KDE Programs Naming Convention

[James Heaver]

On 10/01/2008, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca> wrote:
> Dotan Cohen wrote:
>
> > On 09/01/2008, Martin Walshe <plasticman3327 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > There really should be a movement towards better names. What the hell
> >> > is K3B? And what program should I burn a disk with?
> >> >
> >> > Microsoft has great names: Office for an office suit, Internet
> >> > Explorer for an Internet web browser, Media Player for a media player.
> >> > Ask someone off the street what Amarok or Firefox do, and you will get
> >> > a blank stare.
> >> >
> >> > K3B has to be the worst of the bunch.
> >> >
> >> > Dotan Cohen
> >>
> >> K3B is such a great app though its name doesnt matter.
> >
> > Er, names do matter. K3B might be a ha-ha funny name, but it does not
> > tell me what the program does.
>
> No, names matter, but the origin of the name does _not_ matter.  I know
> (now, because I looked it up) what k3b means (my guess was "burn, bash and
> bury", which only tells you I was a Boy Scout and when...).  If they had
> used the full origin as a name, _that_ would be silly.  k3b, otoh, is no
> sillier than GNU or UNIX or Access.  k3b is a fine name - it's definitive
> (you always know what it means, if you've seen it once), it's simple, and
> it's memorable.
> >
> >> If you want the normal why are you on a linux distro?
>
> That's lowering the argument to name calling.
>
> > Linux is not the norm? It's only for freaks and weirdos? Would you not
> > like Linux to be the norm?
>
> Why?  Of course I wouldn't.  I want it to be usable, but I couldn't care
> less if it's ever "the norm", and I don't believe that's what we should be
> striving for.

And for some users they claim that they find it less usable because
'everything has weird K names that look the immature'.

It may be that we decide that it is either an edge case, or just an excuse.

Why does Microsoft redesign the GUI style and artwork for each version
of windows?
Its because it makes it **look** newer, better, faster and shinier
than the old version.  This means that people are more likely to use
it, be more excited about using it and feel that they've got one up on
the jones's who still use that old fashioned windows XP.

The fact is that if we want to create linux for human beings we need
to pay attention to human beings.

If 1 person tells you that they won't use ubuntu unless the background
is green you can dismiss them as a crank.

When 10,000 people tell you that they won't use ubuntu unless the
background is green then its probably worth listening to them no
matter how trivial the issue.

Kubuntu is here to make the transition from geek to human being.  In
this process the K's may or may not become a sticking point, but just
becuase its a silly problem doesn't mean it won't scupper kubuntu
being used by human beings.

Human beings are strange illogical creatures that should never be
underestimated.

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