't change the name, it's OSM that didn't change the name
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u/PsychoticDreemurr 7d ago
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u/Xx_Pr0_g4m3r_xX 7d ago
Care to explain where I'm at fault?
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u/Chxttr 7d ago
Yes OSM provides the name, but the post was that it surged to no.1 in navigational applications. OSM is NOT a navigational app.
It would be exactly the same thing as saying water bottle brand X recently jumped in sales and stating that they source their materials from company Y and that company Y should therefor get the credits.
It doesnt matter who provides what to who, mapquest jumped to no.1 in the list and they are talking about that.
If they said OSM jumped to no.1 in streetmap data provider, will you also say "Yes but mapquest shows it to the users"?
They help eachother, but OP wasnt talking about OSM, he was talking about mapquest and other navigational apps. So therefor OSM is not in the picture of this.
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u/gringrant 7d ago
OSM will have both names, the international name will be Lake Ontario, while the US localized name will be Lake America.
This is very much not the first time OSM has to deal with geographic naming disputes.
The app then chooses which localization to use.
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u/BerryGloomy4215 7d ago
Yes MapQuest is just another data collecting company that sells targeted ads.
If you're going through the pain of switching, at least choose an open source option.
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u/LimpAd4924 7d ago edited 7d ago
While I support alternatives to big tech and welcome the news, it is difficult for these alternatives to keep up with these mega corporations due to the fact that they have research and operating expenditures comparable to small countries, whereas these small companies and non profits just really can’t compete with that. Big tech obviously has unrivaled investments and research into their products. They are pretty much unmatched.
Not to mention many of these companies were often one of the first to do what they’re doing. They also have that head start too.
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u/BullfrogAdditional80 7d ago
You're not wrong, but if you're willing to help there are some good map apps out there. I downloaded organic maps and have already added a fast food place in my town that wasn't there yet. And am looking to see if its missing anything else that's new. I know that probably ruins the conveniences of having a polished app but its also nice to help build one that can and will get better over time and that wont turn you into a product.
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u/PercussionGuy33 7d ago
Honestly I think its for the best that OSM keeps a low profile though this. It keeps the project from getting tainted with an influx of people who wouldn't know how to keep its mission intact.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 7d ago
MapQuest is great but if you are using Android Auto, unfortunately MapQuest is not yet integrated. Maybe that will change now that they are the back on top. If you want to use Android Auto try using CoMap. It works on Android Auto and you don't have to use waves which is owned by Google. Apple Play users can use MapQuest no problems.
Elbows Up Canada !
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u/Successful_Order585 7d ago
Organic Maps and Here We Go are. I had Organic Maps downloaded and was ready to embrace and transition, but I couldn't find the option to navigate by car. Anyone know how to access that option in the app. (I am also looking into what dashboard nav options my car's manufacturer has. Android Auto I think is a Google app.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 7d ago
So I installed Organic Maps and all I needed to do was look at the apps grid option in Android auto which brings up all the apps available. Organic Maps was on the list. I touched the icon to launch it and it worked just fine. The screen asked me if I wanted to transfer the map to the car, which I did and voila.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 7d ago
I've installed Here WeGo and it looks promising. I will try Organic Maps and let you know.
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u/Successful_Order585 6d ago
I have Here We Go for now. Will see if I like it. If not I will try Organic Maps again.
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u/47isthenew42 6d ago
My only regret is Android Auto is also owned by Google since Android is owned by Google.
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u/Cannabisflorist 7d ago
The purge must continue, people should purge greedy google from their lives, makes these guys invisible again.
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u/fence-connoisseur 7d ago
I'm trying Here We Go which is euro.
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u/Ut_Prosim 7d ago
Here! used to be Navteq, which did all the mapping for transit and shipping companies back in the day. They also provide the road network data for professional GIS software suites like Esri ArcGIS. IIRC they also do the maps and routing software for the onboard automotive GPS systems in cars from most European brands (Audi, BMW, M-B, VW, etc.).
The name makes it sound like a new app by some guys in a garage, but they've been doing digital routing maps since the 1980s.
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u/roytay 7d ago
Do they have crowd source traffic?
