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Phew, we are almost there, we've reached the last phase of voting. The final list of names is:
- apt-get-news
- crosslog
- dailybacon
- forkdot
- grepnews OR newsgrep
- salientnews OR salientnoise
- soylentnews
- sudonews
- techmatter
All of the above names we have confirmed in at least *.net and *.org, and we even have a few *.com (where possible). There are some new names because the staff held a round to submit and vote also. The above list was created by using the top 5 from both staff and the community, and two extras due to possible copyright issues with two of the names (soylent and apt-get-news).
There were a few names that were nearly identical, the two pairs are listed as one entry (with the variation that got the most points listed first). Should one of these win there will be a runoff to determine which variation gets used. (This is done to keep from splitting the vote for very close names).
The final round of voting will go out within 24 hours after this post and last for one week. We would like to provide an opportunity to discuss the finalists, so here is your chance, discuss below. If you change your mind after seeing an insightful comment, remember you can always change your vote by sending it in again (only most recent will count). We collected a quick writeup from as many submissions as possible to allow for discussion. Some names have more than one advocate due to multiple submitters; conversely, some submitters didn't reply.
Site Name: crosslog
islisis writes:
The idea behind this was to highlight the cross-fertilisation and communication of expert community voices I have cherished over the years. I hoped that our site name could represent that value to outsiders. To me, the site is also a record of our experiences through tech events, and a valuable log and testament to the lives which dared to ride the wave.
cosurgi writes:
Our site is cross-logging events from around the world. The "cross" means that various different disciplines are inter weaved together.
Site Name: sudonews
gishzida writes:
"Sudo" is a pun on both a *nix shell command to "execute a command as if you are the system superuser" and on the word "Pseudo" i.e. not genuine... both of these things represent the kind of environment our site operates in--- we find news stories, we edit them then we expand upon them factually or contra-factually... laughing, flaming, learning, teaching, and hopefully building friendships and consensus.
Site Name: apt-get-news
gishzida writes:
The name is based on the shell command in some linux distributions [Debian, Ubuntu, etc]. Apt-get is used to reach out to a software repository to obtain and install software. "apt-get-news" reflects the idea that we reach out to get and install news in our community to discuss.
I have been surprised by this community and whatever the name ends up being I know it will be the starting point of something great.
cosurgi writes:
Our site has "natural tendency" to "get" the "news" from around the world. (second meaning of apt on http://www.thefreedictionary.com/apt is "natural tendency")
Site Name: grepnews, newsgrep
AudioGuy writes:
This name was interesting to me because it instantly provides knowledge of what the site does, and who it is targeted to, from the very name itself. Grep is a command line program that searches a mass of data for information matching a certain pattern. Our site searches a mass of data ('news') for information ('stories') that match a certain pattern ('would be of interest to our community of users')
Our users are mostly of a somewhat technical bent, and tend to use computers in a fairly sophisticated way, so would likely know what 'grep' means. So just from the name one might assume this was some sort of news aggregation site aimed at more technical users. In this respect, it has some similarity with another, similar sites name.
Site Name: salientnews or salientnoise
AudioGuy writes:
Another description of exactly what our site does - it looks for news that is salient to our community of users. It does not indicate a preference for purely technical news.
Site Name: techmatter
middlemen writes:
The name "techmatter" is derived from Breaking Bad's "Grey Matter" corporation of which Walter White used to be a part of. Since Soylent News is predominantly a technological oriented website, the name "techmatter" makes sense. It also is safe for work and is easy to market to other folks who are already into technology or who will be part of the community in the future.
Marketing is everything.
AudioGuy writes:
This is a very general name indicating a site that concerns itself with technical matters, that can easily expand its meaning to different uses. I was surprised it was still available.
Site name: forkdot
geottie writes:
Well, pretty simple: our site (& community) is a fork of and has a similar ring to the site we came from and will serve us as a reminder of our effort as a community. The name represents the core values and principles of Free Software & Open Source, which, when followed truly, are always guided by the community. Our community is part of this larger culture/movement and this name will remind us and following generations to continue standing for Freedom and uphold our belief and ability to work towards and defend a genuine, Free Internet for the benefit and advancement of earth, humanity and our society. Huzzah^H^H^H^H^H^H Woot!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @04:14PM
As a non-voting anonymous coward, I'm shocked there's even a question. What a perfect name for a tech discussion site!
Soylent itself is a terrible, terrible name, and should be dispensed with as quickly as possible.
Daily Bacon isn't bad, even as a vegetarian, but it doesn't really mean anything.
