What is my name?

[Stefan Monov]

(sent this email only to Frans at fist by mistake)
On 5/30/06, Frans Englich <englich at kde.org> wrote:
> On Sunday 28 May 2006 09:44, Stefan Monov wrote:

> Amazingly good names. I think one of those actually will be it. They're all
> added to the list. Something like Patternist, simply rocks. Kolumbus, is also
> spot on, and it is simple. Konquerier, sounds great, although it's perhaps
> too close to Konqueror. investikate and looKfor are also just cool.

Yippee! Thanks.

> Let's look closer on Kolumbus. One thing I started thinking on was this

> seventies' TV-series called Columbo [...]
I hadn't been born then, and I hear about it for the first time :-) .
I was thinking about the Spanish sailor Christopher Columbus, who
"discovered" the continent of America. And since he's a "discoverer",
he's a "querier"/"investigator"/"finder" (the first association). And
since his "discovery" changed the face of America a lot, I'd say he's
also a "changer"/"modifier" (the second association). Umm... I thought
this was obvious *grin* .

> So, I'd say Columbo and Kolumbo are
> also alternatives.

IMHO, names that end in O feel cheesy. I don't know, they always
remind me of Rambo, or Sandokan, or Bambo, or Dumbo (the cartoon
elephant), or some kind of "amigo"... Same goes for names that end
with U. But that's just me, really just me.

> Wouldn't a K-word work better as a namespace for a KDE library, or am I just
> rambling? E.g, all KDE classes are K-prefixed. Dunno, Phonon works fine as a
> namespace, apparently.

That argument goes for all of K-isms - using the same logic:
-Gwenview would be more obviously for KDE if it were Kwenview
-Noatun... if it were Knoatun
-Solid... KSolid
OTOH, Konfabulator and Konverter should've been for KDE, which they're not.
I think you should rely on your personal feeling about it. Everybody does.

> Amount of google hits on these terms:
>
> Columbus:       10,000,000
> Kolumbus:       6,000,000
> Columbu:        327,000
> Kolumbu:        20,000
> Patternist:     740

Columbus: 223,000,000 (did you misspell it? that's a lot more.)
Columbu: 350,000
Almost all of the Patternist hits are about sci-fi books. So it seems
vacant for a XML tool.

> Patternist has this exotic(as in stranger), intellectual ring to it. It is
> also spot on.

Sure, that's what I thought, too.

> I think it is clear Kolumbus is a variant on Columbus. "Aha, it's Columbus but
> with K-ification." In this sense, Kolumbu is less "K-ification" and therefore
> becomes more of a personal/unique name, perhaps.

I thought you we talking about Kolumbo, and not Kolumbu. Typo?
> Patternist is obviously a bit synthetic.
Yup, and I like that. I guess I'm weird.

> "Kolumbo" is clearly a name, while
> Patternist is probably less associated as to be a name, perhaps.

I'd agree with that if there weren't things like "Windows", "Office"
(skipping the company part), "mailman", "Phonon", "scrollkeeper" all
around. See, people are starting to get used to names that are not
names (I think).

> Patternist is a bit long.

Two letters longer than Kolumbus. You decide. ;)