Google Maps Ditches Walking Calorie Counter After Backlash (engadget.com)

Following online backlash, Google is removing a planned feature in Maps that shows you how many calories you'd burn when in walking mode. Google's attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle caused a number of people to lambast the feature on Twitter, claiming it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders. Engadget reports: Taking note of the negative reaction, Google is now dumping the experiment. It confirmed to Engadget that the update was briefly tested on iOS, and has been abandoned based on user feedback. As The Hill's Taylor Lorenz noted in her tweets, there was no way to turn off the feature. Lorenz also claimed that using pink cupcakes as the unit of measurement was "lowkey aimed at women." Others pointed out that Maps wasn't the appropriate place for the update. After all, there are plenty of fitness and calorie counting apps that keep track of your activity and consumption -- again emphasizing how misplaced the feature was.

Comments

Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't need to be hypersensitive to object to a lifestyle feature in the map app.

Other health features would be ok - like air pollution overlay

Re:Whatever

[Man On Pink Corner]

If only it weren't against every principle of modern UI design to, you know, actually ALLOW PEOPLE TO TURN FEATURES ON AND OFF.

Because if it were, those who find a given feature useful could turn it on (or leave it turned on), and those who don't want it could simply turn it off (or leave it turned off), all without starting a massive Twitstorm.

But of course, it's no longer fashionable to trouble the user with such responsibilities. Google Knows What's Best For Us All(tm)... and if they don't, Apple and Microsoft will be happy to take on the burden of making decisions on our collective behalf.

Re:Whatever

[outlander]

I like the feature. It kinda makes sense.....I get that people with eating disorders and stuff can be hypersensitive to calorie counts and that it can cause them to engage in the behaviors that they're trying to avoid, but gah, still....it's a useful feature for those of us who try to walk as part of a fitness regimen and really need to track what our exercise buys us.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Re:Whatever

[Nethemas the Great]

What do I not get about people with eating disorders that would cause them to short-circuit by seeing a calorie estimate if they walked? Seems to me that it'd make for a positive motivator; it would encourage people to dare I suggest, "walk." I have a hard time seeing this as anything more than guilt avoidance by people choosing exercise impoverished lifestyles.

To me it looked like a pretty cool feature. It posed a "what if" that might encourage me to opt-in to walking when I otherwise might not have decided to walk and therefore opened my exercise tracking app. That's kind of a shame, I hope they revisit the idea, and just pacify the nay-sayers with an "off" switch.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

There are many Type II diabetics out there who are controlling their blood sugar with drugs that have the unfortunate side effect of increasing their appetite. This makes it very difficult for them to avoid weight gain. I'd think that having an app that counts how many calories you're burning, especially one that you can't turn off, would be very unpleasant for them because of the implication that they could get rid of that extra weight "if they only tried harder."

Re:Whatever

[I'm New Around Here]

Speaking of UI design, I just with that Google Maps did the one thing I do request of it: Show the English names.

I understand that hundreds of villages in China may not have English-translatable names, but the Chinese characters certainly do have English-character translations. But when I am looking at Europe and every village is in the local language, I wonder why there is the option to choose English if it doesn't show the names in English.

Re:Whatever

[I'm New Around Here]

I think they mean the opposite end of the spectrum as well. Those who think they are fat, even though they wear a size 0 dress. The ones that have to burn off the calories from a banana.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Uhm... because you can't translate proper names? Quick, what's Chicago in German?

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

I think his point is that you can transliterate them

Re:Whatever

[youngone]

Quick, what's Chicago in German?

Kaltesdreckloch.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

How do people feel about those "You could save up to 15% on your car insurance by switching to Geico" commercials? They must be insulting to non-Geico customers.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

As a society we passed "Just get over it." at least 20 years ago, then blew straight past "If one person is offended then no one gets to do it." into where we now are: "If one person is offended then it's a hate crime."

Re:Whatever

[KiloByte]

Hell yeah this. Everyone even semi-educated can read the Latin script these days -- most languages have a sane letter-to-sound mapping (*cough* English and French), thus even if you don't know that Polish 'w' is pronounced 'v' or Spanish 'j' is 'h', you'll get it close enough to be understood in speech.

I've made program (Debian package "tran") to transcribe (ok, transliterate with a 1/4-assed attempt at transcription) between writing scripts -- it'd be great if Google could pipe the names through this.

This version lacks CJK support as those characters are logographs rather than letters, thus they convey meaning rather than a series of sounds, but if you know which language they're in, the Unihan_Readings database is good enough for a first stab.

Re: Whatever

[poity]

air pollution overlay

Uh... I don't have the funds to move out of an industrial area and it would trigger me to see this information

Re:Whatever

[Meski]

There are many Type II diabetics out there who are controlling their blood sugar with drugs that have the unfortunate side effect of increasing their appetite. This makes it very difficult for them to avoid weight gain. I'd think that having an app that counts how many calories you're burning, especially one that you can't turn off, would be very unpleasant for them because of the implication that they could get rid of that extra weight "if they only tried harder."

<Puts hand up>

yes, but you're unlikely to manage your weight issues just by exercise. You *have* to eat less as well. An app that suggests exercise alone will fix your problems is counterproductive. And then there's BMR, which might exceed your calorific exercise burn. Get an app that does it all, and not a half-arsed one that just monitors exercise. And if you're T2, and you *are* gaining, it's just going to get worse, as you're going to need ever increasing amounts of those drugs that make you hungry. FWIW, Byetta got me off that positive feedback treadmill, to mix some metaphors.

Re:Whatever

[I'm New Around Here]

Uhm... because you can't translate proper names?

Really? Let's see.

Open Google Maps in a new tab. Go to Europe. Zoom in on Hungary. Look northwest of Budapest. There is a green area named "Budai Tájvédelmi körzet". Pointing the mouse at the label, a box pops up with the English translation: Buda Landscape Protection Area -- I imagine the equivalent of a national forest or wildlife refuge.

So Google Maps knows the English version of the name, yet shows the local language on the map, despite my clear choice of English in the Settings page.

Besides, I already said that not every village will have an English-translatable name. Just like not every English, European, or American town has a name that translates directly into Chinese.

Re:Whatever

[cayenne8]

Quick, what's Chicago in German?

That would be "Yerdedmuthafuker'.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Shit like this is why Trump got elected. People are sick of a few triggered millenials ruining anything that threatens to expose their carefully constructed illusions.

Re:Whatever

[magarity]

What do I not get about people with eating disorders that would cause them to short-circuit by seeing a calorie estimate if they walked?

But the calorie counter is a pink cupcake on a system called Oreo, talk about the double whammy. No wonder they lost it.

Re:Whatever

[ShanghaiBill]

This version lacks CJK support as those characters are logographs rather than letters, thus they convey meaning rather than a series of sounds

That is true for C and J, but not for K. K is phonetic.

Re:Whatever

[ShanghaiBill]

I think they mean the opposite end of the spectrum as well. Those who think they are fat, even though they wear a size 0 dress. The ones that have to burn off the calories from a banana.

Burning off the banana calories with exercise is almost certainly better than vomiting it up, using laxatives to poop it out, or not eating it at all.

For everyone with an eating disorder who exercises too much, there are probably 10 that exercise too little.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

yes, but you're unlikely to manage your weight issues just by exercise. You *have* to eat less as well.

Or, in my case, eat more calories without eating more carbs, because I'm Type 1.5 and I've been underweight for years. I was thrilled to learn that NovaLog causes weight gain, but all I gained was four pounds, less than half of what I was hoping for.

Re:Whatever

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Don't diabetics also benefit from walking in general, or doesn't walking help prevent diabetes? I'm not sure that diabetics are in the end a good argument *against* this.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

Just about everybody, including diabetics benefits from walking. My point was that counting steps, as in a pedometer is a good way to tell if you're getting enough exercise, but for many people who don't or can't get as much exercise as they need, the constant calorie count can look like a way to shame them into walking more, and that's counterproductive.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

And how does making an idiot president of your country solve that?

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Spanish 'j' is 'h'

The J is pronounced similar to Scottish/German/Dutch 'ch'. It's nothing like 'h' in English.

Re: Whatever

[Cederic]

It sends a very clear message that modern politics is failing to meet the needs of around half of the voting public, and change is required.

Not too dissimilar to the Brexit vote really. Dissatisfaction reached tipping point and people voted for something that they knew would hurt because it was still superior to the status quo.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Google drives me nuts: when I travel, why does it change the search page to the local one? They know my browser lang is set to en_gb, and I usually use google.co.uk, so why would I want results in a language I can't understand simply because I'm away? If I really want, I can choose google.hk for my searches.

And that goes for the maps too. Although I can recognise a few Chinese characters is set conditions, I certainly can't pick them out in a general sentence. It's an incredibly challenging language for foreigners. With most Roman script languages, you can make up sounds in your head and work with them. With a little effort, you can quickly get to that point with Greek and Cyrillic. No way can you do this with Chinese, Japanese, etc. So... show me names at least using Pinyin. The street signs in places like Shanghai even use Pinyin (even if I can't access Google Maps when I'm there on the ground!)

Re:Whatever

[reboot246]

We will eventually arrive at a point where nobody will even look at another person, much less try to communicate with them. I think we'll call it "the end of civilization".

I'm old and I hope I'm dead before we reach that point, but y'all have fun with it!

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

It sends a very clear message that modern politics is failing to meet the needs of around half of the voting public, and change is required.

Change for the worse doesn't solve the problem.

Not too dissimilar to the Brexit vote really. Dissatisfaction reached tipping point and people voted for something that they knew would hurt because it was still superior to the status quo.

The Brexit vote was a perfect example of cutting off the nose to spite the face. It's in nobody's interest, except for external parties that want to divide European countries and put them up against each other (i.e., Russia and the USA). Many voters only did it to annoy a few national politicians. But than, many would probably have voted differently had they known the outcome beforehand.

Re:Whatever

[KiloByte]

North Korean is purely phonetic, yeah. South Korean, though, contaminates a perfectly good alphabet (it's an alphabet even though they have that weird-for-us combining of three letters into one glyph) with Chinese logographs. Thus, they degrade a script which, true to the words of its 15th century inventor, can be learned in hours, into a monstrosity that requires several years to learn.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing like "h" in English? I am fairly certain that "Julio" is pronounced "hoolio".

Re:Whatever

[TimothyHollins]

If they aren't walking enough as is, "shaming" them into not walking more doesn't have any effect whatsoever. At the same time, consider all those people that *would* benefit from seeing how many calories they could lose.

Not everyone must conform to the wishes of the very small subset of T2DMs that somehow managed to get offended by seeing a calorie counter. Sometimes we have to live with not having the world shaped exactly the way we want it after all, and we might even grow as people from the experience.

Re:Whatever

[sabbede]

Which they easily could have done with what is clearly a beta feature. Instead they got rid of it all together. Why? The only explanation I can come up with is the nature of the complaints. Nonsense about fat-shaming and "triggers".

It was a good idea and a good feature. I bet a lot of people would have loved it. But it hurt the feelings of some over-sensitive idiots, so now nobody can use it.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

It isn't. See e.g this video, with plenty of examples (indluding Julio).

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

The Brexit vote was a perfect example of cutting off the nose to spite the face. It's in nobody's interest, except for external parties that want to divide European countries and put them up against each other (i.e., Russia and the USA). Many voters only did it to annoy a few national politicians. But than, many would probably have voted differently had they known the outcome beforehand.

I'm a liberal who voted remain and can confidently say that this is a load of horseshit. Most people voted leave because it makes long term economic sense and the UK gets *very little* in return for their monetary contributions to the EU. UK politicians went to the EU several times to try and get issues resolved and negotiate a better partnership, but nobody in the EU thought the UK would have the balls to walk away, so they said "screw you" to all attempts.

The UK was very sensible in deciding to leave a one sided relationship and many of those who voted remain are disgusted at the behavior of the EU since the vote (seriously, they're acting like 4 year olds) and are now in the leave camp.

Please stop spreading false narrative that the people in the UK are regretting the decision, they really aren't.

Re:Whatever

[Custard Horse]

Furthermore, conforming to every small subset (to make it fair) will result in something that is worthless or result in nothing at all (e.g. those who insist that sat-nav/electronic maps are no substitute for a paper map).

If showing calories is causing people with eating disorders some grief perhaps we should remove all information on retail food packaging. We wouldn't want somebody with anorexia to see that an Oreo contains 25 calories otherwise they might choose not to upgrade their Android device.

Of course, as has been said already, if Google permitted the calorie function to be switched off that would be a simple fix and would hopefully please everyone.....(who am I kidding?!)

Re:Whatever

[datavirtue]

If I was being shown icons of cupcakes I would get super hungry for cake. I'm breaking into a sweat just thinking about the crunchy skin on the icing right now.

Re: Whatever

[BlazeMiskulin]

It depends on which version of Spanish you're talking about. There are many accents (and even dialects) for Spanish, with the most significant being the basic New World/Old World split.