TechMatter for the Win!
Also, please change over to Pipedot's engine. It blows the design and utility of this place out of the water.
(Score: 1) by Nerdfest on Friday May 16 2014, @04:18PM
Completely agreed here. I missed the voting on the first round, but this would absolutely be my first choice. There's a couple of the others that are pretty good as well of course, but to me, this one stands out. Nice work.
(Score: 0) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday May 16 2014, @04:23PM
Thirded.
(Score: 1) by eliphas_levy on Friday May 16 2014, @07:15PM
Metooed. For the name and pipedot engine.
This is a sigh.
(Score: 3) by buswolley on Friday May 16 2014, @10:44PM
I threw the first 'Fuck Beta' bomb on slashdot, and I want SoylentNews.
Soylentnews IS PEOPLE.
subicular junctures
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Hairyfeet on Saturday May 17 2014, @07:29AM
I agree, Soylent was a statement, not only about how this site would be focused on the USERS and not on corporate but also how the suits at Dice considered us nothing but a commodity that could be packaged and sold with zero fucks given about how we felt, no different than cattle.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 20 2014, @04:11PM
That's hilarious. A site (this one) where I had to go through SIX clicks and SIX page changes just to read your reply nested this deep is the freaking OPPOSITE of focusing on the users.
The design of Soylent/Whatever is dreadful. Nearly unusable.
Now I gotta navigate back up just to keep reading this thread. Atrocious design and backward utility in every possible way.
Also, for the record, amid all the name debate, yours is the first time I've seen anyone claim the name itself was a sign of rebellion against Dice. Not that it's a GOOD or relevant argument.
(Oh and sorry for anyone reading this -- now you've had to click SEVEN layers deep. What a joke.)
(Score: 2) by mrcoolbp on Wednesday May 21 2014, @05:01AM
Sorry about that, the next code deploy should completely mitigate this issue, try the "nested" option until we get that sorted out.
(Score:1^½, Radical)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday May 16 2014, @04:19PM
No. Please, SN administrators, do not use any name with "Bacon" in it. Bacon is pretty rad as a community meme, but please do not use it in the site name. Please.
Also, don't use anything with "slash" or "dot" in the title. I know we're mostly Slashdot refugees, but we are better than they are. The sooner we stop clinging to them in any way, shape, or form; the better.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by islisis on Friday May 16 2014, @05:22PM
i have to admit if the sitename moves from something reminding me of a hipster-drink to a high carb snack i will cry a little.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bob_super on Friday May 16 2014, @07:20PM
We need to let people vote. But I'm going to throw in my $0.02:
- bacon is a very US/UK-centric concept, indeed acknowledged by many others, but repulsive to quite a few. For a website with a worldwide audience, not a good name.
- Crossdot could have a similar problem.
- Sudonews feels like I'm gonna get the latest sudoku championship information. I like it as a name, but it's confusing to the non-geeks (bonus?).
- Forkdot only rolls off the tongue if you say it in the almost-NSFW way, though that's a US problem only.
- apt-get-news is almost good enough. I want to like it, but those darn two dashes...
- Soylentnews and salientnews are ok, but the newbies may wonder that quip should be perpetuated in the site name. Got a bit of a chemist feel to it.
- grepnews sounds better than newsgrep, but only if you're talking more often about wine than WINE.
- Techmatter is boring and undifferentiated. On the other end, if you're going to send someone a link, it's got the highest "this looks legit" factor, by far.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by frojack on Friday May 16 2014, @07:38PM
Bacon is not repulsive to anyone.
It is forbidden by some "religions". That doesn't make it repulsive.
Most of my muslim friends sneak bacon as a guilty pleasure once in a while. They love it. Its not repulsive, simply forbidden.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 5, Informative) by bob_super on Friday May 16 2014, @07:51PM
> Bacon is not repulsive to anyone.
This may be your opinion, but an overbroad generalization does not do justice to your point.
Which country do you live in?
I used repulsive because "forbidden" implies an authority (likely religious), while repulsive also include personal choices. I was trying to dodge the need to list, on top of the Semitic religions, the vegetarians/vegans, dieters, medical conditions, pig-lovers...
(Score: 1, Funny) by ramloss on Friday May 16 2014, @08:41PM
So are you saying that by choosing dailybacon all those groups would leave? And what is the downside of that? I mean sure, we would miss the pig-lovers, but the trade-off seems fair.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday May 16 2014, @09:13PM
'tis a standard literary device: the useful idiot.
