Image talk:United Nations geographical subregions.png

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[edit] Alteration required

I feel it is a mistake to illustrate geographical subregions on the basis of states, unless the map was created to loosely show in which region countries lie. These regions do not respect borders; thus maps of them should not be expected to correspond to borders. This map falsely excludes Western New Guinea from Melanesia, and the Russian Far-East and Siberia from Eastern and Northern Asia.--cj | talk 08:51, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

CJ, this image is entitled "United Nations geographical subregions" because it depicts the regional groupings of the UN's member states (except microstates) and many of their dependent territories — although very conspicuously not the Falkland Islands, Svalbard and Kerguelen. You might want to check out the articles on political geography, international organizations, regions and subregions for useful comparisons/insights. //Big Adamsky 19:34, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

But it's not being used in that context - it's being used to show subregions (even if with caveat) not where UN members lie within them. I came to this image from continent where a user had complained that the map was biased (for reasons not well-expressed or legitimate). It caught my eye because of the New Guinea thing (where I have strong opinions, and thus I overlooked its title). If we want to illustrate subregions, we should do so correctly.--cj | talk 08:13, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

I don't think alteration is required. Remember, cj (harking of BA's comments): this is just one way, albeit IMO a neutral and perhaps conciliatory one by the UN, to skin the cat regarding sub/regions. This 'political' map/scheme, with proviso, should be treated as such. There are various definitions/interpretations for various lands: for example, Australia, Australasia, Oceania (qv: Wallace Line) etc. vary not only amongst each other but according to authority. The UN scheme is specific to countries/member states, and the map reflects that specificity. I would imagine that countries are in one or the other region due to statistical ease: can you imagine the tumult if French Guiana was considered a part of Europe, if the UN had to account for Russian idiosyncracies on either side of the Urals, et cetera?

If there's another scheme that we should depict as well, please advise. E Pluribus Anthony 08:37, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What's in this name?

Hey, it struck me while participating in the discussion at Talk:Continent that the name "subregion" is pretty silly and empty. What is it really intended to mean - a subset of a region? Or could it be that it is short for sub-continental region - a region consisting of less than a continent (a subcontinent)?
By the way, how about we move this discussion on the image over to Talk:Subregion where other images could be discussed and compared? =) //Big Adamsky 15:24, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Au contraire; my take on it is that all of these terms are not synoymous. For example, take another glance at the UN link and the page heading will reveal this (emphasis added):

Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings

I hope this makes sense. I don't think there's a need to marry the discussions per se: while related, we're dealing with different articles and slightly different notions/definitions. E Pluribus Anthony 22:40, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Hm, may-be so, may-not-be so. What I was hinting at was more that this term sub-region may used pretty mych as a synomyn for region, which as we will all have discovered by now, contains a nebulous fuzzy assortment of meanings depending on context (see the article itself). À propos the UN link, this fine Dutch statistical site also uses the UN's subregional groupings as the basis for its geographical break-down. Very much worth a peek! :} //Big Adamsky 22:59, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Agreed: I think we're generally on the same page. In these contexts, I infer sub-region to be a subset of region and not merely a synoynym of it. However, usage beyond these pages (e.g., region) might vary and, if necessary, should be refined. E Pluribus Anthony 23:06, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Here's one more for the people. //Big Adamsky 23:23, 3 January 2006 (UTC)