When I was in the Mexico City area, for example, I found that the J often makes almost no sound. So Julio sounded like "Oolio".

Re: Whatever

[ffreeloader]

It says a lot about our so-called cultures that you feel the need to post this as an AC to avoid the political backlash of speaking out on what really is happening with Brexit. I call our cultures so-called because any culture that cannot/will_not allow the free expression of ideas that reject the current media/academia/elite-imposed mantra is not a viable/self-sustaining culture. It is a self-destructive culture that will eat it's own and thus destroy itself through lack of the ability to actually think.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a liberal who voted remain and can confidently say that this is a load of horseshit. Most people voted leave because it makes long term economic sense

I'm looking forward to your explanation to how leaving a free-trade bloc with most of the UK's trade partners makes long-term economic sense.

the UK gets *very little* in return for their monetary contributions to the EU.

The UK's monetary contributions are tiny compared to the size of the UK economy (as they are for every EU member state) and even compared to other EU countries the UK doesn't pay a lot, as they get some major rebates the other EU members previously agreed to in order to keep the UK aboard.

UK politicians went to the EU several times to try and get issues resolved and negotiate a better partnership

That never happened. In fact, the UK has for decades lobbied against improvements.

but nobody in the EU thought the UK would have the balls to walk away, so they said "screw you" to all attempts.

Although it is annoying for outher countries too, the UK mostly screwed themselves, not someone else and while it may sometime take balls to do something very stupid, that doesn't make it a good idea.

The UK was very sensible in deciding to leave a one sided relationship

The UK could instead have opted to make the relationship less one-sided. It was entirely their own choice to isolate themselves, stay out of the Euro and seek exceptions to pretty much every EU agreement.

many of those who voted remain are disgusted at the behavior of the EU since the vote (seriously, they're acting like 4 year olds) and are now in the leave camp.

[citation needed]. The fact is that Brexit support lowered after people realised it was actually going to happen and how damaging that is to the UK. There is even quite a lot of support for a second referendum.

Please stop spreading false narrative that the people in the UK are regretting the decision, they really aren't.

The truth hurts, doesn't it? You made a bad choice and now you have to live with the consequences. Deal with it.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

that's Detroit, or maybe DC, the English translation is ambiguous

Re:Whatever

[ffreeloader]

As a Type II diabetic who struggles with weight due to multiple factors, including insulin, I can tell you that the idea that the feature should be abandoned because some snowflake might take offense is that substance that comes from the northern end of a southbound horse.

So what if I struggle with my weight. Should everyone else in the world be penalized, kept from having access to useful data, because of my personal health issues? What a crock of that same substance I mentioned above. This is nothing but pure selfishness on the part of anyone who would complain about such a thing. Anyone that selfish needs to be "triggered" as often as possible to teach them the world does not revolve exclusively around them.

Re: Whatever

[barbariccow]

You can also say Hanukkah like "han new kuh" and you'll be understood, but it's not correct. It should sound like you're winding-up a spit, and many spell it with a "ch" instead of a "h" using latin characters to further drive this point.

Re:Whatever

[ffreeloader]

Your point is non-existent. Anyone who would look at an app published to the general public and see it as an attack upon them personally has a lot bigger problem than their weight. They are paranoid beyond belief.

Re: Whatever

[barbariccow]

It is subtle in that it changes slightly the way you "lead-in" to the following sound whilst itself generally not having a direct sound. English speakers commonly relate this to an "h", which is close.

To quote a source:

The j sound is what is known as a voiceless velar fricative, which means that it is formed by forcing air through the slightly constricted back part of the mouth. It's kind of a scraping or raspy sound from the back of the mouth. If you've learned German, you may know it as the ch sound of Kirche. You may hear it sometimes in English in the word "loch" when given a Scottish accent or as the initial sound of "Hanukkah" with a Hebrew accent.

One way you might think of the sound is as an extended "k." Instead of sounding out the "k" in an explosive fashion, try lengthening the sound.

The sound of the j varies with region. In some areas, the j sounds almost like a soft "k," and in some places it sounds very close to the "h" sound in words such as "hot" or "hero," although perhaps aspirated a bit more strongly.

If you give the j the sound of the English "h," as many English-speaking Spanish students do, you will be understood, but keep in mind that is only approximate.

Re:Whatever

[barbariccow]

So lets remove nutrition facts from labels of food, because seeing the number of calories on food might shame people into eating less/smarter!

Come on, this is NOT a trigger condition. This is not like showing local needle exchanges automatically which might trigger a drug addict.

Re:Whatever

[barbariccow]

Comes from the northern end of a southbound horse? What's that, dust?

Re:Whatever

[barbariccow]

So change the damn icon! Don't nuke the feature! Show a picture of an pedometer rolling or something.

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting. As a native speaker of a language in which this sound exists, I would have never guessed that a j/ch sound could sound like a 'h' to someone.

Re:Whatever

[AmazingRuss]

Sure... but then the people that had the feature activated could use the fact that they activated it to shame people that didn't activate it.

You should be ashamed of such an oversight.

Re:Whatever

[stdarg]

You can't translate proper names huh? Remind me... was ist Deutschland auf Englisch?

Re: Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

It's always nice to see people comment on things they have no clue about.

I have been living in South Korea for over a decade now, and I can tell you that your statement is absolutely untrue.

Naver is the most visited page in Korea.
https://m.naver.com/
Where are those characters you speak of? As opposed to Japanese where the (traditional) Chinese characters are still in wide-spread use, Korean uses almost exclusively Korean characters.

Re:Whatever

[Nethemas the Great]

Where does this "pink" cupcake come from? I saw the Twitter screenshot. There's not a cupcake, only a calorie count.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

Why must everybody bow to the tyranny of the majority? Just make it opt in, and I've no objection.

Re:Whatever

[TimothyHollins]

"Tyranny of the majority" is more commonly named 'Democracy', and is by some strange people considered "a nice thing to have". But if you don't like it, you are always free to try your hand somewhere where this "tyranny of the majority" is not employed. I hear Somalia and Angola are both doing great. Just remember to keep your passport safe.

But yes, as has been mentioned in many places, making it an opt-out feature would be the decent choice.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

In case you missed this in school, one of the reasons the US government is set up the way it is is to prevent the tyranny of the majority, and protect the rights of the minority.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Google Knows What's Best For Us All(tm)...

Oh boo hoo, a free and incredibly useful service offended my sensibilities by adding a feature I didn't like. And then they removed it shortly after. Fuck my life how can I possibly go on...

Re:Whatever

[TimothyHollins]

You mean like the first past the goal post model for presidential elections, or the majority votes for congressional candidates? Or the judgement by a jury of peers? Or the long process of amending the constitution where a twothirds majority must vote in favor? Or the Supreme Court where a majority vote is needed?

I don't doubt you have a valid point, but I do question that it is as permeating as these examples.

Re:Whatever

[techno-vampire]

No, I mean that if we had the type of democracy you think we have, the last presidential election would have been decided by two states: California and New York. I suppose you would have preferred that, but that's not how things work in the US. Also, please note that although the House of Representatives gives the various states votes in proportion to their population, the Senate gives each the same number, to balance things out and keep the big states from forcing their will on the little ones.

Re: Whatever

[KiloByte]

It's always nice to see people comment on things they have no clue about. I have been living in South Korea for over a decade now, and I can tell you that your statement is absolutely untrue.

While I indeed can't read Hangul nor Hanja, I know enough to tell them apart. Or, use a script to do so.

The page you linked to indeed looks Han-free, but a random corpus of Korean text I've analyzed, both years ago when writing that transcription program and right now, show quite a lot of Han characters being used. For example, Wikipedia's article for "Korea" has 525 unique Hangul and 75 unique Hanja. How can you understand a text if you can't read a good part of it? Likewise, a transcription program is kind of worthless if it leaves random pieces unconverted.

From what I read, this varies a lot in different contexts. When you want to type a text quickly, messing with input methods is inconvenient, thus I understand why people don't want to bother. But especially in names (the only thing someone not knowing the language wants to read) Hanja seems to be still widespread.

Re:Whatever

[ffreeloader]

LOL. That, and those dark brownish green piles of apples that horses leave behind them.

Re: Whatever

[war4peace]

Yes, and I will rule over its tattered remains because I sign my posts :)
HURRAY!

Re:Whatever

[war4peace]

That is because the number of locals looking at those maps far exceeds the number of non-locals looking at those maps.
Pointing the mouse at the label works? Good, you have a workaround. Stop being lazy.

Re:Whatever

[war4peace]

It seems to be doing an awfully-good job at maintaining that...
Too bad that means sucking at most of the other things.

Re:Whatever

[I'm New Around Here]

That is because the number of locals looking at those maps far exceeds the number of non-locals looking at those maps.

There are about 7.4 billion people in the world. There are about 740 million people in Europe. There are about 10 million people in Hungary, most of whom speak Hungarian. An additional 3 million people elsewhere speak Hungarian.

Statistically speaking, there are probably more people who do not speak Hungarian looking at those maps, than locals and native speakers.

Pointing the mouse at the label works? Good, you have a workaround. Stop being lazy.

Not all the features have the English version in the box. Not all features even have a popup box when you hover the mouse over them.

Of course, if I wasn't so lazy, I would just learn Hungarian, and avoid these difficulties in the future.

Re:Whatever

[war4peace]

Whoa, wait a minute there, your "statistically speaking" is awfully flawed.
You fail to take into account weighted values.
It is way more likely for a Hungarian person to look at a Hungarian map than an American person looking at a Hungarian map (unless you're trying to invade Hungary too...). According to your assumption, I guess the USA map names should be shown in Mandarin... or Hindi... or Spanish, because either of those languages is above English as a native spoken language. If you also count totals, then Mandarin it is.

Google, are you reading this? We only need Mandarin labels in your Maps application.

Re:Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

Air pollution? You mean like it's me who pollutes the air? Is that because I'm a woman? A lesbian one? We, Afro-Americans, don't pollute the air more than you do! This is insanely disgusting shame! I am triggered!!!1

Re:Whatever

[I'm New Around Here]

Whoa, wait a minute there, your "statistically speaking" is awfully flawed.

And your claim of "That is because the number of locals looking at those maps far exceeds the number of non-locals looking at those maps." is any better?

You fail to take into account weighted values.

No I don't. You missed a lot of valid arguments.

It is way more likely for a Hungarian person to look at a Hungarian map than an American person looking at a Hungarian map (unless you're trying to invade Hungary too...).

1) Why limit it to Americans? That's a big assumption. Did I use the number of people in the US? No, I used the number of people in Europe. The ~730 million Europeans who do not speak Hungarian. As opposed to the ~10 million who do.
How many of the non-Hungarian-speaking people of Europe use Google Maps to plan a trip across the continent? As opposed to how many Hungarian-speaking people use Google Maps to see Hungary?
Or do you also assume that non-Hungarian-speakers make it a point to avoid Hungary?

2) One random national forest in Hungary was an example. The same situation happens with places in other countries across Europe.
France: Parc Naturel Régional de la Forêt d'Orient is listed as such on the map, and the popup box has "Forêt d'Orient Natural Regional Park". So it is half translated. Google Translate gives the full translation as "East Forest Regional Nature Park", why not label it as such?
Spain: ZEPA Sierra de San Pedro in western central Spain could simply be labeled as Sierra de San Pedro Bird Sanctuary, because that is what a "ZEPA" is.
Ukraine: Actually has English names on the map for several of their national forests or preserves. Why can't Google do this for the rest?
Others: I looked at several locations across Europe, and saw a great mix of the above examples, full local, mixed local and English, or full English. Limiting your argument to Hungarian based on my one previous example doesn't work.

According to your assumption, I guess the USA map names should be shown in Mandarin... or Hindi... or Spanish, because either of those languages is above English as a native spoken language. If you also count totals, then Mandarin it is.

Tell me where I said only use one language. Please, copy and past my statement to that effect.
Or, maybe, I said that because I specifically chose "English" as the default language, places that have English translations should be displayed in English. If I chose Italian, I would expect the labels to be in Italian. If I chose Mandarin, I would expect Mandarin.

Google, are you reading this? We only need Mandarin labels in your Maps application.

Thank you for showing your level of intelligence. I wasn't sure about it before.

Re: Whatever

[stealth_finger]

I'm a liberal who voted remain and can confidently say that this is a load of horseshit. Most people voted leave because it makes long term economic sense and the UK gets *very little* in return for their monetary contributions to the EU. UK politicians went to the EU several times to try and get issues resolved and negotiate a better partnership, but nobody in the EU thought the UK would have the balls to walk away, so they said "screw you" to all attempts.

Don't be dense, the majority voted leave because they bought into the money for the nhs lie or to get rid of foreigners line. Neither of which are happening or have any indication of happening while Maybot is in charge. No one in the leave camp was talking economics, they were painting a picture of a rosy wonderland where we are masters of our own destiny or some shit. It was a 52% vote on a non binding referendum (remember how they kept pointing that out before?) and then they ran with it because its a chance to make a few people very rich which shafting everyone else which is par for the tory course really. Brexit is a fucking joke, not only that it's a shambles.