If you have a uniform community of people who think they know every explanation, you don't get to spell things out for the reader and correct misconceptions.
Plus, too much agreement kills a discussion.
oblig. [mindspring.com]
(Score: 3) by tathra on Friday May 16 2014, @08:35PM
bacon is absolutely repulsive. well, turkey bacon is alright, but pork anything is repulsive and disgusting.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by buswolley on Friday May 16 2014, @10:50PM
if you want tech in your name, go to technocrat.org
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Friday May 16 2014, @11:08PM
Meant technocrat.net .
oops
subicular junctures
(Score: 3, Interesting) by drussell on Saturday May 17 2014, @03:36AM
Yes... If Bruce`were up for it, it is a good name also.
(Score: 3) by pbnjoe on Friday May 16 2014, @04:26PM
This. Don't use bacon in the name, it's funny as an injoke sort of things but it'd be hard to be taken seriously if the site had it in the name, nor do we need any reference to the other site in the long run I think.
TechMatter is by far the best name. Easy to take seriously, sounds good, lets you know what the site is about immediately, you can make nice wordplay, and it's not made fun of super easily (sorry Fuc-- Forkdot).
The others I haven't listed aren't bad, but TechMatter is great.
(Score: 2) by pbnjoe on Friday May 16 2014, @04:37PM
Oops, meant to make this a reply to Ethanol-Fueled.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @04:28PM
Techmatter is BORING>>>
Bacon is yummy but STUPID >>>
(Score: 2, Interesting) by mbadolato on Friday May 16 2014, @04:32PM
It's also a HORRENDOUS piece of code, reminiscent of the crappy PHP code from 5 to 10 years ago. Simply awful. I couldn't believe how outdated and poor that was, for something that's brand new. It is exactly the kind of code that gives PHP and PHP developers such a bad rap*
* Excluding the whole PHP language Fractal of Bad Design thing. PHP applications *can* be clean and free from most of PHP's stupidity.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @04:36PM
Um, you know, as someone who VISITS these sites rather than programs them, I kind of appreciate how it looks outside more than it does inside. Pipedot looks much better, it loads MUCH faster, and I don't have to get all click-happy and navigate down multiple pages to see everyone's replies to a single comment.
In my opinion Soylent's current design is broken to nearly the point of unusability.
(Score: 4, Informative) by drussell on Friday May 16 2014, @05:31PM
I take it you aren't browsing in 'Nested' mode.... Try that.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by fishybell on Friday May 16 2014, @06:06PM
Even with nested mode on, this site isn't as user-friendly as pipedot; simple javascripts (which are optional via preferences) allow inline expanding of nested comments and on-the-fly moderation. Also, blue more pleasing than red. This isn't just about aesthetics, but a real usability problem; there is a reason they use red for errors, stop lights, stop signs, etc.
(Score: 1) by CyprusBlue on Friday May 16 2014, @07:29PM
Javascript comment management is actually built on dev, just not ready yet.
I personally can't wait. This current ui sucks.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 16 2014, @07:43PM
So its the colors then, in spite of your denial about it not "just about aesthetics".
The engine stays. Pipedot is crap code, and the usability is not any better than what we have here. It hasn't withstood the test of time or scale.
Your opinion wasn't asked about the engine, only the name.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by NCommander on Friday May 16 2014, @08:11PM
A revised discussion system (essentially D1.5) is implemented on dev, and will be rolled out in two weeks time with the 06.14 code release (production running slashcode 14.04.6 I think).
Still always moving
(Score: 1) by eliphas_levy on Friday May 16 2014, @11:37PM
Pretty please. I hate slash 2.0 and beta, but 1.0 is holding me down on all things besides reading, some sparing js for comments and replies are a must. Copy some design from pipe, too. Missing slash 1.5 on both slashcode sites, pipe is nicer to read, moderate and reply than both :-)
This is a sigh.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 20 2014, @04:24PM
Bless you! This busier thread in particular was a nightmare to try to read in the DEFAULT INTERFACE PRESENTED BY THIS WEB SITE.
But Nested helps a lot. Thank you!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tangomargarine on Friday May 16 2014, @06:11PM
Eminently a matter of opinion. I feel very comfortable on SN with the familiar layout and a bit of actual color. Pipedot being all blah and steel gray/extremely faded blue puts me to sleep.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday May 16 2014, @06:13PM
Not to mention that they have about 5% of SN's comment count...which is itself like 25% of /.'s. When I'm on the front page and none of the articles have >5 comments, that's a bad sign.
