Re: Change the name

2007-09-14_23:36:37-0400 Robert Treat <xzilla(at)users(dot)sourceforge(dot)net>:

> Unfortunatly I took a fair amount of sales and marketing classes in
> college, so I guess I have to chime in here. The argument against it
> is weakening the brand, and adding confusion to the market place. . We
> already suffer from this now, and promoting two names only makes this
> worse.

I think you hit the nail on the head. While changing the name to
'Postgres' might appeal to some people's aesthetic sensibilities, it
offends others, and therefore doesn't address the larger problem, which
is confusion in the marketplace. No matter what name is the "official"
name, as long as both names are in common use, that problem will
persist. On either side of the Postgres/PostgreSQL name divide, there
are people who strongly feel that their name is better - so no matter
what name is "official", two names will continue to be used.

I know people will hate me for saying this, but from where I sit, it
seems that if anyone cares to really fix the larger problem, a different
name altogether might be in order. Of course that would be much more
disruptive in the short term; but in the long term, unless and until
there is a single unambiguous (preferably trademarked) name for this
project, outsiders will continue to be confused. That condition will
persist no matter which of the two existing names wins this shortsighted
debate.

That said, absent any incontrovertable evidence that changing things is
clearly better - and all I've seen are some personal opinions and
anecdotes - then I would say that for now, the status quo should
prevail. Of course that supports my own personal view on the matter;
but it's also the commonly accepted way to conclude otherwise
indeterminate arguments. With no such presumptive rules in place, there
is nothing to stop these kinds of arguments from going on forever -
which is exactly what is happening here. To no one's benefit, I might
add - it's just making everyone prickly and annoyed with each other.

I also think that right now, we should return to the post that started
this interminable thread, which asked how we can best present the
forthcoming 8.3 release to the public. The 8.3 release is here and now.
We can debate the name of the project for the rest of our lives - which
reminds me of an expression: "In the long run, we're all dead."

--
Ron Peterson
https://www.yellowbank.com/