Re: Whatever

[stealth_finger]

Spanish 'j' is 'h'

The J is pronounced similar to Scottish/German/Dutch 'ch'. It's nothing like 'h' in English.

That's why Jif became Cif.

Re:Whatever

[war4peace]

OK, feel free to build an app which uses Google's API to overlay $LANGUAGE translated names onto Maps. After all, nobody's stopping you.
Sell that app on the Google Play store and get rich. Start now and make the world a better place.

FYI yes, locals looking at local maps is far more likely than foreigners looking at the same maps for glaringly obvious reasons, with ONE exception: top tourist areas with small local population (e.g. Venice). And for those, it's BETTER to have labels in local language because you can cross-check them with real labels. If you see a sign called "Rue de Poisson" and your phone says you're on "Fish Street" you might get confused.

Re:Whatever

[14erCleaner]

I really want an option, on my Android phone, to turn off the stupid voice assistant that's constantly triggering when I'm trying to play music through my car stereo!!!!!!! Not that I'm bitter about it or anything...

Re:Whatever

[Hognoxious]

Not sure how any of that prevents a tyranny of the majority. It just frigs around with how you decide who the majority is.

Re: Whatever

[tehcyder]

Most people voted leave because it makes long term economic sense

Not all, but a significant number, voted leave because they wanted to keep out foreigners.

Chalk Up Another Victory...

[hondo77]

...for the Culture of Outrage!

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm outraged that they're implying pink cupcakes are only for women. I love all cupcakes equally.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[EEPROMS]

or Google bows to the "everything offends me crowd" Seriously people grow the f**k up, the universe doesn't care about your feelings and if you are fat deal with it. FYI I also love food and I am in a constant battle with my body weight but I have learned "to control my urges".

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

or Google bows to the "everything offends me crowd"

That's the problem: once you appease them you're stuck with them. They smell weakness. They realize the power they have over you. They will demand more and more, never being satisfied.

Unfortunately Google has already gone so far as to make this cancer part of their own corporate culture.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

...for the Culture of Outrage!

Just you wait. The level of outrage I can show about this will dwarf that of the fatties. I like having calory counts. I am outraged

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[pseudofrog]

A handful of people complained about the feature on Twitter. There was no real outrage, just a few people who were annoyed you can't turn it off. Engadget is being incredibly dishonest here by throwing red meat to the "omg pc culture is ruining everything" crowd.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

And chalk one up for you, random internet guy, for finding a way to be outraged that other people actually have feelings and a corporation dared to consider those feelings while ignoring the horror of you having to count your calories yourself!

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[dslauson]

Chalk Up Another Victory... for the Culture of Outrage!

I'd call this "marketing psychology" more than "caving to outrage". For Google, users are both their customers and their product. If any part of their service potentially makes people feel bad (shamed, judged, or, god forbid, triggered), there's a chance that some percentage of them will choose a different service next time, which means less data for them to sell. I'd call this "marketing psychology" more than "caving to outrage".

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[R3d M3rcury]

the universe doesn't care about your feelings

True. But if I'm trying to sell you something? I sure as hell care about your feelings--at least until the check clears.

Remember, Google is in it for the marketshare. They don't make money off of Maps, they make money keeping track of to where you ask directions and using that information for marketing purposes. "Oh, look, you go to this grocery store? Maybe you'd be interested in some coupons..."

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[sexconker]

The standard "cupcake with frosting" image includes pink frosting. Chocolate frosting is far more common in real life, but that ends up looking like poop when used in any sort of graphical sense.

White frosting is usually taken to mean vanilla, and vanilla is synonymous with "boring".
Green and blue are unappetizing colors for food.
Strong red (such as frosting) looks like blood and is a hard color to get consistent (be it across print, web, etc., and don't you dare try to JPEG anything with large solid blocks of red).
Yellow has the piss likeness if it's too strong, and looks weak and lame if it's too weak.
Orange? Only for Halloween. (All colors are valid for their respective holidays.)

Pink frosting is the default because it's "fun", doesn't look like a bodily secretion, doesn't look like rotten food, etc.
Go ahead, use your favorite search engine to look up images of real life cupcakes, then look up drawings / clip art / cartoon / etc. cupcakes. Notice the huge spike in representation of pink frosting.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[dslauson]

See if you can figure out which sentence I accidentally put in there twice. See if you can figure out which sentence I accidentally put in there twice.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[alvinrod]

Yeah, but you have better things to do than to whine about shit like that on Twitter, so no one cares.

I'm not even sure how there were people complaining about it on Twitter in the first place though. I thought they had something in the ToS against children using their service.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry, I'm not calling your a fat piece of SH@# to shame or trigger you. I'm calling you a fat piece of SH$@ because that's what you are.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Gavagai80]

The culture of outrage I can ignore. It's the culture of being outraged at other people's outrage that gets me.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[I'm New Around Here]

As if I'm gonna take my frosting advice from some guy named Sexconker. Your out of your mind, mate. ;^)

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[DNS-and-BIND]

But PC culture *is* ruining everything. It's not some kind of false conclusion. Remember when that scientist, celebrating the achievement of a lifetime, landing a space probe on a fucking COMET, was forced to tearfully apologize the next day for his choice of shirt?

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

OK, so used bing, top 10:

blue
yellow
blue
white-ish
brown/purple
white with red sprinkles
brown
cream
neopolitan
PINK!

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

How about rainbow frosting? Wait, don't answer that, cupcake.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[rtb61]

PC culture only ruins what people are willing to allow it to ruin. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from maning the fuck up and telling them to fuck off, except your own fears. PC culture, meh, who gives a fuck.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[drinkypoo]

OK, so used bing,

I see why you posted anonymously.

Re: Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

I deem your pink-centric standard of frosting beauty oppressive and hateful to others who may prefer purple frosting. Your posts perpetuates socially constructed stereotypes of cupcake color that are regressive and hateful. Delete your account.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[sizzlinkitty]

Google wouldn't lose any market share if they kept this, they're big enough to not give a fuck. Even if all of these "offended people" stopped using google, nobody would notice.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Chalk Up Another Victory... ...for the Culture of Outrage!

If only Google had the same "Courage" that Apple had when they removed the headphone jack.

To the people that complained on the grounds of shaming or feeling bad. All I can think of is "fuck them". It's software so Google could make an on/off preference. I had to download an app to tell me calories. If Google's estimates are approximately correct I would consider it a useful feature. Double-Plus good.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[JustNiz]

I for one am outraged at your being outraged at others outrage.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[sexconker]

Lies.
https://www.bing.com/images/se...

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Uberbah]

But PC culture *is* ruining everything.

No. It's a tool for manipulating people. Your post (and most of those to this story) are examples of how that tool works in action.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[QuadEddie]

Google has already bowed to that crowd and IS that crowd. Have you learned nothing from the James Damore speaking truth to power incident?

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[0123456]

Indeed. Gotta love watching SJWs eat each other.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[DNS-and-BIND]

It's not "allowed to ruin" anything when you can be fired from your job and be subject to potential civil and even criminal penalties. Companies like Google can ruin your business by deliberately putting your site on page 138 of search results. Type "James Damore" into Google's homepage and watch autosuggest totally fail to suggest anything. Ignoring PC culture will not make it go away.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

... cupcake with frosting ....

SexConker doesn't know that means:
- masturbation for women
- a variety of anal acts for men

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[serviscope_minor]

Type "James Damore" into Google's homepage and watch autosuggest totally fail to suggest anything.

Just did (well, using the search box widget). "James dam" suggested "James Damore". "James Damore " suggested "James Damore memo" first with letter, google, manifesto, linkedin, twitter, reddit all appearing high up.

Hitting search on "james damore" yields his linkedin page as the first proper link.

IOW you're high on your own outrage (again) and are, as usual, utterly full of shit.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, no orange frosting on my cupcakes even for Halloween. It would remind me of someone.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[DNS-and-BIND]

OK well they've changed it then. During the scandal you couldn't get Google to suggest anything. Obviously they blacklisted the term. Oh wait, I said on Google's homepage, don't know if that's different.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

coupons

TRIGGERED
How dare you assume I have an income disorder!?!?!

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

He wasn't forced to apologize. He chose to, which rewarded the accusers.

He had other options, but he bought into their perspective. He didn't have to.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[TimothyHollins]

Actually, all of Google's tracking information on the demographic buying pink hairdye would be lost.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[TimothyHollins]

If any part of their service potentially makes people feel bad (shamed, judged, or, god forbid, triggered), there's a chance that some percentage of them will choose a different service next time, which means less data for them to sell.

You forgot "responsible for their own actions".

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[AmiMoJo]

or Google bows to the "everything offends me crowd"

Says a member of the "everything offends me crowd". It actually says in the summary and TFA that the main issue here is that it couldn't be turned off. If there had been an off switch for people who wanted it, or even better make it opt-in, everything would have been fine.

I never saw it, but personally I'd be kind of annoyed if my phone started nagging me to burn calories. If I wanted that I'd install an app for it, I use Google Maps for mapping.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not really lies... without the clipart part of your search

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[AmiMoJo]

The term "political correctness" is used to silence people exercising their free speech right to criticise. Would you really want to take way people's right to criticise his choice of shirt, is that really the kind of censorship you want?

I really sounds like you want the whole world to be a safe space where people can't be criticised in case it hurts their feelings and causes them to make a tearful apology.

The correct response is to criticise the critics, and in this case they certainly were roundly criticised by people who thought his shirt was fine.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[C0C0C0]

For real. How hard can it be to just ignore stuff that you don't find helpful but others do? This kind of nonsense is red meat for the alt-righters.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

his choice of shirt

Which was a gift from a good female friend of his that he wore as a good luck charm. The people trashing him for it can go fuck themselves.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hypocrite.
From your own statement you are outraged at someone elses outrage. From your own statement you don't like that they are outraged at someone elses outrage. Therefore logically you are a hypocrite.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[barbariccow]

OK, so used bing,

There's your problem.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[barbariccow]

If you actually read the parent, he mentioned that while real-life representation of pink may not be high, drawing/clipart is. And then parent spent his/her entire post explaining why.

Go ahead, use your favorite search engine to look up images of real life cupcakes, then look up drawings / clip art / cartoon / etc. cupcakes. Notice the huge spike in representation of pink frosting.

In fact, you've "proved" his final point head-on.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[barbariccow]

Someone? You mean the entire former cast of "Jersey Shore" right?

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[barbariccow]

How dare you undermine my couponing disorder!

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[barbariccow]

But PC culture *is* ruining everything.

Face it, mainframes are dead. PCs are the future.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

That guy should have owned it, and told those cretins to pound sand. "We landed a probe on a comet, and you want to whine about by shirt? Go find something useful to do instead."

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

forced to tearfully apologize the next day for his choice of shirt?

They say he had it coming to him because of what he chose to wear.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

That's what GM and the other Big 3 thought, that they could cut costs, shitting up their products, and customers would keep buying. As their products have a 10 year cycle, it took awhile to drive people away.

Google would not have that luxury in the 6 month cycle of consumer electronics.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[serviscope_minor]

Right tales of paranoia for which there's no evidence. FYI it's exactly the same on his home page.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember back when people piloting spacecraft knew how to dress and didn't have to apologize for their choice of shirts?

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

forced to tearfully apologize

Was he forced or did he choose to apologize? Personally I think he could have just let the fire die by not addressing it at all.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know how browsers work? That search box doesn't pull suggestions from the same place, regardless of where you want it to send the search request.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Eh, at first I found the complaint stupid and had the same reaction as you did, but then I read the summary further and learnt that apparently this was expressed with cupcake icons.

Not something like, er, a number given in kilocalories.

Choosing cupcakes to represent the feature is quite stupid indeed and does deserve criticism...

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

google IS the "everyone offends me" crowd

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd sell you my immunity serum, but i haven't isolated it. However, I can confirm that I have no idea what PC culture is, or what it has ruined. But then again, I'm an atheist, so I think the Christians ruined the culture centuries ago and we are still recovering. /shrug

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Make no mistake, the PC Thought Police are modern Puritans.

And I don't think they want to sell us vegetable oil...

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[DNS-and-BIND]

The problem was that HUMANITY LANDING A SPACE PROBE ON A COMET was overshadowed by shrill voices that shouted for his head because of his tasteless shirt. I mean, a towering accomplishment like that, and it got pushed off the top news by a fashion story. It created a hostile environment for women in science, it wasn't welcoming to little girls that wanted to be scientists, etc.etc. Your crack about the safe space is likely you smarting from getting criticized for safe spaces and wishing to make others hurt in the same way. It doesn't work, for right-wingers there are no safe spaces, anywhere. Literally not one exists.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[rtb61]

I am sorry you do not understand but simply you must man up and take the consequences and the more than do it the more effective it becomes but it does start with you. Whining about it wont change anything, simply man up, tell them to fuck off and take the consequences if you get it right you are not alone, get it wrong and your are screwed. I did not say ignore PC culture I said specifically charge it head on and that means telling actively telling them to fuck off and standing up for yourself, come hell or high water.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[AmiMoJo]

Seems like the fault there was the guy whose job involved being an international spokesperson for the European Space Agency apparently not realizing that his shirt might not be appropriate for that role.

