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The biggest turnoff about AOL to me is that I wanted the internet to be a world thing not an America thing.
by dheera 5y ago
The biggest turnoff about AOL to me is that I wanted the internet to be a world thing not an America thing.
- kube-system 5y agoMost ISPs operate in a specific area, even today.
- dheera 5y agoSure, but that's usually a logistical limitation, not that you're supporting only having that specific area online. Also in general the word "America" turns me off unless used to refer to the entirety of North and South America, and wreaks of US-centric view of the world. United States of America (USA) != America
- adventured 5y agoAmerica == The United States of America The opening line on Wikipedia: "The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America" Even the French and German wikis say the same thing. Why? Because America is a near universally understood abbreviation of The United States of America. Logical brevity is all that's about. No other nation on the planet has "America" in its name, which is just one more reason why there's so little confusion about which nation is being referred to and why it's obviously a trivial matter. It has been a widely understood name for the US for two centuries. It has been in wide use since long before the US was a globally relevant or powerful nation, which entirely invalidates your notion that it somehow relates to a US-centric view of the world. The people of the US are very commonly known as Americans, not USians or United Statesians. North America is a continent. South America is a continent. America is the abbreviated name for a country. It's not complicated to differentiate.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- dheera 5y ago> commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America Well I disagree. "Commonly known as" doesn't mean logically correct. For that matter ticks and pill bugs are commonly known as insects but they aren't. > Logical brevity is all that's about. US (2 syllables) is shorter than America (4 syllables) > No other nation on the planet has "America" in its name Well South Africa might have Africa in its name but it isn't known as "Africa". Being the largest country by size doesn't mean anything either, as Saudi Arabia has "Arabia" in its name but isn't known as "Arabia". "Arabia" also includes Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. > The people of the US are very commonly known as Americans I would argue that Canadians and Mexicans and Peruvians are also Americans, just like Egyptians and Nigerians and Ethiopians are all Africans. > not USians or United Statesians. Funny you say because in Spanish it is completely valid to say exactly that. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-58389811 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-58389811 "El ejército estadounidense ..." "Los últimos vuelos estadounidenses ..." https://www.wfla.com/tampa-hoy/mundo/algunos-estadounidenses-no-pueden-irse-cuando-las-ultimas-tropas-salen-de-afganistan-poniendo-fin-a-la-guerra-mas-larga-de-estados-unidos/ https://www.wfla.com/tampa-hoy/mundo/algunos-estadounidenses... "Algunos estadounidenses ..."
- floren 5y ago"reeks".
- kube-system 5y agoThe name "America Online" was never a political statement, it was always a logistical description of their service area. Also, English is a language where words may have multiple valid meanings, which are determined by its use, and the onus is placed on the reader to determine which meaning was intended by the speaker.
- seattle_spring 5y agoThis is why I don't use Peruvian Airlines: air travel should be global but these wiseguys only want it to be Peruvian!