Re: The naming question (Postgres vs PostgreSQL)

From: Ron Mayer <rm_pg(at)cheapcomplexdevices(dot)com>
To: "Joshua D(dot) Drake" <jd(at)commandprompt(dot)com>
Subject: Re: The naming question (Postgres vs PostgreSQL)
Date: 2007-08-30 20:00:50
Message-ID: 46D721F2.4050701@cheapcomplexdevices.com
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Joshua D. Drake wrote:
> Bruce Momjian wrote:
>> Let me ask a question, how many people who are against a name change now
>
>> The bottom line is that the pronunciation/marketing problem with the
>> name "PostgreSQL" is not going to change --- it is only going to get
>> worse.
>
> I am against the name change and I do not agree with your assessment. I
> believe it will get better. As the only real problem is the initial
> understanding and pronunciation. The rest is muscle memory.

I disagree it'll get better anytime in the next couple decades.

It's not like we already have 70% market share and just a couple
more people to "educate" about the awkward terminology. Postgres
mindshare is still minuscule compared to that of Oracle or even
MySQL or SQL Server -- so as the product grows - most members
will be new members.

Outside the database community our mindshare is even smaller,
and I really wouldn't want to spend the time correcting my CEO's
pronunciation - nor our sales staff's pronunciation - or worse
customer's pronunciation which they learn from sales staff.

You say it's just "the initial understanding" - but on the
curve of "getting better" please realize that the current
state is about a few thousand people indoctrinated and a few
billion people not yet indoctrinated.

And in the long term, even if we had 100% market awareness,
every new CS student will still need to go through the
bizarre ritual of knowing that
"ParseTHIS"
gets parsed
"Parset HIS".
in this community.

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