Gotta have traffic where I live.
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u/Ut_Prosim 7d ago
Yes, depending on country.
But I'd bet Google's is better. You can't beat the company that is real-time spying on every Android user on Earth.
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u/thestonedonkey 7d ago
Just installed this and of the one's I've tried it seems the strongest in terms of replacement.
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u/Blue_Butterfly_Who 7d ago
Been using it for some time now, I really like it. Google Maps has more info on businesses and the like, but as long as users keep adding things we know we'll catch up with that as well.
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u/MirabilisLiber 7d ago
I like it a lot, but still disappointed that they renamed the Gulf of Mexico
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u/adultpugsley 7d ago
I love it. I'm in TN and it's great to be able to download offline maps for whole states when I'm delivering out in some remote valleys.
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u/jUNKIEd14 7d ago
Why doesn't MapQuest ever come up on DeGoogle threads about replacing Google Maps? I just downloaded it and, while I'm sure it falls well short of Google Maps, it looks like it's probably better than some of the alternatives I've tried.
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u/Yangman3x 7d ago
Cause those threads also like to support foss alternatives that realistically will never get hit by enshittification, and care about privacy.
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u/helikoopter 7d ago
Probably because it is still a U.S. corporation. And whether it is kneeling to one douche, it’s kneeling to another turd. Both of whom would allow an entire economy to fail before admitting fault with their own state.
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u/UnholyCityRecords 7d ago
TomTom is excellent nav and has Lake Ontario still on the map.
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u/hardy_83 7d ago
Yeah I'm trying TomTom for Android auto and Transit for public transit services. Not sure if either is good but I'm okay playing around with other options. Lol
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u/UnholyCityRecords 7d ago
Once I got the settings right for Android auto it worked just like Google Maps. Just without all the ads, the points of interest that were just more ads, and the bs tracking. Plus battery life has been better
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u/Butterfly-Kisses3579 6d ago
But they did change to Gulf of America so I’m guessing they’ll change Lake Ontario at some point
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u/digbickrich 7d ago
I do wish that had public transit functionality but I downloaded in solidarity.
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u/fence-connoisseur 7d ago
Mapquest is still shopping USA.
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u/SlimySquamata 7d ago
Is there a non USA alternative?
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u/Rojikoma 7d ago
Here's some alternatives: HereWeGo 🇳🇱, CoMaps, Mapy.com 🇨🇿, Organic Maps. Most of them uses data from Open Street Map which we can all help make better.
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u/fence-connoisseur 7d ago
I'm trying Here We Go 🤷♂️
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u/SlimySquamata 7d ago
Aight, this canadian is now supporting the Netherlands.
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u/DDOSBreakfast 7d ago
Make sure you turn off or adjust the speed limit warnings. It's created for places where people don't treat the speed limit as the speed minimum.
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u/SlimySquamata 7d ago
Good thing I follow the speed limit. (My car has the aerodynamic flow of a shoe box)
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u/starlordbg 7d ago
Magic Earth seems decent.
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u/SergeJeante 7d ago
The app is incredibly buggy though
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u/starlordbg 7d ago
Unfortunately yeah, there seems to be a lot stuff missing and the accuracy is questionable at times. Though I like the overall idea of it and hope they will improve it in the future to become viable replacement.
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u/dylantherabbit2016 7d ago
I remember my family printing out MapQuest directions any time we wanted to go anywhere when I was a kid, pre-iPhone
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u/No_Football_9232 7d ago
The problem for me is that MapQuest doesn’t provide transit directions. And I live in a big city and use transit to navigate. So sadly it won’t work for me.
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u/guyinthegreenshirt 7d ago
Transit app (that’s the name of the app) is the best for this in North America. CityMapper has been solid for me in London and Taiwan.
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u/jbird3000 7d ago
Used it for the first time in a LONG time today. You can be a damn rainbow unicorn instead of a blue dot. RAINBOW. UNICORN. It's feet move when you move and it turns to face you when you're stopped. Instantly sold.
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u/TheConquistaa 7d ago
For those looking for an open source solution, CoMaps (and probably also other OSM based solutions), also has the original name. I also wonder what will happen with Lake Ontario State Parkway in Rochester (and probably other streets bearing the Lake Ontario name). Will they be renamed or something?