It doesn't work, for right-wingers there are no safe spaces, anywhere. Literally not one exists.

Then why are you complaining about people criticising this guy? Just because he helped land a probe on a comet doesn't create a safe space for him, he has to accept criticism of his shirt any time anywhere according to you.

Re:Chalk Up Another Victory...

[Anonymous Coward]

I love the irony that the shirt was made by a woman who also saw nothing wrong with it. No feminists spoke out in defense of her right to free expression, to my knowledge.

In fact if it had been a female rocket scientist wearing a shirt covered with bare-chested Chippendale dancers, and the men cried foul, the feminists would probably be screaming "oppression!" at the suggestion her male co-workers could tell her what to wear and what not to wear.

It's time for a purge

[Baron_Yam]

>Google's attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle caused a number of people to lambast the feature on Twitter, claiming it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders.

Those people are poisoning our society. They need to be ostracized and allowed to wallow in whatever ghetto they manage to find refuge in.

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, I think they should be ashamed! Is being obese really something to be proud of?

And what is it supposedly "triggering" in people with eating disorders? Are some people saying folks with eating disorder would not attempt a walk they would otherwise do because they might lose some calories? :-O The humanity!

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

So you're outraged at the people who were outraged and demand action be taken to stop them from continuing to outrage your sensibilities. Do I have that right?

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

Huh? It's the social justice warriors that are making the world a less horrific place to live in. With Trump as our ruler, all thinking people want to die. Things like killing this hate from Google make things less worse.

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

sterilized more like.

it would improve things.

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

With Trump as our ruler, all thinking people want to die.

I don't watch tv or follow the news and haven't noticed any changes in anything in about 10 years.

Tune in. Turn on. Drop out.

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

Things like killing this hate from Google make things less worse.

Um, a calorie counter is not "hate". (It's sort of absurd that I have to point this out.)

Re:It's time for a purge

[SvnLyrBrto]

Heh. I wonder when these people are going to take notice that Apple... having realized that the market for a $18K status symbol that will, like all technology, be a obsolete in three years, is fairly limited... has refocused the Watch, and its accompanying marketing, almost entirely on health and fitness.

The apoplectic fits whenever one of them sees that little black square on everyones' wrist will be fun to watch.

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

They need to be ostracized and allowed to wallow in whatever ghetto they manage to find refuge in.

It's called "Twitter".

Re:It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

I suggest we build three space ships - or arks.
The first will be filled with all the intelligentsia - doctors, professors etc.
The second could be filled with middle managers, telephone sanitisers, and SJWs.
The third would be filled with the "working" people of the world.

Obviously launching three big arks at the same time would be problematic, so we could send #2 out first...

Re:It's time for a purge

[TimothyHollins]

What did middle managers and telephone sanitisers do to you!?

Re: It's time for a purge

[Anonymous Coward]

... yes, but fat people are harder to kidnap.

Re:It's time for a purge

[AbRASiON]

Damnit this post deserves higher moderation!

Crybaby snowflakes

[Anonymous Coward]

This is pathetic.

First, eating disorders are real medical issues. If you can't handle seeing that information displayed, seek medical help. It's not Google's responsibility to avoid possibly "triggering" someone with an eating disorder because they added a legitimate feature to their application. There are potential "triggers" in lots of places, and eating disorders need to be treated by doctors.

As for it being directed at women, that claim is implicitly sexist. Why are pink cupcakes automatically associated with women?

Finally, it's not someone else's right to tell Google what belongs or doesn't belong in their apps. Why does anyone other than Google get to decide if it's out of place?

This is a bunch of crybaby snowflake rubbish.

And no, I'm not saying that people with eating disorders are snowflakes. I am saying that the real issue is those with eating disorders have a medical problem and need to be encouraged to seek appropriate medical help.

Re:Crybaby snowflakes

[Immerman]

It's also not in Google's interest to make such core functionality unusable by people suffering from psychological diseases, as it both needlessly restricts their market/data-farm, and comes across as extremely insensitive

Of course the optimal solution would be to just let people easily turn the feature off if it bothers them. Heck, I'd probably do so just because I don't want to waste pixels on information I don't care about.

As for pink frosting - I'm inclined not to read too much into it, but there's nothing sexist about acknowledging the existence of sexism. The association of pink with women/girls is well established in our society, and thus the fact that something is pink becomes an (imperfect) indicator that it is targetting women. Imperfect of course because there are legitimate other reasons to use pink, but you should probably do so with the assumption that the existing association with women will be invoked in your audience.

Re:Crybaby snowflakes

[TimothyHollins]

It's also not in Google's interest to make such core functionality unusable by people suffering from psychological diseases, as it both needlessly restricts their market/data-farm, and comes across as extremely insensitive

How far gone must you be to consider a calorie counter "extremely insensitive"?
If you find the mere existence of a calorie counter extremely insensitive, the problem is not with the calorie counter, I assure you.
I also assert that this thinking is far removed from the majority, and far removed from any rational demographic. The only people that would possibly complain about the existence of a calorie counter can accurately and reasonably be labelled as SJWs. Anyone else would, even if in disagreement, merely shrug their shoulders and move on.

Re:Crybaby snowflakes

[Immerman]

I've had family with anorexia - hard enough for them to stop starving themselves without not-so-subtle encouragements to reduce/burn calories. It's not that it's an insult or anything - it just aggravates an already life-threatening psychological condition.

And the point is not "the mere existence of a calorie counter", it's the fact that it's unavoidably integrated into important core functionality of your smartphone.

Re:Crybaby snowflakes

[RightSaidFred99]

Anorexia is certainly a serious issue for those it affects. However it's in the noise, barely even in the noise, in terms of cost in money and lives in this country. For each of your family members who died from it (let's round up to 1, if it's 0) there are probably 1000 people who died or had serious quality of life issues due to obesity related causes.

They should definitely get help and treatment, but acting like anorexia (and related undereating disorders) are even a vague consideration in any kind of policy compared to obesity is absolutely silly.

Re:Crybaby snowflakes

[Immerman]

Sure, it's not a huge problem in percentages, especially at life-threatening levels, and *especially* not compared to obesity.

But it's estimated that around 2-3% of women suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia, etc). That's between 4 and six MILLION people in the US with a condition that's aggravated by calorie-counters. That's an awful lot of people to tell to "just deal with it" without being an asshole.

Seriously - I'm all for having the counter be available, even on by default. Just make it possible to turn it off for those millions of people for whom it's a problem.

wtf?

[viperidaenz]

How can this feature be added back in? I'd find it handy.
What's wrong with encouraging people to walk instead of drive?
Where else could you put such a feature, apart from Maps? Adding navigation to a fitness app would be even worse.
What's wrong with pink cupcakes? Raspberry icing is awesome. How dare women try to claim it for themselves.

Re:wtf?

[Cederic]

I'd go so far as to suggest that pink cupcakes are the definitive colour. I tend not to eat cupcakes at all, but if I do I'm well up for one with delicate baby pink icing on it.

For walking maps I've found this site to be excellent in the UK:
https://www.mapometer.com//

Other regions may vary.

Re:wtf?

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

How can this feature be added back in? I'd find it handy.

That's what always pisses me off about these morally outraged complainers, they project their own biases and don't give a crap that there are other people who find the feature useful.

Some years ago one of the dating sites (match.com?) added "obese" to their list of body types. Some people were all offended that fatties were going to be excluded from dating now that the site allowed them to be identified. These people apparently only considered the possibility that large people would be discriminated against. It never occurred to their prejudiced little minds that some people are interested in seeking bigger people to date.

Re:wtf?

[drinkypoo]

These people apparently only considered the possibility that large people would be discriminated against. It never occurred to their prejudiced little minds that some people are interested in seeking bigger people to date.

They know damned well that some people are interested in that. However, the feature is way more likely to be used first to exclude fat people, second to find fat people to fetishize and treat like a fat fuck doll, and only third because someone just happens to prefer fat people.

However, it's also a truth in advertising feature, and if nobody is forcing you to accurately select your body type, no one is being harmed against their will. So waaaaah. Which, frankly, is how most of these discussions should go.

Re:wtf?

[Kellamity]

Yeah man, I think if the bus is late and it tells me it's a 25 min walk and I can burn some cal, maybe I'd think, hell why don't I just walk?

There was a cardio app that was abondoned by the developers that used to be really good called Cardio Trainer and at the end of your workout they's show you the calories represented as different things, for example 5 apples, 2 oranges, 1 cupcake. It would randomly pick one that matched the amount.

I'd like if Google maps told me I'd burn a pint of beer by walking home from work, I could alter my course via the pub and know that it was ok!

Re:wtf?

[Anonymous Coward]

And now you have to waste time meeting people in person to find out if they are fat or not. It would be easier on the obese people if I could just exclude them straight up because as someone who is bordering on underweight, I just don't see how it could work out.
Vise versa plenty of people would not be interested in me with little meat on my bones, and that's ok. They should know up front.

Re:wtf?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a dating site. People are going to exclude fat people whether or not it's listen as a feature.

What do you expect people to arrange a date without even exchanging pictures, then showing up at a restaurant and finally seeing the other person, and simply go "I guess we don't need a restaurant, let's go directly to the bedroom - but we'll have to do it on the floor, my bed isn't reinforced", and being successful?

Re:wtf?

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is that you don't know if the feature was really that useful. I'm going to guess that somebody just looked up some average "X calories burned per mile of walking" and wrote a bit of code to do the multiplication for you.

If that's the case, it's useless because it entirely fails to take into account elevation changes and the weight of the person doing the walking. I weigh about three times as much as my son, so I'm going to burn way more calories on the same walk!

If it can compensate for changes in elevation, they can take off the bogus "calories" units and it will be quite useful as a measure of how difficult the walk will be.

dom

Re:wtf?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's what always pisses me off about these morally outraged complainers

Just so you know, you're a morally outraged complainer too. *sigh*

As a fat person...

[Pfhorrest]

As a fat person myself, how is it offensive to be informed that you are burning calories by doing something? It's not like someone's telling you that you should go for a walk to burn calories because you really need it. They're telling you "hey, I noticed you're out on a walk, did you know that that's burning calories? good for you!"

Re:As a fat person...

[zugmeister]

There's an idea (that seems mostly promulgated by overweight people) that being obese is not a health issue. Anything implying that you might want to not be overweight might therefore be construed as a judgement that obesity is a bad thing. For a humorous example of these people, head over to YouTube and search on "fat acceptance".

Re:As a fat person...

[shellster_dude]

Don't you understand? Having an eating disorder or being overweight, means you must also have broken legs. How are you condoning Google's insensitive and mean feature that makes fun of the fact that you don't have legs? Wait, what that? You have legs and they work just fine? You can walk? Uh...carry on then...

Re: As a fat person...

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is that fatties statistically tend to waddle to KFC, if they're waddling anywhere, so Google would have to multiply its calorie counts by -10.

Re:As a fat person...

[Anonymous Coward]

As a fat person myself, how is it offensive to be informed that you are burning calories by doing something?

Its not. Look at the tweets, and the author of TFA. The people complaining about it are skinny.

Re:As a fat person...

[Anonymous Coward]

Health At (literally) Every Size (HAES) movement. "I weight 400 pounds and I'm healthy! Now help me up out of this chair."

Two Options:

[kaatochacha]

1) change your possibly useful feature to include the ability to turn it off, modify the icon, allow customization.
2) Demand, outraged, it be removed.

Guess which one prevailed.

Re:Two Options:

[Anonymous Coward]

> 2) Demand, outraged, it be removed.

Isn't that the standard Slashdot answer every time Firefox adds a new feature?

Re:Two Options:

[Anonymous Coward]

Option 3: Ignore the casually outraged minority.

Re:Two Options:

[Anonymous Coward]

Reasons I might use if I wished to complain
- Information I don't care about (make it a toggle)
- Trying to garner favor, esp w surface dwellers and normals (who doesn't, it's just good business)
- GUI clutter (make it a toggle)

Reasons I wouldn't use if I wished to complain
- TRIGGERED

The whole thing was probably just a sideshow meant to cash in on the whole step counter craze. Which has my scorn, but from an "I am a hipster" place, not PC/SJW'ing.

Re:Two Options:

[swillden]

1) change your possibly useful feature to include the ability to turn it off, modify the icon, allow customization. 2) Demand, outraged, it be removed.

Guess which one prevailed.

You don't know which one prevailed. My guess is that it will be #1.

