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

[Ken Lord]

What does the software do? .... it serves maps.

What is the software called? .... MapServer.

It may not have some crazy commercial twist to it, but it makes sense to me.

I wonder if it was this kind of straightforward thinking that allowed
Steve to assemble the application in the first place.

Today the name has a reputation and history to it that we should not
allow another company to usurp.  If there's any doubt about the great
branding MapServer has, just spend some time at a convention talking
to ESRI ... and try not to laugh at them (or smack them around too
much) at how much they will fight to sully the name.

Search the mapserver archives, somewhere in there you'll find my story
of the outright lies the ESRI salesman told me at a mining conference
in Vancouver 2 years ago, going as far as saying that a certain west
coast mapserver proponent that introduced it to me was now a hater of
MapServer and had switched to ArcIMS .... much to this person's
surprise when i had the chance to tell him the story.

If MapServer was such a bad name, or was considered to be the 'Edsel'
of online mapping, and was so much worse a name than oh perhaps say
MapGuide, I don't think we'd be having the current debate over the
naming of Autodesk's product.


Cheers,
Ken Lord
Vancouver BC

On 12/24/05, blammo <bob.basques at ci.stpaul.mn.us> wrote:
> Paul,
>
> To tell the truth, I'm with you on this too, although it may not seem
> like it by the end of this message.   I never like the "MapServer" name
> from way back when Steve was just starting at the DNR when I first
> looked at it.
>
> But that was then, this is now.  Good or bad, the name now has a
> following.  My gut feeling is it shouldn't be messed with or be muddied
> up by associating it with different products.  Now, having said that, I
> can also envision a whole new start to things MapServer-ish as well.  If
> there were ever going to be an opportunity to shift gears in the
> MapServer community and make some bold moves, now would be the time to
> do it.  I'll admit that the announcement of the AutoDesk product with
> the "MapServer" moniker didn't sit well with me at all, and I'm a
> AutoDesk Guy from Back to AutoCad Version 6/7 days.
>
> I'm still at a 50/50 on this.  It could be argued both ways, the
> MapServer name stays as is, or something (preferably enitrely) new comes
> out of it.
>
> bobb
>
>
>
> Paul Spencer wrote:
>
> > Sean,
> >
> > perhaps it came off that way, but it wasn't intended to be
> > deliberately obtuse.  I understand your point, and I was actually
> > making a general observation based on comments I've read from several/
> > most of the core team.  As I said, this wasn't a new argument on my
> > part to prop up my increasingly unpopular opinions on the naming
> > thing, just a general observation.  My apologies if I offended.
> >
> > Cheers and Seasons Greetings ...
> >
> > Paul
> >
> > On 24-Dec-05, at 5:02 PM, sgillies at frii.com wrote:
> >
> >> Paul,
> >>
> >> My point is that IMO changing an imperfect name can be *much worse*
> >> than
> >> keeping it. Did you not get this from my email, or are you being
> >> purposefully obtuse?
> >>
> >> Merry Christmas,
> >> Sean
> >>
> >>> 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/|
> >>> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> > |Paul Spencer                           pspencer at dmsolutions.ca   |
> > +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> > |Applications & Software Development                              |
> > |DM Solutions Group Inc                 http://www.dmsolutions.ca/|
> > +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > discuss mailing list
> > discuss at lists.mapserverfoundation.org
> > http://lists.mapserverfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
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> discuss at lists.mapserverfoundation.org
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