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Comment by shykes | Hacker News Reader

I would advise finding another name for the tool. 'mac' is an obvious trademark infringement and it's only a matter of time before Apple lawyers come knocking on your door. Honestly I find it uncool to piggyback on someone else's brand in this way. The protagonists are different but it's the same fundamental issue as the "Ubuntu vs OVH" and "Let's Encrypt vs Comodo" stories we've seen recently.

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There is other non-Apple software that has been happily using "mac" in its name for a long time, no?

Everybody knows MacPorts, and there's Mactracker and MacCleanse on the App Store itself, and the infamous Mackeeper (which may very well be malware; Apple should go after them first) and companies: MacPhun and MacPaw.

But I guess people may confuse "Mac CLI" as being an official part of macOS.

Without reading the article I assumed this would be some tutorial on official Mac OS tools. Once I read it, it was obviously not the case.

Just anecdotal evidence.

Apple provides support and funding to Mac ports when I last checked.

i think the difference is that this is an open source command line utility for mac, so the naming convention is essentially mac command line utility. I think you are correct that it could cause issues, but nowhere near the same thing as Commodo wherein they intentionally are trying to undermine a competitors offering by intimidation and coercion.

Not sure what a better name would be, but it may need to be changed. I should add though, I had no illusions this wasn't an official apple offering.

I agree the circumstances are very different, and obviously don't think there was any nefarious intentions. But the underlying fundamental issue - brand recognition and the value of having your work recognized under a name you control - is still the same.

In this case, I think the author of this tool has the most to lose, because he is building brand equity for someone else. If next year his tool takes off and he is forced to rename, he has to start over.

But let's assume this tool becomes so successful that he gets away with the "name hack", then it sets the wrong example for other aspiring toolmakers: "don't bother picking your own name, surf on on someone else's and if you succeed fast enough, you might get away with it". That is the same calculation which leads less scrupulous people like Comodo and OVH to "ask for forgiveness rather than permission". I think that is dangerous for innovation because it makes it less rewarding to try something new under your own name. Why bother if someone else will reap the rewards in the end?

If you have any suggestion regarding the name, just let me know! I am open to receive suggestions about that. Thanks!

I think you should name it Mac CLI. If you really think it is an issue just call it MaCLI.

What about "macly"? :)

I was going to suggest the same name.

And that is definetely a good suggestion! Thanks

Thanks for your advice! Do you have any suggestion regarding the name? I'd love to hear some ideas.

I don't have any suggestions, but will be happy to send them if I think of anything.

The sooner you change, the better. Otherwise that is wasted brand equity for you. If you're going to work hard to build a great tool, the recognition for that should flow to a name of your own.

Thanks for advice, and if you think of anything about the name just let me know!

I just thought of CLImax. Might be to sexually loaded though :(

Yeah... How about "mcl", "A Mac Command-Line tool"?

Already in use (though, pretty niche): http://micans.org/mcl/

Or mctl?

Funny name, but interesting for sure :D

Off the top of my head, I think "MacFoo" and "WinBar" are well-accepted conventions for tools built for the mac and windows respectively. Maybe look for something short and sweet in that vein? Or just something short and easy to memorize.

I'm really terrible at choosing names, so I'm sorry for criticizing more than I'm suggesting.

I wish you lots of success, the world needs more easy to use development tools. Don't let armchair quarterbacks like me demotivate you :)

If MacFoo and WinBar are OK, then surely "Mac Cli" is OK.

Or shorten it to MacCli if you must.

The actual command doesn't have to change.

I agree with you, plus the command name is really easy to remember.

i'd just call it maCLI

I do love 'Docker' though.

I do too, but I didn't choose it :) It was an internal codename picked by one of the early engineers on the project. In fact I firmly intended to change the name before launch - but we accidentally launched ahead of schedule and people loved it. The rest is history.

A good example of my ineptitude at identifying good names.

That is why asking is always a good idea. I've met entrepreneurs that have the mindset that everything has to be an idea of themselves. I think that ego is a big player on their mindset.

The great thing about open-source is that everything is created through collaborarion. The best of everyone is contributed to a project in benefit of the entire community.

Apple_$eed

Mackly -- sounds like "Mac CLI", and has personality. tho have not googled for collisions

As an open source library, don't worry about it. If Apple causes a big stink about it (unlikely), then you can rename it.

What you have is a great, simple, direct name for a utility script. Better to ignore the trademark / brand FUD.

I think that the name is not a problem but it's great to receive suggestions since a good idea could be suggested by someone from the community. Thanks for your comment!

If in doubt click on this sites generate button a bunch and see if anything manifests that you like.

https://www.dotomator.com/web20.html

Call it PC, and nobody will complain.

PCL - Personal Command Line ;)

You way want to change all occurrences of "OS X" to "macOS" :)

What about max?

That is an interesting alternative. Thanks for suggestion!

Call it `morc`.

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