Google teams generally operate on a very rapid release cycle, many with weekly releases. How do you develop a feature that takes several weeks (or months!) when your team releases weekly? What you don't do is branch the code and work on your branch for a long time, either constantly rebasing or trying to do a big merge at the end. That way lies madness. And bugs. Lots and lots of bugs.

Instead, you flag-protect your feature. As much as possible you put your new code into the regularly-exercised paths, so it gets run by automated tests, manual QA and real users, but without actually activating the new functionality. The part that you can't allow to be run, because your feature isn't ready yet, you protect with a flag that defaults to off. You can easily flip it on for your own development testing. When you get far enough along, you can flip it on for a bunch of internal users ("dogfooders").

When it's finally ready to go, you flip the flag for all users. If there are tens of millions of them, you also flip the flag progressively, first for 1%, then wait to see if anything breaks, then progressively greater percentages until you get to 100.

Now... with that in mind, if your feature provokes howls of outrage, what do you do? It's utterly obvious: you flip the flag back off for everyone, to silence the outrage while you figure out the next step.

In this case, I suspect that the next step will be to add a control to the settings interface. That sounds like an easy task, but don't forget that you have to run a gauntlet of UX people focused on keeping the software as simple and intuitive as possible, and a gauntlet of QA people who point out that every boolean option you add doubles their test burden, not to mention internationalization and host of other things. Adding a switch to an app used by a billion people isn't easy. But my guess is that it might make enough sense to do it, so in a few weeks we'll see the feature come back, turned off by default.

Or maybe they'll decide that the clutter and testing burden are too much and just kill it. Could go either way.

But, whatever, it's blindingly obvious that step #1 is to un-flip the damned flag and stop the whining while you figure out what to do next.

Re:Two Options:

[Anonymous Coward]

The product is people's attention, and thus the stupid will rule... this is the real idocrasy, not quite what the scifi imagined, but an idiocrasy none the less.

Re:Two Options:

[Anonymous Coward]

> But my guess is that it might make enough sense to do it, so in a few weeks we'll see the feature come back, turned off by default

Turned ON by default.

Toughen up, snowflake

[Anonymous Coward]

A number of people lambasted the feature on Twitter, claiming it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders.

Really?

Really?

Lorenz also claimed that using pink cupcakes as the unit of measurement was "lowkey aimed at women."

That would be a valid point (sort of) if it were true. It isn't. The article shows screenshots: it just shows a calorie count.

That being said, it's still likely a useless feature. People are wildly different, and how many calories an individual burns is going to depend on their weight, posture, walking gait, and who knows what other variables. Hell, even the current temperature and wind are probably enough to make the calorie counts completely wrong.

Remove it because it's going to be mostly meaningless, not because some snowflakes don't like to be reminded of just how inactive they are.

Re:Toughen up, snowflake

[Anonymous Coward]

"... how many calories an individual burns is going to depend on their weight, posture, walking gait, and who knows what other variables. Hell, even the current temperature and wind..."

... Google knows all this. Google knows all...

Because shaming. . .

[quonset]

a 325 pound murderer is a bad thing to do.

Couldn't these people just go somewhere

[future assassin]

else in the world where real help is needed?

Re:Couldn't these people just go somewhere

[PrimaryConsult]

I would happily fund a kickstarter to send a planeload of SJWs on a one way trip to Venezuela...

Throw in a camera crew and it could be a reality show actually worth watching!

MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comment seems to imply that people with eating disorders should be ostracized. Eating disorders are mental health issues; in other words, they are serious medical issues. They require treatment by doctors, but they most certainly shouldn't be blamed or ostracized for having health issues. Your comment is flamebait and should be moderated as such.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, I thought he meant google were the poison that should be ostracized.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[PsychoSlashDot]

Your comment seems to imply that people with eating disorders should be ostracized. Eating disorders are mental health issues; in other words, they are serious medical issues. They require treatment by doctors, but they most certainly shouldn't be blamed or ostracized for having health issues. Your comment is flamebait and should be moderated as such.

Unless of course "those people" are the same as the "number of people" that are complaining about the feature. Yam's comment is insightful, and should be moderated as such.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

People so easily triggered are the ones that need to be removed from society. You are one of them.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

People like you that get triggered easily and bite on trolls are poisoning society. If anyone ought to be ostracized, it's you. You got trolled hard. LOL!

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comment is flamebait and should be moderated as such.

You are not content merely disagreeing with the original poster. Instead, you are demanding that a comment you disagree with should be downmodded by others. We have a name for people like you: SJW.

You are not engaging in rational debate or discussion. Instead, you are attempting to wage a war of ideologies. (Your ideology, of course, is the ideology of social justice. So, the term "Social Justice Warrior" is very appropriate.)

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

How is it reasonable to imply that people with eating disorders (a medical disorder) are somehow snowflakes because of it? That's what the OP did. Let's see if you have the courage to come back and justify your comment. My guess is that you're triggered by my posts and will have to retract to your safe space.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Listen fatass, maybe 0.001% of fat people have 'eating disorders', the rest of them just stuff their fat faces and don't give a fuck. They need to be DISCIPLINED, not 'medically treated' -- unless you're going to include 'mental health treatment' in that, for their delusions that they have a 'medical condition'. What they need to do is MOVE MORE, EAT LESS, and stop being goddamned HAMPLANETS. Seriously, this delusional bullshit has infected every 1st-world country now, and the only way to stop it is to slap the shit out of these people until they come to their senses and stop with the 'health at every size' shit, and stop trying to make obesity into some sort of fucked-up VIRTUE. FAT IS FAT, it's UNHEALTHY, DISGUSTING, and it should NOT BE TOLERATED. Put 'em on a treadmill and prohibit them from feeding themselves, they have to eat what they're TOLD to eat, until they're not fatasses anymore. Parents allowing their children to become obese should be prosecuted for child abuse and the kids put into homes with people who understand the importance of appropriate nutrition and EXERCISE for growing bodies; no more video games, no more guzzling sodas and cookies and chips and crap like that, get your little ass OUTSIDE and play, ride your bike, and so on. Oh and you fatass women out there? YOU ARE NOT ATTRACTIVE, YOU ARE DISGUSTING. I'd rather fap to the Internet than have anything to do with you. GET THE FORK OUT OF YOUR MOUTH and get down to a PROPER weight or be foreveralone. Shame fat people? HELL YES, I say it becomes mandatory until the problem is solved!

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Calydor]

Your reading comprehension is failing. What the OP implies is that people taking offense ON BEHALF OF OTHERS should be ostracized. These are the people that keep us from making tongue-in-cheek jokes, that keep us from calling people-of-a-non-white-skin-color black, and who generally live and breathe their own outrage, because only by trying to make the world PERFECT can they find meaning in their own pathetic little lives.

They are the ones who always know best, who will run from crusade to crusade to prove how great and noble they are, and they are a cancer upon the world.

People with eating disorders? I pity them and hope they get the help they need.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

We have a name for people like you: SJW.

I was going to correct you, but forget about it. You don't care what the SJW label actually means. It's just a convenient way of dismissing ideas you don't like. A bit ironic really, given the point of your post.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you stupid? Although there are eating disorders that can make people overweight, most actually cause people to be underweight. However, you got triggered enough by the parent post to write that rant. It's hilarious to see a snowflake like you get so butthurt to write such a rant. LOL!

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

How is it reasonable to imply that people with eating disorders (a medical disorder) are somehow snowflakes because of it?

A person with an eating disorder is not necessarily "triggered" by the presence of a calorie counter. One can be opposed to the people who feel "triggered" without being opposed to the people with eating disorders who aren't "triggered".

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't care what the SJW label actually means. It's just a convenient way of dismissing ideas you don't like.

Did you read my post at all? I anticipated your comment (because it so common) and explained exactly why I thought it was appropriate. Here, let me repeat myself:

You are not engaging in rational debate or discussion. Instead, you are attempting to wage a war of ideologies. (Your ideology, of course, is the ideology of social justice. So, the term "Social Justice Warrior" is very appropriate.)

You see, it's not "just a convenient way of dismissing ideas [I] don't like"--it's an accurate description of behavior. An SJW is a person who is not content merely disagreeing, and allowing readers to judge for themselves who's argument is correct. Instead, an SJW attempts to eliminate his opponent from the discussion by manipulating the social context: by demanding that the opponent's speech should be censored in some way. In this case, the SJW was demanding that the opponent be downmodded. Downmodded comments are, by default, invisible to Slashdot readers.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

its not a mental disorder, its retardation. These people should be put in hospitals and force feed, while watching re-runs of the golden girls.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL dumbass I'm at single-digit bodyfat percentage and under 200 pounds, full of muscle, strong, fast, and disgustingly healthy. Fatties need to GET CORRECT.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

gee, you're real pal and a cosmonaut.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Just to be clear.. the post saying to mod Baron_Yam down is the one assuming people with eating disorders are snowflakes, right?

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Why am I trying to kill myself? Why do you think shaming me helps me not want to kill myself? Why do you want me to kill myself? Why do want me to die just because I am fat? What did I ever do to you? Excuse me while i go eat another bowl of mayo..

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

They need to be DISCIPLINED, not 'medically treated' -- unless you're going to include 'mental health treatment' in that, for their delusions that they have a 'medical condition'. What they need to do is MOVE MORE, EAT LESS, and stop being goddamned HAMPLANETS.

You know that badgering fat people about their weight makes them less likely to lose weight, don't you?

No, you don't. And if you knew it, you wouldn't care. You don't want people to get thin. You want there to be people that can you look down on as self-worth is a zero-sum game for you. The more people you can despise, the better you feel. And physical fitness is the only thing in your life that you have ever achieved.

Fat-shaming makes the weight problem worse, not better.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comment seems to imply that people with eating disorders should be ostracized.

Shut up and eat a cup cake

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Quit whining, tubby.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[sabbede]

It may be flamebait, but not necesarially in the way you inferred. My take away was that people who are so pitifully weak-minded that being told how many calories they would burn walking turns them into screaming crybabies are the problem.

It was a good, useful and sensible feature. Now it's gone because Google listened to idiots that should only be ignored.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Quit whining, tubby.

Like I said. You don't want people lose weight. You want to insult and berate fat people.

And you do that because you know that you haven't ever achieved anything notable and know that you never will so your only way to feed your ego is to insult others.

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude cut back on the steroids its making you angry.

Captcha: Stupid

XD

Re: MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL dumbass I'm at single-digit bodyfat percentage and under 200 pounds, full of muscle, strong, fast, and disgustingly healthy. Fatties need to GET CORRECT.

Actually, you are just an internet tough guy. Yes, obesity is a problem that needs to be solved. Yes, SJWs and their "healthy at any size" mentality is bullshit. However, being a cocky asshole about the problem is not solving anything.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN -1 FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

First they came for the Type II diabetic minorities, and I said nothing because I'm not a leftist SJW snowflake, fuck those guys.

Serves them right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Calories are for backwards people. Google should have went for Joule

NOMGM

[future assassin]

Not On My Google Maps

Re:NOMGM

[freeze128]

It's probably just as well. If you want to track your calories burned, just install Google Fit.

Re:NOMGM

[Anonymous Coward]

No.

Oh no, my fat got triggered

[slashmydots]

For real, wanting to go somewhere and wanting to get exercise are two completely different things. It's rarely overlapped where I don't care how long it'd take to get there so I'll burn some calories on foot. So it is completely useless and somewhat insulting, especially to people like me with mobility issues when it comes to walking. BUT screw those in-denial fat ass whiners who can't handle being told they're disgustingly unhealthy and need to do something about it. If they can't handle that simple fact, let alone taking steps to do something about it, that's THEIR own mental illness. DO NOT cater to those types.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

screw those in-denial fat ass whiners who can't handle being told they're disgustingly unhealthy and need to do something about it. DO NOT cater to those types.

Yeah - the last thing they need is more catering.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

... THEIR own mental illness ...

Yeah, it's my fault because I choose to have a brain that takes an hour to tell me "You just had 20 mouthfuls, stop eating" and it's much worse when one likes sugary foods.

After 20 years, I've learned the danger of not having meals on time and, to recognize the bloat in my belly but it's fucking hard to say "There is no spoon". So, after a few years of arguing the point, I've just accepted the increase of fat that my brain for some reason, and my slower lifestyle, demands.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[thegarbz]

If you go to the gym I agree. If you don't feel the urgent need to drive 20m to your mailbox then no, exercise and the need to go somewhere overlap.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[TeknoHog]

To me, being human is all about using your body, and I find it idiotic to try and separate "exercise" from other forms of being. I do catch a ride if it's going to be more than a few miles, and I do certain exercises that are not immediately useful besides maintaining a healthy body. Still, I have a hard time understanding people who drive a car to a gym, and then proceed to run on a treadmill or something. When I was in college, I used to run to the gym and back again.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the healthcare premiums fatass

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

You dont WANT to understand, and want to feel morrally superior.