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u/desbyrne 7d ago
I don’t see it in my (Irish) Apple App Store ?
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u/VincentVanGob 7d ago
what about CoMaps? thats a decent openstreetmap app that wont be doing this nonsense
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u/DeeDuchy 7d ago
App not available in Australia :(
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u/Any-Staff-6902 7d ago
Try CoMap. Might work for you. Good luck.
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u/phenglish 7d ago
I couldn't get CoMaps to recognise Australian addresses, it comes up with the road my house is on, but identifies it as being in a neighbouring city 20km away, and I haven't found any way to enter house numbers in a way it recognises. These sort of issues are common with OSM based maps, but CoMaps seems to be worse than most.
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u/FJ-creek-7381 5d ago
Just deleted Apple Maps and Google Maps - fuck those ass kissers.
FACT: An Executive Order is a signed, published directive issued by the President of the United States to manage operations within the federal government. These orders guide the actions of government officials and agencies, but do not create new laws or override existing federal statutes.
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u/Wallabydog 5d ago
Unfortunately MapQuest APP is not available to download in Australia. If it was, I would download it and delete Apple and Google Maps.
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u/Any_Beautiful_6074 3d ago
I have deleted Apple Maps from my phone. I thought Gulf of America was just pettiness so I didn’t delete. For Lake of America Trump is not only being petty but he is being disrespectful of Native American culture. I will never use Apple or Google Maps again.
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u/amazing_asstronaut 7d ago
MapQuest seems to be an educational app rather than navigation. Is there a good alternative to Google Maps out there?
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u/TheConquistaa 7d ago
Organic Maps/CoMaps (whichever you prefer)
Organic Maps was the original one and still has a faster development pace than the latter, which means features arrive sooner on that one. For example, my area doesn't have public transit support in CoMaps, but has it in Organic Maps.
On the other hand, Organic Maps has been plagued by governance issues, and the creator now seems to use AI in its development too. That's why CoMaps exists.
(also, I don't know what the CoMaps team is doing but the app works just fine on my Jolla Phone. Organic Maps just refuses to show any maps).
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u/dickey1331 7d ago
They are a publicly traded company. They aren’t standing up to anyone. It’s all a scam.
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u/txdline 7d ago
What's the scam?
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u/dickey1331 7d ago
They only answer to shareholders. Do you not understand how publicly traded companies work?
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u/wedeservethis 7d ago
But what is the scam?
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u/dickey1331 7d ago
They don’t care about your privacy, security, etc which is what this subreddit is for
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
Do you mean it's marketing? Because it is marketing. But that doesn't make it a scam.
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u/wedeservethis 7d ago
That's not what you said. You stated them keeping the name Lake Ontario on their app is a scam. I wanted to know how it's a scam.
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u/Background-Heart-968 7d ago
Yeah like how Costco got rid of DEI and started paying their employees minimum wage and treating them poorly.
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u/No-Groceries48 7d ago
Man! I remember posting a question about MapQuest a while ago. (More like 2 years ago, lol)
I feel some kind of way...
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u/HoleDiggerDan 7d ago
Anyone had any luck getting this to work with android auto? Tips and/or a guide would be appreciated...
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u/improvthismoment 6d ago
Has anyone tried both MapQuest and HereWeGo in Canada, and could compare the two?
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u/Steve2734 6d ago
Tried both. Google (Waze) and Apple are the only ones that can find my home address. I’ve tried just about every map option out there and they all fail. My street is labelled correctly when I look at the map, but when I type it in the address field, they can’t find it. Go figure.
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u/markinsac 4d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p7m3m2i/video/j1b7rwjg8cnh1/player
Hmm. I’m going back to google.
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u/Epsioln_Rho_Rho 7d ago
Until people see it's crap.
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u/VirtualLife76 7d ago
With google fucking up directions with their AI crap, there's not much useful about them anymore.
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u/GreatestGreekGuy 7d ago
Waze is still Ontario! Waze is currently my go to alternative
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u/Buzlo 7d ago
Waze is owned by Google
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u/GreatestGreekGuy 7d ago
Did they get bought out?
