Process for Picking a Name
Current Name Status
We started with Pie. The consensus then was that Echo had more pep to it. There's an existing Java web framework that goes by the name Echo. We asked them if they were okay with us using Echo as well. They said no, thanks. They added that they've applied for a trademark on the name Echo in a context that would probably be seen as too close to ours by the patent examiners. So we thought of new names and we came to consensus on Atom. But we're still discussing that.
Name Selection Process
Consensus is we need a new name and I would propose the following:
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We continue to refer to this as the Echo Project until we have a final selection for a name that has been agreed upon by consensus and vetted for collisions with other projects/technologies/etc. If we keep changing names organically every three seconds, it looks silly and will cause confusion to observers and provide fodder for the naysayers. We can also revert to Pie as the project's working name.
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We start looking for a new name. There are a fair number of branching discussions of names on the wiki. I've gathered up all the original submissions from these pages and added them on [ProjectNameProposals]
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Attempt to recap them here and then would propose that we use this page for all new submissions.
After a period of time, we can draw down to some finalists with the names that get the most support. We can then open a poll for them and also do some due diligence about whether or not they are usable.
Name Process Tips
Tips on how to help narrow down the contenders...
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Review current proposals. Some of them are pretty good; get the feel for what people are aiming towards--it's interesting to see what people think of the project just by the names that they propose for it.
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Cast votes on your preferred choices. Think about [ProjectNameGuidelines] and see how well the names (and the guidelines) do. If you like a name, be sure to vote it up; if you don't, be sure to vote it down.
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Create names yourself. If you've got a good idea, don't be afraid to throw it into the ring. Make sure it's a quality proposal.
Forward Motion
It's not time to bring the process to a close yet, but it's time to think about how we're going to do it. Here's a possible method for determining the length of the "period of time" mentioned above: declare the submission phase finished when five business days have passed without any change in the number of votes any name has received. If a name has been suggested in that time, but it's gotten no additional votes, that does not count as a change in the number of votes it's received. At that point, we take either a) all the names that have gotten votes or b) the top fifteen vote-getters and figure out how to select one from there.
This process is predicated on the belief that consensus is unlikely to occur, as it did with Echo. If that belief is misplaced, the suggested process is flawed.
Discuss
Voting -1 is a serious progress halting thing. Please do not vote against a Name unless it is broken.
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AnswerMe: is Trademark confilcts or other CRM/Web APIs stoppers?
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Other's like, it is hard to spell or sounds funny or reminds me of something I don't like just slow things down.
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Discuss the your views but try to use -0 unless the name is BROKEN