Re: [tdf-discuss] I like the name LibreOffice

On 10/07/2010 04:16 AM, Jean Hollis Weber wrote:
> If I have to explain to someone what "LibreOffice" means, it's easy:
> "Libre means free, as in liberty or freedom."
>
> If I have to explain what "OpenOffice.org" means, it's a much bigger
> problem, even without the complication of the ".org" part. Most people
> have never heard of "open source" or "open standards" or "open" anything
> else.

This post just doesn't resonate with me at all.  To explain what 
LibreOffice means, first I have to explain what libre means, because it 
isn't an English word.  It's as easy to explain as any other foreign 
word, I suppose, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

On the other hand, I don't have to explain OpenOffice.org, because it's 
already in the lexicon -- 300 million people have already downloaded it. 
 For those that haven't, they at least already know what "open" means, 
and it's easy to explain how that relates to the software.  Also, people 
who know about "open source" instantly recognize from the name its 
similarity to other open tools such as openssh, openldap, openvpn, etc. 
-- in the same way that the prefix "gnu" indicates something about 
gnuplot, gnucash, and gnupg.

A good chunk of the posts on this mailing list, and in comments to 
stories on TDF announcement, are about the choice of the name, how to 
pronounce it, etc.  Slashdot comments were particularly harsh, and 
fairly universal, in their dislike for the name:

http://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/09/28/143204/OpenOfficeorg-Declares-Independence-From-Oracle-Becomes-LibreOffice
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1801996&cid=33722340
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1801996&cid=33725276

I'm not going to let my disappointment in the name damper my enthusiasm 
of the project, which is strong.  I'm talking up the project to friends 
and family, even.  Others are in the same boat.  This shouldn't be 
confused with *liking* the name.

     ----Jon

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