Edit: seems I'm very late to the game on this one! Interesting
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7d ago
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u/BeagleWrangler 7d ago
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good here. This whole thing reminded people there are alternatives to Google Maps they can use so people are doing some degoogling of their lives and that is a good thing.
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago edited 7d ago
Dictator actions by the most powerful country in the world actually have massive global effects.
Edit: the loser blocked me lmao
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u/VirtualPercentage737 7d ago
That explains the 3 cars that drove directly into the pond behind my house.
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u/BluesMods 7d ago
I guess people like to use maps that have incorrect information on them? To each their own I guess
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u/fdbryant3 7d ago
I get why people think this is a good thing, but I don't know that I want mapping corporations making the decisions on the names of geography. Yeah, it sucks that this President can just change the name of something on a whim, and the next Democratic President will just change it back, but that is better than map companies getting the idea they can change name (or in this case not change the name). Because once they get that idea in their heads, you know it won't be long before they are selling name changes.
What we need is a truly independent agency that decides the names, forms task forces to consider name changes, and makes the decision whether to or not. I'm sure that will be an imperfect system, but it would be better than letting the President do it with no checks, which better than corporations deciding.
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u/anemptycardboardbox 7d ago
Sounds like we already have a pretty good system: The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) decides and standardizes official geographic names for use across the U.S. federal government - with one caveat, the President’s executive order. Remove that, and we’re good to go
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7d ago
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u/almostfunny3 7d ago
Seriously? That's your first thought. Are you ok with a president renaming international waters without anyone else's input?
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7d ago
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u/almostfunny3 7d ago
Who said I don't care about other things?! I can be upset with more than one thing at a time. This is still a bullshit move that he has no right to make.
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u/Total_Surround833 7d ago
Trump does these stupid things and you people freak out and get all sidetracked from the other things he’s doing that actually matter.
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u/Total_Surround833 7d ago
How exactly does changing the name of some stupid fucking lake affect your life ????
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u/almostfunny3 7d ago
What the fuck is your problem? My point is that the President feels entitled to do shit he shouldn't be. Obviously it's not the only or worst thing he's done but you're awfully nasty over this.
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u/Total_Surround833 7d ago
Obviously, you’re an Epstein Trump apologist who likes following everything he does. I personally don’t give a fuck what he does because it doesn’t affect me.
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u/IrishUpYourCoffee 7d ago
You personally don’t give a fuck despite being his endless knobgobbler on here in the comments.
Ok weirdo. 🤡
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
No, dictators do these things to assert dominance in their push towards more wars, invasions, and expansionism.
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u/sapphiclament 7d ago
Mothers are still mothers they just fall under the umbrella of "birthing persons", but you care more about what makes you feel icky than what makes sense so I'm sure this will fall on closed ears.
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7d ago
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u/sapphiclament 7d ago
if you wanna be pedantic, the word "mother" definitely hasn't existed since the beginning of time, we made it up to describe something and then updated our language around it to better describe it like we've done as humans for centuries
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u/Total_Surround833 7d ago
The concept of a mother has been around since children and mothers came to be. No time in human history has a man ever been called a fucking mother.
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7d ago
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
Punishing your kids because some people on reddit don't like dictator actions is a weird choice.
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7d ago
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
Wow, an obvious troll with an open profile - you don't see that too often these days.
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u/IrishUpYourCoffee 7d ago
Idiots like you would of course be raising kids.
https://giphy.com/gifs/dB12mOQb99BwDlM83I•
u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7d ago
I disagree with the vocabulary choice of 'raising' - guaranteed if this troll even has kids at all, his wife is doing 100% of the raising and this guy doesn't do or know jack shit about his own kids, including their birthdays.
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u/WowBruhReborn 7d ago
That's unfortunate. Lake America just sounds better and makes more sense considering North America is kind of run by America lol
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u/Slight-Web1696 7d ago
Your logic is breathtakingly shallow. Why not just rename everything to America now. Im embarrassed to share a country with you.
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u/ClinicalDigression 7d ago
MapQuest, eh?
https://giphy.com/gifs/VMgcrwq9imGHu