[MSF-Discuss] Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Autodesk product naming poll

[Stephen Woodbridge]

Paul,

This is a very good point and it has crossed my mind on occasion, then 
again it is a name that has a lot brand equity invested in it. I think 
that I personally am not that wed to this name, but I have not heard any 
name suggested that I like better, if we want to change the name then 
lets put forth some more candidates and IF we find a name that we like 
better, then consider switching. Or empower a team to do the naming that 
we can all get behind. This is not in fact an easy thing to do as anyone 
in a product business should know. And it is harder to do for multiple 
products that overlap and/or compete.

It might be easier to do if we used made up word names like automobile 
names (Integra) or where you smash two words or concepts together to 
make a name the implies both the attributes to the product. Developers 
tend to like utilitarian or acronym type words as seen from the bulk of 
suggestion so far and my own laziness about naming software.

Anyway, just some additional thoughts.

-Steve W.

Paul Spencer wrote:
> Has anyone else noticed that a common sentiment that MapServer is not  a 
> particularly great name?  It seems the core developers, in  particular, 
> are not that invested in the name.  Seems weird that the  community is 
> working so hard to defend something that the 'owners'  are not even that 
> sure they want to keep.  This is just an  observation, not a new 
> argument :)
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Paul
> 
> On 23-Dec-05, at 7:52 PM, sgillies at frii.com wrote:
> 
>> Gary,
>>
>> I simply think that trying to rename the MapServer project is  
>> detrimental
>> to the project, and I've really appreciated that you're more  
>> sensitive to
>> this than most of the open letter signers. I'm not in love with the  name
>> MapServer by any means, but it would best be left unchanged both  for the
>> health of the project and to provide some continuity from the existing
>> MapServer community. Frankly, I don't care what the foundation is  
>> named so
>> long as it doesn't trample on any other open source project or  
>> foundation.
>>
>> cheers,
>> Sean
>>
>>> Sean,
>>>
>>> Would moving MapServer from UMinn to the, say, "Open Source  Geospatial
>>> Foundation" be asking for trouble compared to putting it into the
>>> "MapServer Foundation"? If not, why not?
>>>
>>> Gary
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From:    discuss-bounces at lists.mapserverfoundation.org on behalf of
>>> sgillies at frii.com
>>> Sent:    Thu 12/22/2005 6:05 PM
>>> To:    Attila Csipa
>>> Cc:    mapserver-users at lists.umn.edu;  
>>> discuss at lists.mapserverfoundation.org
>>> Subject:    Re: [MSF-Discuss] Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Autodesk product
>>> naming poll
>>>
>>> Attila,
>>>
>>> I have customers who have been equally confused by this project name
>>> churning. A foundation could be a good thing, but trying to rebrand
>>> MapServer at the same time is asking for trouble.
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>> Sean
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> discuss mailing list
>>> discuss at lists.mapserverfoundation.org
>>> http://lists.mapserverfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> discuss mailing list
>> discuss at lists.mapserverfoundation.org
>> http://lists.mapserverfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>
> 
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Paul Spencer                           pspencer at dmsolutions.ca   |
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Applications & Software Development                              |
> |DM Solutions Group Inc                 http://www.dmsolutions.ca/|
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> 
> 
> 
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