Re: [tdf-discuss] [GENERAL] New name

[Graham Lauder <yorick_@openoffice.org>]

On Sunday 03 Oct 2010 15:00:04 Antonio Olivares wrote:
> --- On Sat, 10/2/10, Ron House <rhouse@smartchat.net.au> wrote:
> > From: Ron House <rhouse@smartchat.net.au>
> > Subject: Re: [tdf-discuss] [GENERAL] New name
> > To: discuss@documentfoundation.org
> > Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010, 6:35 PM
> > 
> > On 02/10/10 23:41, Mirek M. wrote:
> > > Well, "Open Office" was usually the spoken term used
> > 
> > to refer to
> > 
> > > OpenOffice.org, and I'd say that's much easier to
> > 
> > pronounce than
> > 
> > > LibreOffice. And it flows much more nicely.
> > > "LibreOffice" is hard to pronounce the French way
> > 
> > because there are two
> > 
> > > (written) vowels next to each other. That's one thing
> > 
> > the French language
> > 
> > > tries to avoid, by having special forms for the few
> > 
> > adjectives that come
> > 
> > > before nouns that start with a vowel, like "bel",
> > 
> > "vieil", and "nouvel". So
> > 
> > > LibreOffice doesn't really fit in with French
> > 
> > pronunciation either...
> > 
> > > But you don't need professionals to know if a name
> > 
> > sounds good. I'd say
> > 
> > > "Firefox" and "Inkscape" are great names, but I'm sure
> > 
> > those projects didn't
> > 
> > > spend millions of dollars on coming up with a name.
> > 
> > And just look at how the
> > 
> > > name "Google" came about: it was made up by a daughter
> > 
> > of a mathematician.
> > 
> > > I liked it, too, at first, but I'm afraid that
> > 
> > pronunciation will be an
> > 
> > > issue...
> > > 
> > > Anyway, if nobody else thinks it's an issue, then it
> > 
> > should stay.
> > 
> > Hmm, I joined the list to find out about compiling the
> > source, but this discussion took my interest. Apologies for
> > butting in late.
> > 
> > Names are a hard thing, but one lesson I have learned in 30
> > years of software development is: for widespread acceptance
> > a good name matters much more than good content. (Sad but
> > true.)
> > 
> > Examples: "Object-oriented programming" : All the ideas
> > were there in Simula 67 (yes, that's 1967), but until the
> > cool name, OOP, was invented, no one took any notice. Then
> > "Extreme programming", "Open Office", "relational database"
> > (just a cool name for the bad idea of busting up all the
> > objects and losing the natural hierarchies). I could think
> > of dozens if I spent another ten minutes at it.
> > 
> > Another key lesson: Insiders are very, VERY bad at picking
> > good names for their own 'children'.
> > 
> > This is not meant as an insult, but the key movers and
> > shakers here, to whom we all owe the very existence of this
> > wonderful project, are most likely the least able to judge a
> > good name.
> > 
> > And "LibreOffice" is a very poor name.
> > 
> > Reasons:
> > 
> > 1/ "Libre" is an insider's term. Ask any but a romance
> > language speaker or a free software supporter what it means.
> > Seriously, ask your mum, your boss, your students, the guy
> > serving at the local deli. The name is doomed to
> > misunderstanding and obscurity. Geeks will give you lots of
> > good feedback and you'll judge you got it right, but you
> > haven't, and you need to actually try the little experiment
> > I just gave if you want to see why.
> > 
> > 2/ As Mirek explains, the pronunciation breaks the rules,
> > and showing disrespect for the rules of the linguistic
> > source of a term doesn't seem like a sensitive or a
> > politically wise thing to do.
> > 
> > 3/ Also as Mirek points out, the adjacent vowels make the
> > word hard to roll off the tongue by a speaker of any
> > language. (It occurs to me as I write this that (2) and (3)
> > could be fixed by calling it "OfficeLibre".)
> > 
> > Thus my only disagreement with Mirek's comments: "If nobody
> > else thinks it's an issue..." - the people here (again, with
> > apologies) are all self-selected for their in-depth
> > knowledge of the field, love of the software, love of the
> > ideals, and understanding of the jargon. All of us (myself
> > included) are almost certain to have a useless opinion on
> > what would actually be a good name.
> > 
> > So, this is just a recommendation, but one which I know is
> > worth doubling the support base: Get a better name. Even
> > something pedestrian like "Free Office" would do much
> > better. And of course, if someone could conjure up that rare
> > animal, the magic name, well who knows...?
> > 
> > And PS: Don't worry about having already announced the
> > name: it was stated it was temporary and it's a name
> > destined for forgetability in any case.
> > 
> > -- Ron Hous
> 
> I also am sorry to butt in this conversation.  But IMHO, the name does no
> t matter.  It is the software, the freedom to work with it.  This softw
> are has been created before a major catastrophe occurs, i.e, Oracle a big c
> ompany controls|controlled OpenOffice.org as soon as it bought Sun Microsys
> tems.  Now they have killed OpenSolaris, their next target would have bee
> n, ..., yes OpenOffice.  Before that occured, some kind people have decid
> ed to protect the software before that happens. 
> 
> LibreOffice, is an office suite that is "Libre", meaning free, not only fre
> e in speech but free in mostly every aspect like free and open source.  I
> t is also "Libre", meaning free from control of a single company or a singl
> e person.  It champions free software and will continue what OpenOffice.o
> rg started a while back. 
> 
> The name should not matter, what matters is that users of OpenSource/Free S
> oftware folks have an office suite that is not tied up to a single company
> or entity that will control the code.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Antonio
> 
> Happily using Free and Open Software for some time.
> Fedora 12/Fedora 13/Slackware 13.1/FreeBSD 8.1/...
> olivares@darkstar:~$ uname -r
> 2.6.35.7-smp


Antonio, 
You in fact wear the best argument for a unique name in your sig.  Who is 
arguably the most successful Open Source company:  Red Hat

What in gods name does a Red Hat have to do with software other than give them 
a really cool logo.

This discussion is indicative, much of marketing is about creating buzz.  I 
would like a name that leads to a logo that is sexy enough for people to use 
as a desktop background, Redhat does and Fedora and Firefox.  I was looking at 
the "LibO" abbreviation and the thing that I suddenly saw was LbD, or LBD 
which is abrreviation for "Little Black Dress", suddenly I see a very cool 
logo and marketing campaign and a buzz.  One great thing is that LBD is cool 
to both men and women, both groups tend to like the way they look. 

What has it to do with Office suites? About the same amount that Computer 
Operating systems have to do with Hats.

But dang what a buzz it would cause:  An office suite that was sexy, now THAT 
would be cool to market.   

Cheers
GL

-- 
Graham Lauder,
OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html

OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.

INGOTs Assessor Trainer
(International Grades in Open Technologies)
www.theingots.org
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