Fix the location names :: Suggestions / Ideas

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sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:39am

Fix the location names

First of all, when choosing United Kingdom it has (Great Britain) in brackets which makes no sense since the UK is not just made up of "Great Britain" it also has Northern Ireland.

Second, steam calls Londonderry "Derry" which is not its official name so I've no idea why steam feels the need to take sides in ridiculous political conflicts.

Third, Falklands should not have "Malvinas" next to them, since it doesn't exist and isn't an official name for anything. You've just insulted everyone who comes from the Falklands.

I've no idea why Steam has decided to take sides and put unofficial names for places which could offend people who actually live there.
Bizarre.

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I brought a gun 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:47am

Probably because most of Valve's staff is American, so doesn't know about these political conflicts at all, much like you aren't from Nevada so ten to one odds you pronounce it wrong. They're only aware that these are another name, folk or not, referring to the same location.

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:50am

It's just absurd that they do that, it's so petty and unnecessary. It means someone from the Falklands is forced to have the unofficial name from Argentina, a country which invaded them, locked them up, destroyed their homes and made their lives hell.

Shame no one from Valve will probably even read this but it was really stupid of them.

I brought a gun 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:54am

Originally posted by giraffe:
It's just absurd that they do that, it's so petty and unnecessary. It means someone from the Falklands is forced to have the unofficial name from Argentina, a country which invaded them, locked them up, destroyed their homes and made their lives hell.

Shame no one from Valve will probably even read this but it was really stupid of them.

Sorry for being impatient, but please take a deep breath, count to ten, and reread my post. It addresses, quite specifically, the exact issue you just repeated. As I told someone else not long ago, posting while angry is pretty universally a bad idea.

Also, I can assure you a Steam staffer probably already saw this. I had the same concern and asked, and learned the Suggestions/Ideas forum is regularly perused by a staffer, and really good ideas or particularly glaring concerns get handed up. As this issue relates to offending potential customers, it probably will get handed up. So don't worry about that.

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:56am

Wh-what? I wasn't even arguing with you :I

I brought a gun 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:01am

Originally posted by giraffe:
Wh-what? I wasn't even arguing with you :I

You replied, called it "petty" wich it cannot be without conscious understanding that it's in error, and "stupid", which is debatable at best (again, most people who pronounce Nevada wrong aren't stupid, just ignorant to a strictly regional issue; hell, I'd probably be pretty pissed if you called ME stupid for not knowing until today the name Malvinas is offensive to a Falklander) after I had explained why they probably made the error. This is why I thought you were arguing, sorry for the misunderstanding.

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:04am

(/◡＼) no I wasn't calling you sutpid or anything
I just think pronunciation is a bit different because obviously Valve as a company should realise what they're typing in their software, just seems like it would be an extra step to add-in controversial names and such in brackets.
I doubt they'll fix it though, since Yugoslavia was on the list until a couple of days ago and it collapsed before steam even existed lol.

Felix 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:09am

Valve get their geographical data from a third party (paid) source.
Unfortunately that third party source hasn't been updated for a while. I recall Mike Blaszczak saying they COULD spend a large portion of time updating these locations and flags, however all of their updates would get wiped if the third party source made an update.

There's also the point that the Valve team have more work to do than they have resources (humans!) so tasks need to be sorted by priority. As you can imagine, the small location detail on a Steam Profile is pretty low priority.

Last edited by Felix; 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:10am

I brought a gun 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:18am

Originally posted by giraffe:
just seems like it would be an extra step to add-in controversial names and such in brackets.

While my reply is obviously obsolete in light of Frazer's, it would actually be more effort to find out that those names are controversial to begin with, than to simply be aware they exist and refer to the location in question.

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 8:20am

Originally posted by FrazerJC:
Valve get their geographical data from a third party (paid) source.
Unfortunately that third party source hasn't been updated for a while. I recall Mike Blaszczak saying they COULD spend a large portion of time updating these locations and flags, however all of their updates would get wiped if the third party source made an update.

There's also the point that the Valve team have more work to do than they have resources (humans!) so tasks need to be sorted by priority. As you can imagine, the small location detail on a Steam Profile is pretty low priority.

Yeah, but recently the names were changed. The Yugoslavian flag was removed and the Falklands have been renamed.
I guess that's the only reason I decided to post, it bugs me every time I see my country split up by other people especially at a time when it's probably going to get split up soon anyway ;__;

Felix 16 Feb, 2013 @ 9:31am

I can understand the frustration, but unfortunately all I can do is rely on what I've been told in the past by a Valve employee. Circumtances may well have changed as it was a couple of years ago when he said it, but the chances are the reasoning is still the same. Sorry!

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sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 9:33am

i wonder what it will show if scotland gets independunce
;_;

#11

BitmapBrother 16 Feb, 2013 @ 10:19am

Originally posted by giraffe:
First of all, when choosing United Kingdom it has (Great Britain) in brackets which makes no sense since the UK is not just made up of "Great Britain" it also has Northern Ireland.

Second, steam calls Londonderry "Derry" which is not its official name so I've no idea why steam feels the need to take sides in ridiculous political conflicts.

Third, Falklands should not have "Malvinas" next to them, since it doesn't exist and isn't an official name for anything. You've just insulted everyone who comes from the Falklands.

I've no idea why Steam has decided to take sides and put unofficial names for places which could offend people who actually live there.
Bizarre.

I dont understand your post. it has Great Britain in brackets which is composed of England NORTHER IRELAND, Scotland and Wales. I'm assuming you Live in Londonderry which happens to be in N.Ireland which comes under UK, or Great Britain. What's the problem ?

#12

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 10:27am

No. Great Britain does not include Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the geographical name for the largest island in the British Isles.

Great Britain = Scotland, Wales & England. That's why on my british passport it says "United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland".

The name in brackets suggests that Ulster isn't part of the UK, when it is.
They also call it "Derry" instead of Londonderry.

#13

BitmapBrother 16 Feb, 2013 @ 11:19am

Yes.It.Does. Just not officially because of the I.R.A. Your second point. That would be like me wanting the area of Hammersmith to be called the Royal Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (its official title by the way) Bit silly wouldn't you agree ?

#14

sjiraff 16 Feb, 2013 @ 11:23am

No look, Great Britain is just the name of the biggest island - it DOESN'T include Northern Ireland. Go google it my friend. Check your passport too yo.

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Date Posted: 16 Feb, 2013 @ 7:39am

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