BootsnAll Travel Community

There seems to be no standardization for grouping countries. So that when you're looking for information some areas are very troubling and difficult to locate. Others seem misplaced.

Like Mexico. Now I know that Mexico is in north America, but it seems not bit north American. I think it should be grouped in Latin America. Latin America should be a group heading no matter where the country lies in relation to the equator.

I've been looking for info on Turkey. I find it included in sections on Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. I don't want to sift through subheadings on half the world looking for Turkey. A decision needs to be made. Is it Europe? Asia? Or the Middle East? Pick one and stick to it.

Even B & A is guilty. Central Asia discussions can be found in Europe and Asia and ocassionally the Middle East. Central Asia is somewhere--not everywhere. A decision needs to be reached so that Central Asia can be referenced in just one place. London, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all belong in the UK section. Bali does not deserve a folder of it's own here. South Africa is in Africa. Period.

We need to reach a consensus on where these difficult places should be filed. We should then notify the National Geographic Society, the Library of Congress, the Travel Channel, and Thorntree forums of the new and permanent lines of demarcation, "This country and that country have been permanently reassigned to this geographical area [semi] permanently. No dissention will be discussed. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter."

Simplification. It's a beautiful thing.

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Originally posted by Sophie9:London, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all belong in the UK section.

You may find beauty in simplification but I suspect, for example, that the Irish would not be happy to be lumped into a UK folder. It's not that simple, even if you do know your geography.

This is why the search tool is your friend

quote:

Originally posted by RalphTheWonderLlama:

quote:

Originally posted by Sophie9:London, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all belong in the UK section.

You may find beauty in simplification but I suspect, for example, that the Irish would not be happy to be lumped into a UK folder.

Beat me to it. In addition to the Irish faux pas, the whole geographic argument goes out the window with the idea of taking Mexico out of N. America.

I actually think the TT forum is pretty well organized, though. Europe - UK & Ireland (except for the order ); they have Turkey in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Turkey is always going be problematic to categorize but it's got to go somewhere.

And why is the UK lumped in to Europe all the time! We all know that it is a small island nation just of the coast Virginia/Maryland.

Haha. Jokes aside, I'm aware of what you describe because it exposes interesting bias, interest, ignorance, and what not in whomever is doing the grouping.

Latin America is a cultural conglomeration, not a geographical one. Where do Belize and Guyana fit? English-speaking nations (or patois) of Central and South America? Or Argentina? Sure, the first language is castellano with an Italian accent, but German is widely spoken and if you head south into Patagonia you'll find towns with Welsh names and Welsh speakers.

Many demographic projections show the U.S. to be a "Latin American" country by 2050 or so. Poor Canada will be the only country left in "North" America.

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Originally posted by Trentt:
Many demographic projections show the U.S. to be a "Latin American" country by 2050 or so. Poor Canada will be the only country left in "North" America.

Then, in 2050, BnA should reshuffle the forum structure again. In the interim, Mexico arguably belongs in the Central America forum.

I think I suggested a Central Asia forum a couple of years ago, but with the addition of the tags feature it has become less of an issue. (Just so long as we make use of them.) Frankly, delineating along regional (much less cultural) lines would make the forums look more like a tapestry than a list. The current structure seems to serve its purpose as well as any other methodology.

It's the non-regional threads where we end up with a lot of overlapping topics. But that's the case with most forums. All the reorganizing in the world won't change it.

At the end of the day, I haven't ever had trouble finding information. And that's the mark of an adequate site structure. Plus, with Jessie, Joe, and the other mods on the case, misplaced posts rarely stay that way. BnA seems to function quite well.

Egypt is another tricky one. It's technically Africa, but the only viable overland routes out lead to Israel and Jordan. I know it's theoretically possible to exit via Libya and Sudan, but for most of us Egypt isn't connected to the rest of Africa.

I never know where to look for it in forums! And the search button isn't my friend at all - not when I'm just randomly surfing.

Mexico is pretty solidly North American in my book, though.

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Egypt is another tricky one.

It is, isn't it? Up there with the other great travelers debates of all time, like "what is the difference between a tourist and a 'traveler'"

For the record, I tend to vote more culturally, and hence Egypt qualifies as 'Middle East' in the Book According to Stoo.

I am agree. Egypt belongs in the Middle East. Let's get that fixed.

quote:

Originally posted by Sophie9:
I am agree. Egypt belongs in the Middle East. Let's get that fixed.

Well, hell, while we're fixing things, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Algeria aren't anymore "African" than Egypt. And let's not get started on Turkey's "Europeaness." By the time we've finished delineating between cultural groups, we'll have to have a forum for each country, and one for each province in Italy.

Here's another one that doesn't seem to belong anywhere: Azerbaijan. Absolutely not the Middle East, certainly not Europe, not central Asia. Where does it go?

Also it's combative neighbor, Armenia. Floating in geographical thin air.

I'm also tempted to include Albania.

We could go by tectonic plates. North America would get Greenland, Siberia, Cuba, and Guatemala. Honduras and Nicaragua get the Caribbean, Panama and Costa Rica are together as one, and South America gets split in three. Turkey goes it alone, as does much of Greece (both will be happy to hear that, although Turkey will get Cyprus). The Middle East is the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Syria ... but the Sinai, Israel, and Egypt all go to Africa. Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar need to find a new name, because they aren't Africa anymore. India gets her own continent, China gets her own although one reduced in size, SE Asia is about ten mini-continents combined, and Australia takes New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Japan is split. One half gets Korea, the other half gets Kamchatka.

Everything else is Asia, from Ireland to Laos (including Azerbaijan).

Science rules.

what about israel, where is that located?

Asia, Europe or Africa? It seems to touch them all

quote:

Originally posted by Sophie9:
Here's another one that doesn't seem to belong anywhere: Azerbaijan. Absolutely not the Middle East, certainly not Europe, not central Asia. Where does it go?

Also it's combative neighbor, Armenia. Floating in geographical thin air.

I'm also tempted to include Albania.

I think LP thorntree does a good job. Azerbaijan is in Eastern Europe and Caucasus over there.