GEOnet Names Server

This source has separate reliability assessments by time period or topic; each is presented in its own section below.


names and locations

GEOnet Names Server (names and locations)
typewebsite
statusNo consensus no consensus
deprecatedno
blacklistedno
recency2021
Domain geonames.nga.mil
In source code

External links in articles

Spamcheck tool
RFC
linkRfc
date2021

Summary

The GEOnet Names Server is a United States-based geographical database that covers non-U.S. countries. It is considered to be close to generally reliable for its place names and locations/coordinates, though there are concerns that GNS may not always be accurate and sometimes report the existence of places that do not even exist. Editors are advised to exercise caution when using it.

Discussions


Recency

Stale discussions 2021

Rfcs

  1. 2021 Rfc

feature classes

GEOnet Names Server (feature classes)
typewebsite
statusGenerally unreliable generally unreliable
deprecatedno
blacklistedno
recency2021
Domain geonames.nga.mil
In source code

External links in articles

Spamcheck tool
RFC
linkRfc
date2021

Summary

The GEOnet Names Server is a United States-based geographical database that covers non-U.S. countries. It is generally unreliable for its feature classes and it should not be used to determine the notability of geographic features as it does not meet the legal recognition requirement.

Discussions


Recency

Stale discussions 2021

Rfcs

  1. 2021 Rfc

Excerpt

The GEOnet Names Server (GNS), sometimes also referred to in official documentation as Geographic Names Data or geonames in domain and email addresses, is a service that provides access to the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's (NGA) and the US Board on Geographic Names's (BGN) database of geographic feature names and coordinates for locations outside the US. The database is the official repository for the US Federal Government on foreign place-name decisions approved by the BGN. Approximately 20,000 of the database's features are updated monthly. Names are not deleted from the database, "except in cases of obvious duplication". The database contains search aids such as spelling variations and non-Roman script spellings in addition to its primary information about location, administrative division, and quality. The accuracy of the database had been criticised.

Notes

References

    Original table rows for comparison

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    Perennial sources
    Source Status
    (legend)    		 Discussions Use
    List Last Summary
    GEOnet Names Server (GNS) (names and locations) No consensus Request for comment 2021 Stale discussions

    2021

    		 The GEOnet Names Server is a United States-based geographical database that covers non-U.S. countries. It is considered to be close to generally reliable for its place names and locations/coordinates, though there are concerns that GNS may not always be accurate and sometimes report the existence of places that do not even exist. Editors are advised to exercise caution when using it. 1 Links Spamcheck
    GEOnet Names Server (GNS) (feature classes) Generally unreliable Request for comment 2021 Stale discussions

    2021

    		 The GEOnet Names Server is a United States-based geographical database that covers non-U.S. countries. It is generally unreliable for its feature classes and it should not be used to determine the notability of geographic features as it does not meet the legal recognition requirement. 1 Links Spamcheck