A small subset of reasons to drive to the Gym.

Your gym is far enough away that running to the gym would be enough of a workout.
Heat
Rain
Dangerous traffic
Dangerous part of town needs to be traversed.
Upper body workout day
Injury prevents running but not other exercise.
You work out better listening to music and you can't safely do that on the road.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't even count all the times I've been yelled at just for walking home from the train, let alone the number of times I was spooked when jogging outside in (heaven forbid) shorts in 85 degree heat.

Everyone has their own reasons for ponying up for a gym. You have good reasons not to. Congrats, here's a cookie.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[drinkypoo]

I have asthma, I don't run unless I'm scared. But I have occasionally been in the habit of working out.

Re:Oh no, my fat got triggered

[Anonymous Coward]

It your message that I'm choosing to reply to, as I wanted to say that the feature of advertising cupcakes to lard asses is counterproductive. And if I say "lard ass" it's just because I'm writing on the internet and don't know too many US/English slang about the fatsoes.

Cupcakes mean : pile of sugar, and industrial product. Although you can likely make salted cupcakes, industrial or homemade. And I think nothing much of cupcakes because I'm not a US guy, so they're foreign and perhaps kiddy or for 16-year-old girls (the leading social media demogaphics?)
But yeah I am pretty sure that hanging pictures of cupcakes in front of you (while you're trying to go some place) can be like hanging pictures of needles, or crack pipe, or something you might crave (let's say booze, pizza, cigarettes etc.), nutrition is also a notoriously bad science or discipline in that much is flawed, unknown, out of context, outdated, etc. ; in particular giving the impression that if you've walked three miles then you can eat cupcakes and drink a pint of orange juice is unfounded advice.

Or perhaps I simply wouldn't advice about my body functions from a "maps". I could perceive it as if I were in Microsoft Word and Clippy asks whether I pooped yet today. Or I could be a starving Korean or Afghan risking my life to smuggle heroin and see virtual cupcakes pile up on the phone while I'm struggling to get to a town before dark. Whatever!
I had reasons to criticize this feature/story but see, not on grounds of SJW outrage or something like that. It's perhaps not even a bad feature at all but doesn't necessary belong there.

I didn't realise eating disorders were...

[Anonymous Coward]

Walking disorders. Not a mention of your "weight issue". people + social media are fucking insane, die allready.

Yeay Twitter

[Bender Unit 22]

For a happier life, ignore everything written on Twitter.

Re:Yeay Twitter

[Xyrus]

Ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately it's hard to ignore twitter when the Idiot President Trump is threatening nuclear war. :P

Re:Yeay Twitter

[DNS-and-BIND]

You and your outrage culture are the problem.

Re:Yeay Twitter

[Bender Unit 22]

I know, these are unsettling time. I still opt for ignorance., :D
It's not like I have the power to change anything.

I'm gone fishing
I got me a line
Nothing I do is gonna make the difference
So I'm taking the time

And you ain't never gonna be happy
Anyhow, anyway
So I'm gone fishing
And I'm going today

Re:Yeay Twitter

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps that latter issue is a good thing. Now when a Clinton, a Trump, a Netanyahu etc. go visit their "allies" to plead for war hopefully they'll get laughed out of the room!

Re:Yeay Twitter

[RightSaidFred99]

Yeah, I don't get twitter. I go there and hate-read a few idiots to laugh at their antics, but it seems like we have a whole generation of people who take twitter seriously. I found it especially hilarious that people took a "day off" in solidarity with Rose McGowan recently. Then people got mad because that was "peak white feminism", lol. I think it's funny they complain about twitter and how much they hate it and the "bros" that run it, but they can't take the obvious step to stop using it.

I'm old and all, early 40's, but generally not "get off my lawn" old but people who take social media seriously can "get off my lawn".

#metoo

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, me 3 pink cup cakes and some Skittles, nom, nom, nom, #bigboned

Too late. I'm already triggered

[bettodavis]

By anything that remembers me I'm a obese sob.

From commercials depicting thin people, thin people passing by in the street. People doing biking, walking, etc. anything that doesn't glorify eating in excess and being a obese sob.

Oh, and I do get PTSD by the mere sight of sports stores and fitness centers. Check your body privilege!

Should I be institutionalized or at least cease being such a whinny little brat? NO! the whole world must cater to my fragile special snowflake ego, by avoiding any triggering allusion whatsoever.

f*ck 'em

[Anonymous Coward]

What are they going to do? Boycott and not use google anything? Good luck with that. Calorie counts would be nice. If they meshed it in with "Health" or "Fit" or whatever the hell they use it would be fine so it can estimate based on your height/weight/etc. As a fattie myself, I'd use it so I can figure out how I'd burn the most calories so that I may consume it in ice cream after i'm done with my walk.

LOL MODERATORS GOT TRIGGERED!

[Anonymous Coward]

It sure looks like the parent post triggered some butthurt moderator, who decided to censor it to -1. Slashdot users are snowflakes who get triggered so easily, especially when you correctly identify moderation as censorship. Moderating posts down indicates that the moderator got triggered. Moderators tend to censor posts to create a safe space that they can hide in, away from any opinions they don't like. LOL that a moderator got triggered and censored the post to -1! LOLOLOLOL!!!11!1!!!1one!

Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[XXongo]

That's it exactly. It's not that the feature is bad, it's that Google DIDN'T ALLOW PEOPLE TO TURN IT OFF.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

OH MY FUCKING GOD! THEY DIDN'T DO SOMETHING AND YOU CRIED...CRIED SO HARD. THEN WENT TO TWITTER TO BITCH ABOUT IT.

I hate all people who were not using the internet before 1990. After that the general population with IQs under a 100 trashed the place. It will forever be a sewer and a ghetto.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, the next big thing will be a headset that bans stupid uglies from my sight, and from my internet.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

No shit. What a pathetic bunch of crybabies. My wife teaches them, and if it's humanly possible, the upcoming generation are so very, very much worse than millennials could have ever hoped to be. Google is equally pathetic for caving, all of these companies are, the greedy *******. These kids want everything crippled in the same way that they have been crippled by their parents (we have REALLY got to reverse this trend, like, NOW). Where does a grownup go to get a device that has *actual* functionality? My phone becomes more and more of a generic appliance and less and less a useful tool every year.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

You're bitching about others right now. You've become what you hate the most.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[myid]

My wife teaches them ... These kids want everything crippled in the same way that they have been crippled by their parents

That's something that I've been wondering. When students protest speeches that they don't like, claiming to feel threatened, do they really feel threatened? I thought they just used that as an excuse to shut down speakers, whose politics they don't like.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[cayenne8]

Yes, the next big thing will be a headset that bans stupid uglies from my sight, and from my internet.

BUZZZZZ***

Sorry, wrong response....that kind of thought, especially when published publicly can no longer be tolerated.

Please report to the nearest re-education center.

And note...if you are fit and trim, and NON-ugly, well, this is a serious problem, and it is your fault.

Everyone else is right, and YOU should be ashamed for physically putting forth such an outrageous, and un-attainable body image model for our new big boned majority.

Won't you please....think of the children???

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[K. S. Kyosuke]

At first, that appears to be a perfectly reasonable complaint, and it actually is, but the problem I have with it is that in the past, I was several times unhappy with online maps "features" and/or their changes I didn't like, and with the inability to turn them on and off, but I didn't notice anybody trying to spin it into some kind of a social issue. Why is this the one feature I should be able to turn off and not the other ones? (I'm not aiming this at you, just to be sure.)

(And why the hell is it supposed to be about fat people, and not about, you know, the obnoxious get-everywhere-by-car culture?)

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, they really feel threatened. Sometimes that's ridiculous, sometimes I don't think it's a stretch to see how the content of someone's speech, if widely adopted, could lead to actual risk.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[SharpFang]

Yes. Of course assuming them feeling threatened has anything in common with actually being threatened (or even the speech containing any threats) is really far-fetched. But they grew so over-sensitive they will cry, throw a tantrum and sue for use of words like 'niggardly'.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Hognoxious]

If they feel threatened by someone speaking what the hell are they going to do if something like a war or a natural disaster happens?

Nobody has a sense of perspective anymore.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Hognoxious]

It won't be long before you can buy bottles of "aerobically fermented sour wine condiment"

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[sabbede]

Only half the population can have an IQ under 100. It's the average.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that people can't turn it off. There's huge amounts of functionality in google maps and almost none of it can be turned off. Some examples:
1/ When you click a location the button to bring up routes chooses a transport option (you can't decide what transport option type).
2/ When it lists transport types you can't stop it from including all of them (so I have to scroll sideways past taxi to get to bike)
3/ Route options for trains is displayed prominently, options for other types go through another menu layer

The reason this is on slashdot has fuck all to do with it being automatic and is entirely because of the ridiculous outrage generated by some attention seeker making up BS claims that people with diet issues are being triggered by a cupcake image.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[cayenne8]

Yes, the next big thing will be a headset that bans stupid uglies from my sight, and from my internet.

BUZZZZZ***

Sorry, wrong response....that kind of thought, especially when published publicly can no longer be tolerated.

Please report to the nearest re-education center.

And note...if you are fit and trim, and NON-ugly, well, this is a serious problem, and it is your fault.

Everyone else is right, and YOU should be ashamed for physically putting forth such an outrageous, and un-attainable body image model for our new big boned majority.

Won't you please....think of the children???

Hmm...modded down to zero "0",eh?

Maybe I should have thrown in that sarcasm tag...?

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Whibla]

Only half the population can have an IQ under 100. It's the average.

And what's the average (as in mean) of the following set of numbers: [108, 100, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99]? And what proportion of them are below 100?

Would you like to reconsider your statement?

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[gnick]

Only half the population can have an IQ under 100. It's the average.

...
Would you like to reconsider your statement?

IQ is scaled to a normal distribution with a standard deviation of 15. About half the population will be below average.

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[tsqr]

Only half the population can have an IQ under 100. It's the average.

And what's the average (as in mean) of the following set of numbers: [108, 100, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99]? And what proportion of them are below 100?

Would you like to reconsider your statement?

sabbede was talking about IQ scores, not a small set of numbers selected to prove a point. Do you know how IQ scores actually work?

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Whibla]

Thanks for the reply, and the links.

As it happens I am somewhat familiar with the notion of IQ, and the various statistical distributions - many of which are single hump bell shaped but definitely not 'normal'. I'm not totally convinced that IQ, however you define it, is actually 'normally' distributed, however that's a topic for another time and also not relevant to the nit-picky point I was trying to make.

Granted the example I gave was trivial, and, in retrospect, perhaps not the best I could have thought of, nor was it explicit. It is true that roughly as many people will have an IQ less than 100 as will have an IQ of greater than 100. In fact, pedantically, that's going to be less than half, as not only is the median value defined as 100 it's also the most common (modal) value - probably a good couple of % of the population right 'on the nail' so to speak..

Having said all that, I was scanning in a rush before going to have lunch when I replied. In other words I was basically just being a right grumpy bugger. Always nice to have someone civilly point out I've been an ass. Cheers!

When our teacher called my friend and I distinctly average I thought he was saying I was a comedian...

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Whibla]

Do you know how IQ scores actually work?

Yes, thank you.

As it happens his statement is still wrong, but I hold up my hand to being a bit of an ass in my reply.

Re: Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you threatened by cupcake emoticons?

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[gnick]

...pedantically, that's going to be less than half, as not only is the median value defined as 100 it's also the most common (modal) value - probably a good couple of % of the population right 'on the nail' so to speak.

Using the curve they use to scale IQ (normal distribution, mean=100, standard deviation=15), 2.66% of the population should fall between 99.5 & 100.5. So, yes, a couple of % "right on the nail."

Re:Totalitarian software [Re:Whatever]

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm...modded down to zero "0",eh?

Maybe I should have thrown in that sarcasm tag...?

Someone is modding the free speech advocates down to "Troll".

Tons of people are outraged!

[Anonymous Coward]

And both of them want google to ditch that feature.

Give them an off and they might take it too far

[XXongo]

That's the problem: once you appease them you're stuck with them. They smell weakness. They realize the power they have over you. They will demand more and more, never being satisfied.

Yeah-- give them the ability to turn one feature off, and people might start to demand that they be able to turn other features off. Turn off autoplay on videos! Turn off automatic notification of things you don't give a damn about! Why, some people might even want to turn off autocorrect!

Re:Give them an off and they might take it too far

[Immerman]

Before you know it you'd be back in the bleak world of Windows 95 or Linux - where your computer could be configured to work the way you wanted it to, rather than "allowing" you to jump through endless unavoidable hoops for things you'd otherwise want to do frequently.

Re:Give them an off and they might take it too far

[Anonymous Coward]

If You Find These things Objectionable stop using their stuff.

Pampered Millennials

[Anonymous Coward]

I can only assume that our Pampered Millennial generation's need for safe spaces is driving this. I suppose the emotional toil of this information is just too much for them.

