Forum OpenACS Q&A: Response to Time for a name change?

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Posted by Patrick Giagnocavo on
Focus is part of a mainframe product as well -they have addons like FOCUSbuilder etc. too.

I would suggest that guidelines include something short, and obvious.  Apple named their new product something cute like Macintosh.  Microsoft went for the dimwitted obvious and ended up with Windows.

Using a cute name or one that has its origins in an inside joke is probably bad.  It should be short, at most 3 syllables.  It should have the same pronunciation (or at least, no bad or insulting meanings) in most languages, including English, German, French and Japanese.

What does this community want to emphasize?  That it is a toolkit (use kit, works, tool)?  That it emphasizes community (pueblo, village, plaza, commons)?  Rapid development (rad, rapid, quick, wiki, fast, speedy)?  That everything is integrated due to the same user model used across applications (integra- , etc.)

I suggest that the "product dimensions" that should be emphasized be mentioned as well.

I will admit being partial to Latin-based words, if only that this ensures similar meaning and pronunciation among English/French/German/Spanish etc.  No doubt an actual Latin scholar will jump on me for saying this.

My suggestions would be along the lines of words involving Custodium, (in the sense of being a custodian of a site), Curator (like art curator in a museum), something-via like say ContentVia or CommunityVia (or even PuebloVia?), Civitas (city), Vox (voice), Liber (freedom), along with prefix and suffix words like higher, better , faster, etc.