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PostmarketOS is rebranding as Nura

189 points · 65 comments · HotGarbage

  1. stackghost · · focus · HN ↗
    Open source continues its streak of picking atrocious names. Just off the top of my head, in recent memory we have Raku, Kodi, Luanti, Valkey, and now Nura.

    Naming things is famously hard, but sometimes it feels like the Good Idea Fairy visits these projects and they aren't product-savvy enough to realize that humans are social, fickle creatures. You need to pick a name that your users won't be embarassed to say in a board room. There is a fairly sizable body of research-backed evidence that picking a cringe name reduces initial trust/comprehension.

    Lukewarm take: "I'm a Raku developer" makes one sound like someone with poor hygiene who watches far too much anime.

    Edit: also “floorp” the Firefox fork and “xonaly” the search engine. Who could forget those gems.

    1. tmtvl · · focus · HN ↗
      Java. Fortran. C#, which in pronounced 'see sharp' despite being written with a number sign rather than a sharp. Algol.
      1. pklausler · · focus · HN ↗
        C# is the sharp note above C, enharmonic with D flat in a tempered tuning.
        1. tmtvl · · focus · HN ↗
          No, it's not. C♯, with a sharp sign, is the sharp note. Exchanging the number sign for the sharp sign is like exchanging the Latin capital letter R for the Cyrillic capital letter Ya (Я).
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