# I pit Aol's Election Map **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340 "2008-11-05T20:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![accidentalyuppie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@accidentalyuppie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/accidentalyuppie)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/1 "2008-11-05T20:19:35Z")
You freakin’ dumbing-down morons > **[News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines](https://www.aol.com/news/)** > > Get breaking news and the latest headlines on business, entertainment, politics, world news, tech, sports, videos and much more from AOL It’s NOT “Staten Island County”, It’s Richmond County It’s Not “Manhattan County”, It’s New York County It’s NOT “Brooklyn County” It’s Kings County If you REALLY feel that your readers/viewers are going to be confused by the correct county names, at least format it as Kings County (Brooklyn)…etc. But don’t MAKE UP YOUR OWN names for counties just because you think your readers will be tooo confused if you don’t. SHEESH… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/2 "2008-11-06T00:30:58Z")
That is pretty bad, but it’s about on par with AOL’s usual level of competence. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/3 "2008-11-06T00:36:19Z")
Actually, CNN does the same thing on its [New York](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/county/#NYP00map) map. It doesn’t put the word “County” in, but all the other counties in the state are refeerred to by their correct names (Otsego, Rensselaer, Westchester, etc.), while Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island are all given their borough names. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/4 "2008-11-06T00:55:57Z")
AOL is still around? I stopped getting their bulk mail CD’s a few years ago and just assumed that meant they went out of business or something. I don’t even think I know anyone with an aol e-mail address any more. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/5 "2008-11-06T01:02:58Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > AOL is still around? > > I stopped getting their bulk mail CD’s a few years ago and just assumed that meant they went out of business or something. I don’t even think I know anyone with an aol e-mail address any more. What you said. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/6 "2008-11-06T01:24:53Z")
Who gives a shit what the names of counties are? There’s a difference between dumbing down, and just ignoring irrelevant details for simplicity’s sake. Anyone who does know the names of the counties will obviously understand what “Queens County” means. Anyone who doesn’t (like myself), and is trying to get information out of that map, will be happy to see “Queens County” instead “Whateverthefuck County”. What are you going to whine about next, the fact that Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts are listed as states when in reality, they’re technically “Commonwealths”? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/7 "2008-11-06T04:16:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] > > AOL is still around? > > I stopped getting their bulk mail CD’s a few years ago and just assumed that meant they went out of business or something. I don’t even think I know anyone with an aol e-mail address any mor What you said. [/QUOTE] Wanna know something _really_ mind-boggling? [CompuServe](http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/menu/default.jsp) is still around ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/8 "2008-11-06T05:05:00Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Wanna know something _really_ mind-boggling? > > [CompuServe](http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/menu/default.jsp) is still around Next thing you’ll be telling me Lycos is still around. Lycos chat rooms were my first “home” on the internet. Oh, Oniongum’s House of Mystery, where did you go? ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/9 "2008-11-06T05:26:06Z")
I noticed this too on a couple of the maps I was looking at. At least on the ones I saw didn’t append the word “county” to the end. Then you could say that it wasn’t as bad if they used the borough names. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/10 "2008-11-06T05:38:27Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Anyone who does know the names of the counties will obviously understand what “Queens County” means. Anyone who doesn’t (like myself), and is trying to get information out of that map, will be happy to see “Queens County” instead “Whateverthefuck County”. It’s a good thing for you that Queens is in Queens County, then. 😛 > [@](#): > > What are you going to whine about next, the fact that Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts are listed as states when in reality, they’re technically “Commonwealths”? But they’re not – they’re listed just as “Kentucky” and “Pennsylvania” and so on, which is fine. The OP doesn’t object to listing Brooklyn as Brooklyn, but there is no such thing as “Brooklyn County” in New York. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/11 "2008-11-06T07:28:02Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > …while Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island are all given their borough names. Queens is the borough name & the county name. Now, if they called the county Jamaica, that would be a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aols-election-map/471340/12 "2008-11-06T07:58:44Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Queens is the borough name & the county name. Now, if they called the county Jamaica, that would be a bit much. Of course you are right. I meant to write Brooklyn, not Queens.