#rampantlypullingnumbersoutofmyass
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Friday May 16 2014, @10:58PM
|. isn't even a useful command.
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by egcagrac0 on Saturday May 17 2014, @08:09AM
That depends entirely on the arguments.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bradley13 on Friday May 16 2014, @06:54PM
Pipedot does look nice, but the admin's here already explained why they aren't moving over: The code is not structured to be as scaleable as slashcode. That's not a criticism of the Pipedot developer - the site was built in a short period of time, and really does look and work great.
So which is easier: Adding niceness to Slashcode, or adding scaleability to Pipedot code. It's hard to say, and the Soylent admins are already familiar with Slashcode, so that's where we are...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday May 16 2014, @04:32PM
Isn't Pipedot just a generic Drupal install? Or is that just what it looks like?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ancientt on Friday May 16 2014, @04:39PM
I also like TechMatter and am planning to vote for it. I'd be happy to send my boss a link to an article on TechMatter but not as happy with many of the names on the list.
I think we can all agree readily enough that Pipedot is pretty. I look forward to the days when this TechMatter is also pretty, but I don't want you to switch engines. At least not until there is equivalent functionality and I don't expect that to happen any time soon. Meanwhile, the part that I really care about, the community, is here and that's where I stay regardless of how pretty it may or may not be.
This post brought to you by Database Barbie
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @04:59PM
No. I said "design and utility". This site works much less well than the other. It is much, much harder to navigate and read a discussion here. Too little is shown at a time, and replies must constantly be expanded to be read, many levels deep. It's rather awful.
I was not talking about being pretty.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Friday May 16 2014, @05:31PM
It is because you are viewing the forum likely in "Threaded" view. Change it to Nested and you'll be a lot happier I suspect.
(Score: 3, Informative) by drussell on Friday May 16 2014, @05:34PM
Try 'Nested' mode instead of 'Threaded'. Also, proper comment expanding/collapsing is coming with a future update and is already being tested.
(Score: 1) by NigelO on Friday May 16 2014, @06:30PM
Why isn't 'nested' the default?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @07:26PM
I agree. In other stories back when this site started months ago several people requested 'nested' be the default. From the consistent responses here it seems it is still the requested default. I suggested it be the default months ago but was mocked.
(Score: 4, Informative) by NCommander on Friday May 16 2014, @08:05PM
The default is actually "Improved Threaded" which was not implemented in time for golive, and still not done on the last site upgrade. It *is* implemented properly on dev, and will be live in two weeks. Feel free to try the system on http://dev.soylentnews.org/ [soylentnews.org]
I vaguely remember people suggesting switching it to nested, but I think it was something I overlooked, and we have something better coming down the pipe in a bit.
Still always moving
(Score: 2) by ancientt on Friday May 16 2014, @08:45PM
The look is immediately a little better, but it is hard to get a feel for what real stories will look like without more comments. Would it be reasonable and possible to copy all the comments (with their ratings) to the dev site?
This post brought to you by Database Barbie
(Score: 2) by NCommander on Friday May 16 2014, @08:58PM
Here's one of the largest stories in the dev archive: http://dev.soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14/03/31 /070201 [soylentnews.org] with 136 comments which should give you an idea of how it works in practice.
Still always moving
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 17 2014, @02:33PM
It's broken by default if it needs JavaScript to work. They better keep Nested as an option...
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday May 17 2014, @04:59AM
On slashdot, used to be "threaded" expanded everything from your threshold on up. During the last big 'upgrade' (I think?) this got busted, but not severely (mostly it no longer expands some +3 comments; my threshold is +2). However, it's really broken here -- sometimes even +5 comments are not expanded. Not enough comments over on dev to really tell, but looks like it might be fixed there...??
Anyway, I shall use "nested" for the nonce as it seems to be playing nice.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by NCommander on Monday May 19 2014, @09:25PM
It *does* work, but probably not in the way you expect it, you need to set the Breakthrough value in preferences to make comments of that score automatically expand. I'm aware this is hugely unintutative, and Improved Threaded is a major improved for it.
Still always moving
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday May 20 2014, @12:11AM
Okay, thanks, I'll experiment with it a bit. I've been kinda leery of changing settings as I recall having hell's own time getting it back to how I wanted it on Slashdot, at least after they'd messed with how it worked.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1) by Magic Oddball on Saturday May 17 2014, @03:24AM
It's easy to set it to show you most or all comments at once... Here's the settings I'm using to get it:
Display Mode: Improved Threaded
Sort Order Threshold: Oldest First
Highlight Threshold: -1 Uncut and Raw
Reparent Highly Rated Comments ON
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Friday May 16 2014, @04:42PM
TechMatter.what is available? Not .com or .org
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Jaruzel on Friday May 16 2014, @04:56PM
techmatter.xxx of course. For Bacon Pr0n.
