# Why does my computer want me to be French?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-want-me-to-be-french/290045>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 14, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-want-me-to-be-french/290045 "2005-02-14T18:14:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-want-me-to-be-french/290045/1 "2005-02-14T18:14:56Z")

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Every time I visit a site that has a French counterpart, like Google or Yahoo, my computer always tries to send me to the French one. And all my adds on such sites are in French. What’s up with that? None of the prior users were French. Any idea why my computer is a francophile?

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**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-want-me-to-be-french/290045/2 "2005-02-14T22:04:46Z")

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These sites usually make a guess about the country you are in by looking up your IP address in a database. In some cases these databases get it wrong. Perhaps the ISP you are using has registered an IP address block via their French subsidiary but also allocates addresses from this block to US customers on dial-in? Does the ISP you use operate internationally?

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**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-want-me-to-be-french/290045/3 "2005-02-15T00:52:35Z")

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> [@tschild](#):
>
> These sites usually make a guess about the country you are in by looking up your IP address in a database. In some cases these databases get it wrong. Perhaps the ISP you are using has registered an IP address block via their French subsidiary but also allocates addresses from this block to US customers on dial-in? Does the ISP you use operate internationally?

Hmmmm, it’s a T-1 at work, hooked up to GE’s network, so I guess that’s a possiblity. It’s just goofy.