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Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

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Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#81

Post by DoreenMichele »

inopinatus wrote: post #72
DoreenMichele wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not surprised. That's why there are qualifiers. It's not intended as smack talk asserting " My variation is better than yours!" (Throws down gloves.) Sometimes, it's nigh impossible to readily come up with the wording that captures the myriad thoughts flitting about my mind and account for all possible social bits and potential misinterpretations. And I comment anyway, knowing it's likely to go sideways cuz hooma…

The "musical" form seems more refined, bringing poetry to a variant that is otherwise botanically problematic and nutritionally attenuated.

I'm having trouble deciding if you are tugging everyone's leg or being straight up serious or tugging everyone's leg by being straight up serious.

Sometimes that last is funnier, though usually only to the person doing it.

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#82

Post by h0l0cube »

quesera wrote: post #7

I approve. No one asked me, but if they had, I'd have opined that the pre-cuting of your nomenclature is usually the result of too much time spent thinking about branding and not enough time building features. Note that "tweet" was spawned organically by the community, and Twitter did not adopt the word formally for a couple years after it was in popular use.

> Note that "tweet" was spawned organically by the community

It took the community to tell Twitter the obvious:

> twitter v. (of a bird) give a call consisting of repeated light tremulous sounds.

> tweet n. a chirping note.

Seems that a 3rd party application popularised the term, avoiding yet another faux-pas:

> One Twitter developer, Blaine Cook, had been testing the beta releases of Twitterrific. Early that month, Cook sent Hockenberry an email suggesting changing the word “twit” to “tweet.” Hockenberry immediately made the change.

> twit n. a silly or foolish person.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-origin-of-the-word-tw...

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#83

Post by inopinatus »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #81
inopinatus wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "musical" form seems more refined, bringing poetry to a variant that is otherwise botanically problematic and nutritionally attenuated.

I'm having trouble deciding if you are tugging everyone's leg or being straight up serious or tugging everyone's leg by being straight up serious. Sometimes that last is funnier, though usually only to the person doing it.

Well, the entire discussion deriving from the proposed code change is ultimately debating the relative merits of a fart joke, so any contribution is bound to be a gas.

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#84

Post by bobthechef »

bigyikes wrote: post #22

I know little about Mastodon, but it seems like somebody went out of their way to make the cringiest sounding product possible. “Hey man, I just tooted on mastodon!” It really sounds like parody. I hope I am just missing the point. You might say this is a superficial criticism, but I think naming is important when it comes to social appeal. At least, it becomes important when the naming has gone so horribly wrong. If…

No, you're right. It's a stupid verb. Otherwise, why not go with a flarp?

Will Biden toot on Mastodon one day? Will he toot at Kamala Harris?

"Toot" also makes Mastodon look like a cheap knockoff of Twitter that wanted to sound like Twitter without infringing on any trademarks.

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#85

Post by bobthechef »

the_lonely_road wrote: post #50
Blikkentrekker wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find “to toot” sound any stranger than “to tweet”.

Toot is a sophomoric word for passing flatulence in the US. So hearing “to toot” summons the mental connection of farting which any marketing person on here will probably tell you people don’t want to be associated with their product.

Indeed. This isn't a question of maturity as some rather bizarre comments in that issue claim. The word is just phonetically and pragmatically asinine. Pick a word that isn't associated with comical bodily noises like "choochoo". Would anyone join a service where you "choochoo" at people? It sounds stupid and infantile. "Tweet" is bad enough. "Toot" goes further.

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#86

Post by bobthechef »

xnyan wrote: post #65
wombatpm wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife, exasperated at our two teenaged boys, asked me if men ever outgrow fart jokes. I laughed, said maybe, then asked her to pull my finger. Though when primed with the word Mastodon, I did think of the large trunk and a cartoon-like trumpeting of that trunk. Right after thinking how my grandmother would call her farts toots.

Fart jokes have always been found funny at all age and maturity levels. Even Martin Luther made fart jokes: "When the argument that the Christian is without the law and above the law doesn’t help, I instantly chase him away with a fart."

Don't forget Mozart. He even went further with his shit jokes (it was a family affair).[0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozart_and_scatology

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#87

Post by axiosgunnar »

bigyikes wrote: post #22

I know little about Mastodon, but it seems like somebody went out of their way to make the cringiest sounding product possible. “Hey man, I just tooted on mastodon!” It really sounds like parody. I hope I am just missing the point. You might say this is a superficial criticism, but I think naming is important when it comes to social appeal. At least, it becomes important when the naming has gone so horribly wrong. If…

Naming is marketing and marketing is 80% of the success when building tech products.

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#88

Post by gargron »

inopinatus wrote: post #29
skierguy wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. As an American, I would be much less likely to use or spread good word about a product that centered around the act of "tooting". Our culture sees the word as silly, childish, and a bit gross. I could get used to it eventually, but if it's the first thing I see about the product, I'm probably going to find something else to use that doesn't make me think of farting or introduce fart terminology into my everyday…

Being a native English speaker from another country I don't possess this association at all, and have to dig quite deep to remember that Americans do. I do get tootsuite => toute de suite i.e. a sense of immediacy, the present moment, with greater impact for being a bilingual pun. Along with that, the onomatopoeic elephant. Cynical take: notwithstanding the denial in the PR, that original author knew the scatological…

I am not a native English speaker, even if I am flattered that nowadays you can't tell

Re: Mastodon Renaming “Toots” to “Posts”

#89

Post by gargron »

zzo38computer wrote: post #80

This change would be better probably, although, aren't the messages called "notes" in the W3C terminology? Of course, the verb is "post", and I think the noun should be "notes" to be consistent with the W3C terminology probably (which can reduce confusion, I hope).

Yes, the objects are notes, but the verb is create. That being said, I don't see why the underlying terminology which is essentially more like a programming language keyword has to seep through to the UI.
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