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Names should be cute, not descriptive

ntietz.com

1–10 of 498 posts

Re: Names should be cute, not descriptive

#3
I was on a team that used cute names. It was fun during the development cycle, but super annoying when you're dealing with an outage. Not only did we constantly get misassigned tickets, but it can be difficult in that moment to remember if you're supposed to engage the Dynamic Pterodactyls or the Hopping Hippos.

Re: Names should be cute, not descriptive

#4
I've liked "cute" names that are related to their original responsibility in some way. E.g. we had a messaging service called "McFeely" after Mr. McFeely's Speedy Delivery Service from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

When someone gets onboarded, they'll encounter these names and will have to ask. It's a short anecdote, and it sticks. I'm personally a fan of these, as long as the stretch isn't too far. Themes around names can be nice, too. (As with the above, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.)

Re: Names should be cute, not descriptive

#6
I've found this practice very useful when naming servers, which is an idea I picked up from the Debian project's infrastructure. A physical machine will have a cute hostname, and then the actual service it provides is a CNAME (DNS alias) to it.

That way, the physical identity remains steady, but the responsibilities (CNAME) can move around (usually because of upgrade)

Re: Names should be cute, not descriptive

#8

[flagged]

Are you sure you linked to the right thing?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34271510

> Internet socialists / communists / transhumanists seem to infuse their content with a “chibi” vibe, filled with cuteness and hearts. Disagree with them politically, though, and watch out. The sunshine and roses suddenly become bloody slavering fangs.

Re: Names should be cute, not descriptive

#10
Cute names are fun when for a few special things here and there.

Cute names are a nightmare when a company has accumulated hundreds of quirkily named things that you have to memorize just to navigate through the basics of trying to get your job done.

New hires suffer the most. It’s an extra layer of company-specific jargon that you have to learn to even begin to understand what your peers are talking about.

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