Kevin Bostic
Irreverent and fallacious names for some of Kabul's main streets appear to have made their way into Apple's Maps app, leading some iOS users to find roads such as "Bad Monkey" and "Hillbilly Hameed" when navigating the Afghan capital.
"Mojo Way" and other bogus road names were discovered by Yaroslav Trofimov, Kabul bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, who tweeted his findings under the hashtag #TooGoodToBeTrue.
The strangely named roads appear to stem from OpenStreetMap data, added by Afghan university students several years ago as a prank or as a means to give temporary names to roads under dispute. Since dropping Google's mapping solution with the release of iOS 6, Apple has relied upon data from OpenStreetMap — a user-editable mapping service — as well as other map services to build its maps app.
Speaking with UN Dispatch, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team director Kate Chapman explained that the error likely stems from Apple taking "an old snapshot of the OpenStreetMap data and [not updating] it since, so things like 'personal' street names are in there, even if they have been fixed since."
Apple's Maps app was a blemish on what was otherwise a well-received new build of iOS. Many users around the world were vocal in complaining about the new Maps app's shortcomings, especially in comparison to the Google Maps app it replaced.
Apple quickly apologized over the mapping mishap, promising to improve the service and even letting go of personnel over the imbroglio. The company has since built a Maps-specific team to address the problem.
Wesley Hilliard
Bon Adamson
Thomas Sibilly
Marko Zivkovic
Andrew Orr
38 Comments
'Fallacious'?
Or just 'false'?
'Fallacious'?
Or just 'false'?
"Fallacious" carries with it the meaning of not just "false" but the intent to deceive someone. The information on the maps was not just incorrect (false) but was intentionally put there. So yes, "fallacious" is a fitting word.
[quote name="Benjer" url="/t/155515/prank-places-bad-monkey-other-fake-road-names-in-apple-maps#post_2260514"] "Fallacious" carries with it the meaning of not just "false" but the intent to deceive someone. The information on the maps was not just incorrect (false) but was intentionally put there. So yes, "fallacious" is a fitting word. [/quote] fallacious "based on a mistaken belief" false " not according with truth or fact; incorrect" " appearing to be the thing denoted; deliberately made or meant to deceive" fraudulent might apply to whoever applied the names.
[quote name="Benjer" url="/t/155515/prank-places-bad-monkey-other-fake-road-names-in-apple-maps#post_2260514"] "Fallacious" carries with it the meaning of not just "false" but the intent to deceive someone. The information on the maps was not just incorrect (false) but was intentionally put there. So yes, "fallacious" is a fitting word. [/quote] I've never heard it used that way. My understanding of the term is a mistaken belief usually presented as poor logic as with a fallacious argument. Perhaps you are conflating the word fictitious with fallacious. edit: Pipped by [B]JeffDM[/B] but I wonder if fraudulent is the [I]most[/I] apt as I think it could be argued that without a crime being committed it might come across as too harsh.
You can't depend on on publicly editable data. There will always be some mischievous pranksters, hackers, etc.