Google! Grow a pair! .

Mike

I don't know which is worse.

[AKCoder]

I don't know which is worse: 1. Mentally unstable "people" who claimed this is an issue. 2. Mentally unstable "people" at Google who backed off on the feature.

Re:I don't know which is worse.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure there's a percentage of each of those groups who work at Google. And my guess is there was some internal shit-storm over it, too. Hard to ignore your enraged colleagues.

"lowkey aimed at women"

[Osgeld]

Your damn right, as a whiskey drinkin, cigar smokin, red meat eattin MAUN! I have never in my life ate a pink cupcake!

really wtf, why are pink cupcakes "aimed at women", just cause you happen to be a woman and desire a pink cupcake on your guilt walk? Well guess what, I have pink cupcakes, I am going to enjoy one, its strawberry with a little ribbon of rasberry jam in the middle, and you madam are not allowed to have one...

better?

Re:"lowkey aimed at women"

[liquidsin]

many men, both straight and gay, as well as many other individuals across the gender spectrum, like the colour pink; for her to suggest this is aimed at women is sexist and insensitive.

Re:"lowkey aimed at women"

[freeze128]

Hell! I'll eat any cupcake. I don't care what color it is!

Re:"lowkey aimed at women"

[Kellamity]

As a women who isn't really into pink or cupcakes at all, I now feel shame that I am not womaning correctly. How dare you shame me, Taylor Lorenz, whoever you are.

That is just stupid

[modmans2ndcoming]

I really have no more words....Just stupid. Might as well call a pedometer or smart watch a fat shaming product.

Everything offends me

[OrangeTide]

And I demand that we stop talking about anything.

The removal of this feature has caused me to..

[Anonymous Coward]

shame all the fat people around me

Virtue Signalling

[Anonymous Coward]

That is all the response to the "outrage" is.

are you triggered?

[Anonymous Coward]

He is referring to people who are outraged over nothing, not people with eating disorders. A calorie estimator for walking trips shames nobody.

Re: If it offends you.....

[phantomfive]

If this offends you, it's time to get a health coach. A good one doesn't (necessarily) cost that much, and can be a tremendous help in losing weight. This is especially true for people who have emotional issues around food and get offended by it. This is not easy to do alone.

Problem?

[thegreatbob]

Rather than just taking a shit on another seemingly useful feature, why not make it opt-in instead? The weenies that will complain about its mere existence can be ignored with extreme prejudice.

Re:Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

That means the server would have to check the user's profile for a new setting. The setting would need to be stored. A UI would need to be developed for the setting. Help articles would need to be written. All of that would need to be translated into many languages. Etc... Going from a required to an optional feature can take a lot of work.

Better to change the icon to bacon and link it to your nearest bacon provider. I'm surprised they missed this profit sharing opportunity. This was a valued feature showing you how much more bacon you could eat. It will be missed. We should all have a moment of silence.

.

.

.

.

Re:Problem?

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

It was opt-in! They're the ones that opted to use Google Maps. The outraged people could have simply switched to Yahoo's or Apple's service.

Re:Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am on a diet and would have been interested in the calorie information. I plan trips on the city bus line and do a fair amount of walking. It would just be a novelty, though, I'm on the diet whether I'm burning hot or cool.

Re:Problem?

[swillden]

Rather than just taking a shit on another seemingly useful feature, why not make it opt-in instead? The weenies that will complain about its mere existence can be ignored with extreme prejudice.

I answered that here.

Re:Problem?

[DNS-and-BIND]

Google maps employs ex-Apple designers, options are bad and need to be removed in favor of a least common denominator, one size fits all solution.

Re:Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear ya, but honestly I'd probably do the same thing as Google. Making every feature optional means that you will eventually have some dialog box with 100 checkboxes on it and an intractable test matrix. And the checkbox is the mating call of the loser.

It's bad enough that you have to verify that the cupcakes are always visible on every combination of browser and screen size, but to also have to try it with every other combination of option being on and off?

Plus, making things uber-customizable means that no two users will have the same experience, making support a hassle, and leading to confusion when a user ends up trying to use somebody else's device.

Sure, there are valid reasons for checkboxes, but a trivial feature like the cupcakes probably isn't one of them.

dom

Re:Problem?

[DNS-and-BIND]

Yup, that's the problem, isn't it? They're not making it better for users, they're making it better for Google. Who cares about what the users get, the real point is to make Google employees' life easier.

Google Doesn't Make Products People Need

[Anonymous Coward]

Rather, they make products people want. This is a good example of that. Some minority group wants a lack of notifications about calorie counting, so Google bows to their worthless pressure so they aren't alienating a group of people who never step outside and walk any appreciable distance.

What fucking bullshit is this

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously what the actual fuck? Some people just live to make up stuff to be offended about. Pink cupcakes - fine, change it to pies - or is that too manly now. Erm, is there a gender neutral food? Maybe a picture of pure carbohydrates? Whatever.

But the rest of this is in fact a crock of shit. How will this shame anyone - unless they are waving google maps in someone elses face, like "oooh look I could walk and burn a pie, but instead I think I'll drive and let my arse get fatter". How will this trigger people with eating disorders? Will the cupcakes/pies picture send them on a binge followed by the finger?

Whoever the hell Taylor Lorenz is (I honestly have no idea) she can get stuffed - with pies/cupcakes/whatever.

oh ffs

[Anonymous Coward]

...idiots.

USA #1 in Obesity

[Anonymous Coward]

If it causes people to think about their weight and/or exercise by listing estimated calories in a highly visible and used application, then maybe it is more beneficial than one Twitter user's hurt feelings. The figures vary a little, but if around 7 in 10 adults in the US are obese, it's way past time we worried about tiptoeing around our weight crisis.

How accurate was it? Is driving zero calories?

[Anonymous Coward]

Were the calories estimated accurate?
Did it take into account changes in elevation, including small hills?
Did it take into account stairs vice hills, rough walking surface vice smooth surface?
Did it take into account headwinds or effective-temperature or sunshine/clouds in amount of calories that might be burned on path?
Did it take into account how much a person weighs or how much weight they might be carrying with them?

How about how many calories would be burned by driving or taking the bus--that isn't zero?

Pink cupcakes, Mmmmmmmmmm....

[TiggertheMad]

As The Hill's Taylor Lorenz noted in her tweets, there was no way to turn off the feature. Lorenz also claimed that using pink cupcakes as the unit of measurement was "lowkey aimed at women."

As a man who will eat the shit out of any pink cupcake that is dropped in front of him, I am highly offended by Lorenz's tweet. Lorenz is racist against men and sexist against pink! Boo!

Re:Pink cupcakes, Mmmmmmmmmm....

[Anonymous Coward]

I support you, cupcake eating man. You eat as much pink as you want. Enbrace your true self.

Re:Pink cupcakes, Mmmmmmmmmm....

[drinkypoo]

As a man who will eat the shit out of any pink cupcake that is dropped in front of him, I am highly offended by Lorenz's tweet.

I prefer a cupcake filled with pudding or custard, not "pudding" or "custard"

My gawd, the snowflakes

[Anonymous Coward]

My gawd, the snowflakes. The outraged must live in blue states.

Stupid snowflakes

[technomom]

C'mon. This wasn't hurting anyone. I'm a 50+ yo lady who has about another 15 pounds to go on my own weight loss quest. I would love to have this feature in Google Maps. It's a great motivation. I love cupcakes but seriously, triggering from a cartoon icon? Have just a little backbone and self control!

The Future

[Anonymous Coward]

A tiny population of whites slaving away, taxed at 90% to account for historical privilege, subsidizing an obese 3rd world population who consumes nothing but corn and reality television. Everyone is every gender and preferences are illegal. The left's vision for the future.

Wait, What?

[buss_error]

I'm fat. I know I'm fat. Having someone say to me "You're FAT!" may be uncouth and rude, but it's true.

And as I stated, it's something I am already aware of, thank you, Capt. Obvious.

Leave them alone!!!

[dethjester]

Those fat fat fatties are excellent consumers, leave them alone!

self-diagnosis

[doctorvo]

Google's attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle caused a number of people to lambast the feature on Twitter, claiming it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders.

People with diagnosed eating disorders are under medical care and hence constantly reminded of their disorder. The people who are likely complaining here are people with obesity who do not actually have a diagnosed eating disorder and merely claim an "eating disorder" as an excuse for their weight problem.

Re:self-diagnosis

[sabbede]

Notice that it doesn't say "people with eating disorders lambasted the feature...". I think they may have been whining because they thought someone else's feelings might get hurt. Which makes them huge idiots, and Google even stupider for listening.

Oh no!

[JustNiz]

>> it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders.

Oh no! We must shelter those delicate little flowers from facts and truthful information!

Re:Oh no!

[iggymanz]

in a store, ever have to pass one of those land whales that almost brush both sides of the aisle? and yes, women are more likely then men to be obese, so shaming them with pink cupcakes or anything else stereotypically feminine is fine. quit stuffing yer face, ya cows!

Re:Oh no!

[JustNiz]

>> women are more likely then men to be obese

Intuitively it seems right, but please cite references.

Re:Oh no!

[avandesande]

Aisle filling is dominated by women....
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/heal...

Re:Oh no!

[thewolfkin]

Aisle filling is dominated by women.... https://www.niddk.nih.gov/heal...

It's a six percent difference ya clad. And women are much more likely to have body issues. Guess what happens when you feel pressure to be stick thin and you're not that body type. Your diet fails and you feel like a failure and things get out of hand.

Re:Oh no!

[avandesande]

I would assume 'Aisle filling' means morbid obesity, and it is two to one in the link I provided. Not sure why the need to explain something that just is.

Re:Oh no!

[Anonymous Coward]

We're supposed to care when women are made to feel bad for not being young/thin/pretty enough.

No one gives a shit when men are made to feel bad for not being young/thin/attractive enough.

Or more aptly, not being tall enough, or rich enough, or balding.

Re:Oh no!

[iggymanz]

those "issues" you list are not excuses to stuff one's face with twinkies.

In big cities the M/F spread is even bigger, those food stamps should not be allowed for crap with high GI

Re:Oh no!

[thewolfkin]

a) you're assuming people are stuffing themselves with gas station snacks which isn't exactly true. b) you're assuming all the fat people are on food stamps. c) you're assuming that healthier options are as easily available in the same price range.

Re:Oh no!

[thewolfkin]

I would assume 'Aisle filling' means morbid obesity, and it is two to one in the link I provided. Not sure why the need to explain something that just is.

Yes in a link that talks about overweight and obesity and extreme obesity I'm just supposed to assume Aisle filling only meant one category. and specifically only that category and not the collection. Especially since the original phrase you're talking about said "women are more likely than men to be obese". Which actually only has a 8:7 ratio (40.4% to 35%) again hardly dominating.

The word morbid doesn't appear in your link but the phrase extreme obesity is. Specifically

Extreme obesity was higher in women (9.9 percent) than men (5.5 percent)

2:1 only because we're talking about a little over 5 percent vs a little under 10 percent. Hardly dominating. Honestly you're just pushing goalposts and failing at it.

Re:Oh no!

[avandesande]

It's not a contest.

Re:Oh no!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's right, but a bit misleading.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

Women are slightly more likely to be obese, men are much more likely to be overweight.

Re:Oh no!

[iggymanz]

false, logic is failing you not me.

People on food stamps have higher incidence of obesity than general populace. They buy low nutrition / high carb foods with food stamps. both these problems are well known, except by you.

Re:Oh no!

[thewolfkin]

You're the one that's failing at logic. Fat people are on foodstamps is not the same thing as Food Stamp people are fat. You can't state one and then defend it with the other. And again I'm not denying obesity isn't an issue within the food stamp community. I'm denying they sign up (metaphorically) for obesity. Healthy food is expensive and on food stamps it's more expensive. That is my point.

Re:Oh no!

[thewolfkin]

It's not a contest.

It was never a contest. it was an insult

women are more likely then men to be obese, so shaming them with pink cupcakes or anything else stereotypically feminine is fine. quit stuffing yer face, ya cows!

You were the one who insisted that it was dominated by women. You are the one who suggested it was a contest

Aisle filling is dominated by women....

Re:Oh no!

[iggymanz]

no, healthy food can be very cheap, cheaper per pound than the crap most of those buy. you're going to tell me a pound of processed meat is cheaper than say whole chicken? snack food vs. brown rice in bulk? Ignorance is the problem.

true triggers

[Anonymous Coward]

So true fat triggers true guilt ... and true exercise triggers slackwise grue oh meoh my how the SJWs howl. Best trundle away the fatsky lusr progressives and see to their demise as swiftly and conveniently as possible. Get those fatladden arteries a-pumpin! Not only are walkways less crowded by the waddlerz , but also fewer vote-herded DemoRat slutskyz . That's a true poli/cultural plus.

They failed to

[Anonymous Coward]

sufficiently anthropomorphise the cupcake. Should have called it Fatty McFatFace.

