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Comment by JetSpiegel | Hacker News Reader

Just because my dog is called Napoleon doesn't mean he's the king of France. What kind of ridiculous name is that?

This is a name quite worthy of the Hall of Shame. Yes, I fully admit that I have an extremely negative gut reaction. Why? Certain terms (like terminal) should not be abused, mangled, appropriated, or pilfered by a private organization.

Here are some logic-based criticisms:

1. A terminal (look at the root of the word) is not a computer -- it is an "end point" through which you can access a computer.

2. I don't think you can get a trademark on the name. If I'm wrong, then someone at the USPTO got bamboozled.

3. People like me are going to express negativity about your name. (But, hey, maybe any PR is good PR? Shameful, again.)

4. Where is the creativity? For shame, people.

So, please find another name, for your sake and ours. Groan.

P.S. I put CNN's "State of the Union" in roughly the same circle of hell.

It's really not that serious.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_terminal

A computer terminal ... is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system.

Uh, one that seems to sum up what the product does quite nicely?

It's completely overloaded with a generic tool that has been around for the last 40+ years and will continue to be around for another 40+ years. I can't imagine a worse name, other than maybe 'operating system' or 'computer'.

For context I was teaching a 'Girls Who Code' class last week introducing using command line tools to people that have never used them before. It's already hard to explain 'terminal == command line == console == shell'. I'd really hate if this company caught on and just confused the whole thing even more.

Overloading a fundamental term within our industry is questionable. You can make something up, or use something from outside the industry, but please don't redefine a common and essential industry term.

For instance, you could call your computing product Hammer, or call a rocket Hammer, or call a person Hammer (Mr. Martel or Mr. Burrell), or you can make a carpentry tool called the "Martel Hammer" or the "Burrell Hammer" or the "Rocket Hammer" or the "Lambda Calculus Hammer". But if you invent a new carpentry tool that is not a hammer, you don't get to call it "Hammer".

Dark Branding?

http://darkpatterns.org

When dealing with any new and unfamiliar system, the best way to troubleshoot unclear features or generic errors is usually to hit up Google for those who ran into the same thing. Making your product ungooglable is a great way to ensure developers never touch it.

Hmm, now that is a great point that I had not thought of.

This was my first thought as well. This product name is the sure way to failure because it describes all kinds of things. Their product is one of the least significant items called Terminal, due to being the new kid on the block. They hide in plain sight.

Yeah, no one ever uses names that are ungoogleable, until they are.

What would "ruby" have shown up just a couple years ago? or "Apple?"

No, it does not sum up what it does. "Terminal" is from "terminalis" meaning an endpoint to connect to a computing device. (The terminal itself does not do significant or interesting computation.)

From Wiktionary

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terminal

Etymology

From French terminal, from Late Latin terminalis (“pertaining to a boundary or to the end, terminal, final”), from Latin terminus (“a bound, boundary, limit, end”); see term, terminus.

6. (computing) In the context of computer hardware, a device for entering data into a computer or a communications system and/or displaying data received, especially a device equipped with a keyboard and some sort of textual display.

7. (computing) A computer program that emulates a terminal (6).

Does it not emulate a terminal and therefore qualify for number 7? It seems that when you start up one of the snapshots, it provides a persistent terminal session, in the browser. And isn't the browser itself a terminal for controlling a remote computer?

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