#1 2020-07-31 08:49:13

ohnonot

...again

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 5,592

Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

Inspired by a short exchange and an archlinux forums thread that cannot be viewed without logging in.

Let me start (partly stolen from said archlinux thread, partly my own):

Good name: xterm Bad name: urxvt
Good name: openbox Bad name: FVWM (even their devs don't remember what it stands for and there's just no way of spelling it)
Good name: curl Bad name: wget (I always spell it the german way, but in english this is horrible)

Bad name: systemctl.. srsly?

Perl? Lisp? Python? dillo? surf?...

Oh, and Awebb is still active over there!

ZSTD, which immediately translated into "Zombie-Sexually Transmitted Disease" in my head. It's a good and bad name at the same time.

And this gem (not Awebb):

Has etherape been mentioned for bad name?
In terms of naming, that's the software equivalent of websites like penisland.net

Your turn...

Last edited by ohnonot (2020-07-31 08:56:03)

damo

....moderator....

Registered: 2015-08-20

Posts: 6,734

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

Bad names, which sound unhealthy: scrot, gimp and maim.

Clever names: IDLE, clipit, galculator, gigolo

Strange names: blender, conky, nitrogen.

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Martin

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From: Stockholm, Sweden

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 815

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Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

There are too many bad ones -- by which I mean there is no hint in the name to what the program does. Take baobab for instance. To me that is a big tree common on Madagascar. Names like that is OK when you use a program everyday. It is not hard to remember that my web browser is Firefox but for things only used occasionally...

/Martin

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brontosaurusrex

Senior Associate, Middle Office

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 2,777

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

^ Wasn't aware what 'maim' actually means, phonetically it sounds peaceful. I mostly spell 'wget' as weget, mostly.

bad names: Zathura (for pdf viewer?), Debian,
funny: Ubuntu (a soccer player), Squid
good names: ...

Last edited by brontosaurusrex (2020-08-01 09:47:57)

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Martin

Member

From: Stockholm, Sweden

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 815

Website

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

What about "Handbrake" for ripping DVDs? There must be something interesting behind that choice of name.

/Martin

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Gaucho

From: High in the Custerdome

Registered: 2015-09-17

Posts: 16,812

Website

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

Clever names:  galculator

Eww, no. I always read it as one word... Galculator.

He's like the Terminator, but instead of killing you he just pukes on you a little bit.

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DeepDayze

Like sands through an hourglass...

From: In Linux Land

Registered: 2017-05-28

Posts: 1,966

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

Clever names:  galculator

Eww, no. I always read it as one word... Galculator.

He's like the Terminator, but instead of killing you he just pukes on you a little bit.

Ha.

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ohnonot

...again

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 5,592

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

What about "Handbrake" for ripping DVDs? There must be something interesting behind that choice of name.

I remember once stumbling over that, but since I don't use this program I forgot again.
I had a quick skim of their site but found nothing that would explain the name. The application icon is equally pointless IMO - a cocktail and a pineapple?
Interesting skim through the history of this application, going on 15 years now.
It does remind me of transmission though?!

PackRat

jgmenu user Numero Uno

Registered: 2015-10-02

Posts: 2,870

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

The application icon is equally pointless IMO - a cocktail and a pineapple?

A handbrake (devil's handbrake) is a layered tropical fruit cocktail made with mango and banana liqueurs. Often served with pineapple wedges on the side. Potent drink and "getting ripped" is slang for getting drunk.

Bad names -

scrotwm - original name, now spectrwm

i3 (view it as ascii art, not a word)

IPFire distro

Back in the day, I had to attend a project manager's seminar about the use of porn - subliminal or otherwise - in project naming and branding.

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ohnonot

...again

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 5,592

Re: Good Name, Bad Name - Legendary Linux Application Names

A handbrake (devil's handbrake) is a layered tropical fruit cocktail made with mango and banana liqueurs. Often served with pineapple wedges on the side. Potent drink and "getting ripped" is slang for getting drunk.

I knew it!

Bad name: newsbeuter (I'm German, I understand the play on words, and I still don't like it) - Good name: newsboat (fork of the now discontinued newsbeuter)

Speaking of english/german play on words:
Good name: u-boot (wasn't there also something called gummiboot?) - Bad name: GRUB - even worse name: GRUB2