Humor

[Neuronwelder]

If you can ride in a car while simulating walking, can you drive them nuts?

It will soon be ruined for everyone

[fireman sam]

Perhaps we should just ban pink and blue - fuck it, let's ban all colours (an even colors). Let the whingers wear shades of grey and be miserable.

Re:It will soon be ruined for everyone

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps we should just ban pink and blue - fuck it, let's ban all colours (an even colors). Let the whingers wear shades of grey and be miserable.

I'd go for genetic engineering so that future generations have monochromatic vision. And while we're about it make them all black bisexuals with disabilities.

Re:It will soon be ruined for everyone

[thewolfkin]

I'd go for genetic engineering so that future generations have monochromatic vision.

All fun and games until someone sees the color red.

First time for everything

[Anonymous Coward]

Google removed a "feature" after negative feedback? Are you sure you aren't thinking of some other tech firm? I can't the times I've had to greasemonkey Google to get rid of some stupid bullshit they foisted on us without the option to revert or disable the changes. Google still beats Bing, no matter how hard they try to copy its stupider features.

I'm sure it works in silly SF.

[Anonymous Coward]

Google seems to think the world revolves around SF. There are simply some places where it is too hot and rainy all year round to walk. Try walking in Florida in the summer (which is 11 months out of the year). If a car doesn't run you over the thunderstorm out of nowhere will get you soaking wet. But you'll be soaking wet anyhow because it's still 90 degrees and will be right up to December.

Then again; I've walked in SF and almost stepped in poop. Human poop. Maybe Google should add that to maps.

Re:I'm sure it works in silly SF.

[Anonymous Coward]

So just use maps for driving and public transport directions then. You'd never even have to see it if you didn't click on the walk icon. Which is already there, btw.

Bliss

[Reverend Green]

Is it not delightful to see baizou turn on their own kind and tear one another to shreds?

Triggered?

[ayesnymous]

What's with all the hypersensitive people the past few years? Do they get "triggered" when they see calorie counts on restaurant menus or nutrition labels?

Re:Triggered?

[Anonymous Coward]

I do - but that's because I live in a country that uses metric.

I can (roughly) translate miles and yards to meter, inches to centimeter, gallons to liter and pounds to kilogram. But I have no clue how to translate calories to joules, watt-hours or any other unit I know.

Re:Triggered?

[thewolfkin]

What's with all the hypersensitive people the past few years? Do they get "triggered" when they see calorie counts on restaurant menus or nutrition labels?

People have always been triggered. It's just traditionally no one cared and everyone ignored it. That was bad. Better to care than not.

Re:Triggered?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that everyone ignored it, it's that people used to say, "you have a problem with the rest of the world, deal with it."

Nowadays the attitude is, "I don't like the way the world is, therefore the rest of the world has to change, not me!"

Re:Triggered?

[ayesnymous]

Nobody will be able to do anything then, since something will always trigger somebody in some way.

Re:Triggered?

[thewolfkin]

Nobody will be able to do anything then, since something will always trigger somebody in some way.

No that's not the way triggered works. It doesn't mean you can't do it. It just means you have to mindful of people who would be affected. Sometimes that means giving them a way out. Sometimes that means just telling them before you start. It doesn't mean you can't do it.

I can hardly believe

[Chrisq]

The screenshots in linked to the article shows that the complainer looked up driving directions for somewhere 0.7 miles away. That's a little under 1,000 steps. Unless there is some good reason (taking lots of luggage, rough neighbourhood, person is disabled) surely most people would walk that? And if there is a good reason why would anyone see it as an insult?

Re:I can hardly believe

[sabbede]

No, no good reason at all.

Are people with weight problems even the ones complaining? I'm starting to get the impression that it's people who think it will hurt other people's feelings that started this nonsense.

Sexist woman

[kbg]

What? Is Lorenz saying pink cupcakes are only for women? Is she saying pink is a girl color only? Or that cupcakes are only for girls? I am outraged at this sexist remark. I am a middle aged man that loves cupcakes of all colors, especially the pink ones.

Re:Sexist woman

[TeknoHog]

I am a middle aged man that loves cupcakes of all colors, especially the pink ones.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

To each their own demise...

[Anonymous Coward]

Jews kill themselves off by in-breeding (they shun those among them who are marrying goyim, hoping to enhhance IQ by directed breeding), but their gene pool becomes ever more shallower as a side effect and hereditary diseases are abound.

Americans kill themselves off by refusing to move without motorization. An ass is no longer a beast of burden, but a lardish giant burden attached to the posterior of americans.

Japanese kill off themselves by refusing to move at all, as they become shut-ins, jerking off to anime.

Soon the planet will be owned by skiing finns, cycling dutch and black african runners.

WTF: Never mod points when you want them

[clay_buster]

What 1/2 brain post this kind of $#!@# ?

Jews kill themselves off by in-breeding (they shun those among them who are marrying goyim, hoping to enhhance IQ by directed breeding), but their gene pool becomes ever more shallower as a side effect and hereditary diseases are abound.

Americans kill themselves off by refusing to move without motorization. An ass is no longer a beast of burden, but a lardish giant burden attached to the posterior of americans.

Japanese kill off themselves by refusing to move at all, as they become shut-ins, jerking off to anime.

Soon the planet will be owned by skiing finns, cycling dutch and black african runners.

Complainers aren't even fat?!?!?

[sabbede]

Taylor Lorenz isn't overweight. She's a skinny "journalist" with Politico complaining because she thinks someone else's feelings could be hurt. Scrolling through the tweets, I noticed that the people who agreed and had pictures of themselves as avatars were also skinny. The only comments from people who said they were overweight were in support of the feature and anti-Taylor.

I'm going to go ahead and call her an idiot. I'm going to follow that up with calling her parents idiots because her first name is a job she'll never have. Plus they raised an idiot.

Re:Complainers aren't even fat?!?!?

[Hognoxious]

I'd never heard of the silly mare but Google says she's an " editorial strategist", whatever that is.

Sort of confirming my new rule

Re:Complainers aren't even fat?!?!?

[sabbede]

I believe it's a synonym for "Propagandist". As in, "How do we write this story to advance our agenda?"

Point?

[wardrich86]

claiming it would "shame" and even "trigger" those with eating disorders.

What's their point? If people are being "triggered" and "shamed" by the data, maybe they should ignore it or use another app? Who gives a fuck... This entire padded world we're creating is bullshit. They should have added a toggle to disable it, then create a "hurt snowflake" counter that counts the number of people that turned it off.

Cardinal directions are RACIST!

[Anonymous Coward]

The Cardinal compass points were created by evil Europeans to support Colonialism and Racism! I demand that Google Maps stop showing directions on their maps!

Citymapper's is the best

[Mr_Silver]

My favourite is Citymapper which reports the 13 minute walk from my office to a nearby bar as taking up "49 cal, 3% of daily intake or 0.1 cheeseburgers or 0.3 pints of beer"

ZOMGROFLCOPTER

[Anonymous Coward]

"OH! My fragile self image has been shattered by your app telling me that i could lose a little weight off my mama-june lookin ass! the horror!"
please. if telling you "Hey, walk over there and it's 50 calories" and you get triggered or shamed... GOOD!

Google Maps Ditches Walking Calorie Counter

[Anonymous Coward]

My first reading of the title was that Google Maps would now be showing ditches (trenches in the ground) and would be suggesting ones you could walk along for exercise.

Calorie counts for food are required

[enjar]

If you go into a chain restaurant, the food items are clearly labeled with their calorie count. If you get food in a grocery store, the foods have a label whose content is regulated to let you know the nutritional information, including the calorie count. These measures were enforced to let people know what they are eating, so that people could see the numbers and adjust accordingly. These numbers aren't political, they are simply the facts. If you want to have a Big Mac, go right ahead. I guess if you get triggered because you are overweight, you don't go in chain restaurants. That probably likely works out better.

But adding an indicator that shows where you can burn some calories by walking (or biking?) as an alternative to driving is offensive? Give me a break. I've used this tool to find a way to get some extra walking in, just to see how the time works out. Having a calorie count would just be icing on the cupcake.

How insensitive!

[SuperKendall]

Other health features would be ok - like air pollution overlay

My chosen gender is "air polluter" you insensitive clod!

If you wonder what kind of partner an "air polluter" seeks, it's the gender "Rolling Coal".

The Probesity movement.

[Anonymous Coward]

The only thing that can beat us, is diabetes!

Cupcakes

[Anonymous Coward]

When I see a pink cupcake, I don't think "feminine" I think "super sweet". Pink cupcakes have been a staple icon of indicating sweeties for movies, games, and advertising for the 3 decades that I have been alive. Only an uncultured sexist would think otherwise.

Triggering

[Anonymous Coward]

TFA headline made me stop off at KFC or an XL bucket. That's on YOU.

Ehh better gone than what it was

[thewolfkin]

At first I thought this was blowing up too hard if they shut it down, I'm not sure triggering ED people should prevent caloric counters but

As The Hill's Taylor Lorenz noted in her tweets, there was no way to turn off the feature.

That's a no no. Like a BIG no no. It's things like this and removing headphone jacks that make me wonder if engineers are even people or if algorithms are deciding everything.

pink cupcakes as the unit of measurement was "lowkey aimed at women."

I didn't think so at first. But after thinking about it for 30 minutes or so I kinda agree. Maybe unintentionally aimed at women but whoever thought a cupcake was a good idea probably had a woman in their head.

Maps wasn't the appropriate place for the update

I disagree. I think it would have been a very interesting feature but it needs a default off switch. I'd like to be able to turn it on though.

there are plenty of fitness and calorie counting apps that keep track of your activity and consumption

which is a different sort of information than that this was giving you. This could have made things like planning your walk using google maps better. I think it was designed wrong but it could have been a good idea. I'm mildly sad it's gone but not gonna cry over it. Rather have it gone than forced on everyone.

too many apps

[Anonymous Coward]

> there are plenty of fitness and calorie counting apps that keep track of your activity and consumption -- again emphasizing how misplaced the feature was

Yeah, but I don't have any more space on my phone and I'd never remember to open that app anyway. I never close maps.

Stupid people and IQ

[i286NiNJA]

You guys are hurting his feelings. Stop exposing his stupidity or else he'll bust out a infographic on logical fallacy and prove you wrong once and for all.

Walking for fitness is mainly a myth.

[Anonymous Coward]

Casual walking for fitness is one of the greatest myths perpetuated on the American public. Every day I see people taking a quick lunchtime walk. 80% of them are overweight, many obese.

The calorific burn in a 20 minute walk just isn't there, neither is the aerobic exercise. Backpacking 20 miles a day in the hills carrying 30lbs would work. In two months you'll hit peak fitness, and be struggling to maintain weight. But those lunchtime walks need to be runs.

I think a message that a quick walk every day was useful to aging frail people who barely eat anything got misinterpreted.

Re:Walking for fitness is mainly a myth.

[Anonymous Coward]

It gets the blood moving at least. That should make a for more healthy obese. I'm not defending any bunk notion of body positivity here just that I think I'm glad they do a walk for the walk's sake. Even simple things like getting sun light and passing by people you don't care about and vice versa.
Beats staring at phones and blank walls for yet more hours I think.

Optional?

[DrChandra]

Can they make the calorie display optional? I want it. All my other walking apps can tell me how many calories each walk is worth. I don't need the display forced on those who don't want it, but I'd like to have access.

Walking music

[Anonymous Coward]

They need walking music

Disappointing

[hackel]

I would have loved this feature. Oh well, guess the regressives win again.

The Fall of Rome

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if this SJW nonsense killed the Roman Empire, too.

I keep thinking of the scene in the Life of Brian where one of the characters is being a whiny bitch, a professional victim. When the movie was released, people laughed at what a ludicrous, pathetic person that character was. Now, that character could be the Democrat’s choice for president.

Need to also remove Traffic Reports

[gachunt]

I'm *outraged* that Google Maps includes Traffic Reports, as it's insensitive to those who can't afford a car or are immobile.

Satellite view will need to go too. Imagine if homeless people see that other people live in houses. What injustice is in the World.

Stupid...

[Anonymous Coward]

So... now I can't figure out how far I have to walk to burn off lunch...

This is really bloody stupid... Google needs to grab some balls on this one. A simple option would be to allow a user to turn the feature OFF.

Wow... that took me all of 2 mins to figure out.

Fuck people are just so DUMB lately.

Trigger Detector?

[Anonymous Coward]

You would think with google's data mining they would be able to profile those who might get "triggered" by something

Solution, Reenable the calorie counter and auto opt out the ones that google's profiling determines would be triggered.

I asked myself

[xenog]

Where was the feature in Google Maps that showed me the estimated burned calories while walking or cycling? It would definitely be useful. Now I know. Thanks to the Social Justice Warriors I can't have it. Thank you Google for bending over for the SJW mob.

Shutup and walk

[Anonymous Coward]

you fat bastards.