Actually, who ever suggested techmatter originally, has probably pre-registered the domain(s) - part of the rules were that anything suggested had to be free and/or be handed over to the admins.
-Jar
This is my opinion, there are many others, but this one is mine.
(Score: 4, Informative) by pbnjoe on Friday May 16 2014, @05:02PM
Hmmm, techmatter.com belongs to consultants who call themselves the same in Toronto, it seems. techmatter.org may have been preregistered though. Actually I hope it would be; leaving them open seems a good way to have someone malicious scoop them up.
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Friday May 16 2014, @05:00PM
Umm. It isn't available...Better stick with Soylent.
subicular junctures
(Score: 4, Informative) by TK on Friday May 16 2014, @05:23PM
.org and .net are available. .com is a website for a Canadian company [techmatter.com] that does something. Possibly designing websites or apps or something trendy and flashy.
In any case, completely different from us, so no Trademark recognition problems.
The fleas have smaller fleas, upon their backs to bite them, and those fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum
(Score: 3, Insightful) by frojack on Friday May 16 2014, @07:50PM
So instant lawsuit.
I simply don't see the attraction to techmatter. It doesn't add any value to the site. It sounds cookie-cutter, corporate-speak, and wanna-be-serious. Something the PR department thought up in a desperate attempt at corporate re-branding.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by mrcoolbp on Saturday May 17 2014, @03:57AM
We contacted submitter's and registered domains where needed. Worry not.
(Score:1^½, Radical)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 16 2014, @05:25PM
As a non-voting anonymous coward, I'm shocked there's even a question. What a perfect name for a tech discussion site!
But, this isn't a tech discussion site. This is a discussion site for anything the community finds interesting which is a much wider range of topics.
If it becomes a tech discussion site I am leaving.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Friday May 16 2014, @06:43PM
Technology isn't the only word that starts with tech. It could be a technical discussion site, for example.
(Score: 2) by tathra on Friday May 16 2014, @07:24PM
As a non-voting anonymous coward, I'm shocked there's even a question. What a perfect name for a tech discussion site!
But, this isn't a tech discussion site. This is a discussion site for anything the community finds interesting which is a much wider range of topics.
exactly. "TechMatter" would pigeonhole us and we'd forever be considered a "tech" site, rather than a "cool stuff that nerds/geeks find interesting" kind of site. that people have already tried to justify "tech" being more than just "technology" means they see the problem too.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @08:16PM
Ok Now I'm confused. I thought the entire reason people were leaving slashdot was because it was changing to accept a broader audience, one not constrained to geeky tech topics. This _IS_ a tech site. I think you should go elsewhere if you don't like it. If soylentnews changes to a general news site, or a "hey look at this cool image I found on my facebook feed", I can guarantee the core members here will leave.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 16 2014, @08:41PM
"This site is what I say it is, and if you don't like it, GTFO"
Beautiful, especially coming from an AC.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Friday May 16 2014, @05:57PM
I agree, I'd vote for TechMatter in the off chance I actually get the vote mail this time. Highly unlikely, since I (along with some others) haven't gotten a single one of the related poll/vote/whatever emails so far. Nobody's bothered venturing a guess as to why or how to fix it, so I'll just have to put my vote here and hope it still counts somehow.
As a bonus, if a site gets DDoSed by visitors coming from here, we could say it got tech-splattered.
(Score: 2) by NCommander on Friday May 16 2014, @08:08PM
You aren't registered to vote; you have to opt-in to vote on site issues; the option is under Preferences; this was described in multiple emails. I'm not sure if audioguy already dumped the database for this round of voting, but if you post the Name Voting News thread (see left sidebar), he can help you).
Still always moving
(Score: 2) by Marand on Friday May 16 2014, @08:40PM
Got that changed now, thanks. Never saw it mentioned any other time I asked about it.
It was described in what emails? The ones that you don't get unless you already know how to opt in to receive them? I've received a grand total of one mail from the site, received when I registered. (Which is not a bad thing, really.)
