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Comment by dariusm5 | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious why they chose 'Cocaine' as the name of the project. Naming a project after a substance illegal in most of the world is pretty bold. I'm looking forward to how they market this outside of Russia.

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I wonder if it will become a trend to name technologies after taboo items? Imagine if a product called Dildo comes out and it is the best, most easy to use piece of software that ever existed. People would just have to use Dildo and get over the name. It could start a revolution.

There's a javascript testing tool that was known as "testacular". Well, cool pun bro, but the name was changed to "Karma" when it grew up.

I met a person named "Cocaine". It was actually the name his mother gave him. Also, he had reached adulthood and hadn't changed the name or started going by "Cain". De gustibus.

Cocaine is usually associated with providing a rush of energy, so I guess they're trying to say that their platform is fast.

My guess is, they hired an idiot who loves edgy marketing to name it.

Or, a simpler explanation: they named it while they were high on cocaine.

it is definitely targets market outside of Russia. Otherwise they would name it like "Samogon" (moonshine :)

Do we have to discuss the name every time somebody chooses something controversial? Yes, you're right; it's a controversial choice. What else is there to say about it? We do this every time.

I think it's a legitimate topic to discuss. I think the name of an app or project is very important to its success.

I'm not offended over the name, but simply curious as to why they chose it. I personally wouldn't choose a controversial name if I wanted my app or project to be adopted by others.

That's the conclusion this forum came to every other time we talked about it too :)

I'm not sure how "Cocaine experience" would look on a resume. The amount of extra explanation it will necessitate is a potentially large burden.

There are also likely to be misunderstandings when communities start forming local Cocaine User Group chapters. There might be difficulty in getting space for meetings, and it will be interesting to see who might show up.

it is illegal in Russia too

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