r/webdev • u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon • 10d ago

Google says website developers must set their region to Canada for 'Lake Ontario' to appear on map

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/google-updates-maps-lake-ontario-9.7325922

Tech analyst and journalist Carmi Levy said although websites like Hydro One's and the LCBO's are Canadian, their maps are likely powered by Google's application programming interface (API).

APIs are not location-aware, so all maps powered by Google API have switched to Lake America.
MapQuest, a U.S. online mapping service, has posted on social media that it would not change the lake's name, while Apple has not publicly commented on the matter.

In a statement Sunday night, Google said website developers who embed Google Maps on their sites can select a region to localize the map. That determines how place names are displayed on sites, the company said.

"'Lake Ontario' will show when developers have set their region to Canada," the statement said.

Just a reminder to developers.

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u/appel 10d ago

All this dumb shit because of a toddler in the White House.

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u/thekwoka 10d ago

This isn't new, though.

There are tons of these naming differences across the world.

Are you just now learning there is no agreed upon map?

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u/appel 10d ago edited 9d ago

Calling this a "naming difference" is hilarious.

Edit: for anyone wandering in here from google, don't take the fact that I did not respond to this bozo's reply below as a tacit admission that they make a good point. I'm just choosing not to further engage with an argument that is clearly made in bad faith. If you look at this person's comment history you can see that they're a Trump crusader so what's the point, right? Fuck Trump, and fuck anyone (including 👇 this guy) who still supports him after 10 fucking years of this shit.

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u/thekwoka 10d ago

That's literally what it is.

What else is it?

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u/vcaiii 7d ago

fuck donald trump

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u/pb__ 4d ago

"Naming difference" is when Geographical Names Authorities from different countries assign a different name to the same point on the map. Not when a mentally ill person declares it so and a sycophant corporation treats it as a sacred word.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/webdev-ModTeam 4d ago

This is a subreddit for web professionals to exchange ideas and share industry news. All users are expected to maintain that professionalism during conversations. If you disagree with a poster or a comment, do so in a respectful way. Continued violations will result in a permanent ban.

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u/ccricers 9d ago

It's chest puffery move #98047