Ok I hope I won't come off as an ass here. I'm not always the most eloquent.
One thing that was quite grating on Reddit, was how most "global" subreddits were basically defaulting to the USA.
For example, people would ask questions in general question subs - "Can I legally...?" ”Is a teacher allowed to...?", "How much does it cost to...?" and unless they specify the country, you were just supposed to assume it's the US, with people from other countries keeping such questions to specific subs.
And this is just a bit weird to non-Americans who always need to specify their jurisdiction or place when it's relevant.
On Reddit it kinda made sense as Americans were almost half of all users, but with Lemmy, anyone can run an instance from wherever.
There is a bunch of instances dedicated to countries or regions.
But Lemmy.world has "world" right there in the title. So don't assume everyone is from the same place as you.
Don't get me wrong, I do love the global community! But I also don't want to get confused and make assumptions.
So all I ask is some of these things:
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If you're asking the global community a question, making a comment etc., that is specific to some area(s) of the world, always specify the place, even if it seems self-explanatory.
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Similarly, when using generic terms such as "congress", "conservative", "west coast" or "health insurance", keep in mind that lots of countries have those too in some form or another. Specify what you're talking about.
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Careful with names of places, especially abbreviation. By CA, do you mean Canada or California? Is IN India or Indiana? Is SD an SD card? UK is an university now? And so on. I personally think abbreviation should default to countries or global organizations, if anything - such as UK, EU, UN.
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When creating/managing a community, use the Display Name to specify what you mean. (I won't call anyone out but I kinda want to...)
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If you see someone making these assumptions, maybe let them know it can be confusing for the others.
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Consider using (or creating) an instance or community that's more region-specific or interest-specific . I don't want to kick anyone out, don't get me wrong, but everyone can subscribe everywhere, so...
I've seen instances for many countries (and the US midwest)... But not one for USA as a whole yet. So, just keep in mind the community is global.
Again, sorry if I come off harsh, it's not my intent, and I don't even mean to call out people from the US specifically. It's just that on Reddit, this has often lead to some toxicity (r/USDefaultism and some other "defaultism" subs) and it would be a shame to bring that here as well.
And you know, just to try to avoid confusion.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Last year, or the year before, I was on a private Discord server. Some new user just logged in, and I asked them "Where are you from?", and they replied "I'm from Cali." I thought to myself "Wonderful, a Colombian dude whom I can speak in Spanish with", until some other user asked "How is the weather in Los Angeles?". Dude, to me Cali is not California, but a Colombian town.
This is written by a Spanish user.
Reminds me of the time my dad met someone with a thick southern accent who said he was from LA - Lower Alabama
LA can mean a lot of things depending on the context which you usually won't get unless you know some background information about somebody, that's a great example.
@Ignacio @WhoRoger I'm from Cali and yes it's ghetto way of saying California. It's a California thing 😁
I know that because I actually had the same exchange once years ago and it also took me a second to put together.
See, to me that speaks to a lack of awareness. I live 30 minutes from a town called Dublin. But if someone on the internet starts talking about "Dublin", I'm going to assume the city in Ireland, not the town near me.
Cali is the actual name of the Colombian city. "Cali” is, as @jcb2016_, said, just a ghetto way of saying "California".
In any case, the lack of awareness comes from whoever defaults everything to the USA.
Cali, Colombia: 2.2 million residents
California: 39.2 million residents, not to mention much more recognizable in the broader English and Spanish speaking culture
It's not "just" a ghetto way of saying California, it's a very common phrase across the English speaking world, like saying "US" instead of "United States". You didn't recognize it. That's fine. You don't have to be offended by it. Next time you'll know.
To me this says you're intentionally looking for something to get offended about. Most people would go "ha, funny mixup" and then move on with their life.
Nice way of going around life just making wild assumptions about everything so your imagination carving for drama gets pleased, but no one is getting remotely offended. Plus you’re wrong, ask any Spanish speaking person where Cali is and they’ll say Colombia.
Illuminate me with your logic then… If I say I’m from Mexico, am I from New Mexico USA since it’s much more recognizable in the broader “English and Spanish speaking culture”? Or am I from Mexico City since it has more residents?
But all righty then, let’s just inherit the Reddit way and dismiss this entire thread (buncho’ offended foreigners looking to get offended, pshh...), and just default every conversation, place, name, and topic to the USA. 👍
No, they won’t. Especially as you described the conversation that elicited the anger as occurring in English, on a predominantly English platform. If you were in Spanish speaking, South or Central American forum speaking in Spanish? Then yes sure. The situation you described, then no.
As I said elsewhere in this thread...people with a mindset like his are probably 13 and very sheltered/insular. Imagine the kind of person so ill informed as to not know "Cali" usually refers to "California", and then the type of person to get offended about it...
I asked 4. "When I say Cali, what place do you think of?" All 4 immediately said California. One also said, "oh yeah I guess that's a city in Colombia too right?" He's from Chile.
Just face it. You've got a small, local view of the world. The vast majority of the globe is familiar with California, and not with one city in Colombia. Take this as a lesson that you should broaden your horizons.
Also
That just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Mexico the country is far more widely known than New Mexico the state. Someone says Mexico, everyone assumes the country.
Same as my Dublin example above. If I say I went to Dublin when talking to my neighbor, they'll probably understand I'm talking about the city near me. If I say it to a stranger on the internet, they'll think I was in Ireland. That's normal. I wouldn't expect them to know that Dublin is the name of an American city. I need to clarify.
Again, I think you just don't have much experience in the world and only know what's common in your little corner of it. You're in a global community now and you need to learn what's normal here.
Proceeds to write a whole comment about how not offended they are actually. Cali is an incredibly common shortening of the most populous and one of the most talked about US states. It’s also common in American media, which in my experience many foreigners consume. American media that was probably made in Cali. I think they could just chalk this up to a regional misunderstanding and forget it, unless it is just an easy way for them to start arguments with Americans. I’m just surprised it’s not Europeans this time, I thought they had it trademarked.
The weird part here is that when stumbling into a bunch of strangers online, the logical thing to start with would be the country, and not a slang name of one state.
Imagine someone on CoD tells you they're from Gròśč, you'd probably be like wut?
California has 39 million people in it, is the size of Italy, is the 5th largest economy in the world, and has a massive cultural presence. It's not "just a state". Anyone who speaks English or Spanish should be aware that California is part of the US, much like everyone should be aware that Spain is in the EU. It's part of the common body of knowledge we should all know.