(Score: 2) by NCommander on Friday May 16 2014, @08:46PM
Wow, mistyped. Sorry, its been in several of the posts about voting. We stopped running stories and put a sidebar on it since there are a fair number of bitching about the number of voting stories on it. I obviously need more caffeine >.;
Still always moving
(Score: 2) by Marand on Saturday May 17 2014, @04:54PM
I probably missed the info because it never showed up in a reply to me; the only replies any time I'd mentioned the problem were other people stating they were having similar problems. I tend to just read a story's comments once and then only go back if there are replies to any comments, probably similar to other people's behaviour. So if I get into one early (not usually often) I tend to miss things :p
I got an alternate-vote email, so I'm good to go. Thanks :D
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday May 21 2014, @10:01PM
What, you don't wanna get to say that it got forked? ; )
(Score: 2) by Marand on Thursday May 22 2014, @07:56AM
No! We already have enough news fragmentation without forking every site! ;)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday May 16 2014, @06:08PM
Techmatter strikes me as an overly bland name. I prefer my communities to have a bit of flavor, not sound like they could be any other random corporate SlashBI/ExpertSexchange clone.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1) by linuxrocks123 on Friday May 16 2014, @09:14PM
I voted for FuckBeta. Yeah it's NSFW, but I thought it was worth it for the flavor.
Didn't get into the finalists, though :(
(Score: 1) by boris on Saturday May 24 2014, @11:55AM
Agreed. What I like about Soylent is its 1) Unique. 2) References Sc-fi 3) References everything we don't want about news.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by gidds on Friday May 16 2014, @07:52PM
To coin a phrase: Meh.
Yes, 'techmatter' would explain what the site is about — but only in the broadest terms. It could equally be a gadget review site, a scientific or engineering journal, an electronics trade supplier, or a variety of other things. It doesn't suggest news, discussion, or any of the things that make this site special.
It's also bland, characterless, humourless, anaemic, boring, and forgettable.
I'd much prefer something with character, something that will make a meaning for itself over time, just as The Other Site's name did.
'Soylentnews' is already starting to do that, and I think it's only worth losing that momentum if there's a really compelling name to change to; at first glance, I can't see one.
[sig redacted]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ancientt on Friday May 16 2014, @09:05PM
At first glance, most people don't know how to pronounce it. When they hear it or try to pronounce it, it sounds like "soiled" and makes them uncomfortable. The "oy" sound isn't one that people generally like, particularly mixed with soft consonant sounds, so it isn't as referable as other names.
I don't hate it, but the first glance is a difficult one to be happy sending people to. I particularly dislike this discussion:
You know which question I hate most? Hands down, "how do you spell it?" That's why I can't really get behind newsgrep or apt-get-news or several of the others. I don't like dailybacon or crosslog, but I at least I won't have to explain how to spell them. And yes, I know, I know, /. was designed to be difficult to explain verbally, but in 12 years, I never had anyone ask me how to spell it even if quite a few people asked why it was called that.
This is why I will vote for techmatter:
Ask yourself this, "which name do you think Natalie Portman's agent will be least likely to reject out of hand?"
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by iroll on Friday May 16 2014, @10:57PM
We can't help that you hang out with idiots.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 22 2014, @08:28PM
So if you told your friends you drank a "soy latte," would they turn green with disgust? Would you be embarrassed to repeat it? Would you blog about how you would rather have had rice milk, but the barista laughed at you?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fadrian on Friday May 16 2014, @10:29PM
Sorry, but I disagree. Putting "tech" in the name also opens up a debate on whether or not every freaking article that isn't strictly science- or tech-oriented should be here. And I really don't want to give more ammo to the "Get off my lawn" types who can't stand to see an article that isn't about science or tech (or usually, who don't like the political spin of a non-technical story). Frankly, their incessent whining about "off-topic" articles (that they're already reading, for Christ's sake) irritates me more than the having "off-topic" articles. I don't necessarily have a great deal of interest in articles about games, but I don't bitch about them (In a post in the article? WTF?) - I just don't read them. So excuse me if I want to get away from "tech" (or sci) in the site name.
A "news" site like this will generally have a focus, but can't be a laser focus unless you want less than a dozen readers. An interesting story will draw in a larger audience and perhaps new members (which is good because, if you haven't noticed, there aren't a lot of us here).
I don't see this as a purely sci-tech blog (and its utility to me would drop if it were).
As such, I'd basically keep the name neutral - I like apt-get-news, myself, but Crosslog, Forkdot, and even good old Soylent work for that, too.
The get off my "tech" lawn folks may have their own opinions, and that's fine, but, of course, they're incorrect.
That is all.
(Score: 2) by crutchy on Saturday May 17 2014, @06:53AM
techmatter++