5 ms·

CockroachDB might be the worst product name I've come across. I get it; cockroaches are extremely hardy, but they're also much more strongly associated with unc

CockroachDB might be the worst product name I've come across. I get it; cockroaches are extremely hardy, but they're also much more strongly associated with uncleanliness and disease. EDIT: Also, cockroaches are BUGS! Bugs cause problems in computer systems.

radub 10y ago
http://morgana249.blogspot.com/2014/10/images-of-most-beautiful-cockroaches.html http://morgana249.blogspot.com/2014/10/images-of-most-beauti...
artursapek 10y ago
I think it's the most memorable database name I've seen. So at least it has that going for it.
- atmosx 10y ago
  I'm not a native English speaker and have troubles pronouncing "cockroach". In my view the naming is rather unfortunate.
  - artursapek 10y ago
    Do you find it easier to pronounce "postgres"?
    - mixedCase 10y ago
      Not him, but as a native spanish speaker "postgres" rolls of the tongue more easily than "cockroachdb" or just "cockroach".
    - atmosx 10y ago
      Yes but I'm not sure the comparison stands. PSQL was created in 1996 and it happens to be one of the 2-3 most common/famous databases ever made as far as I can tell. If you're postgres, it doesn't really matter because you're already there.
- cocktailpeanuts 10y ago
  People will remember if the product is good so if you're confident in your technology you don't need any gimmicky tactics. They're just hurting themselves for no good reason other than feeling good about their bad sense of humor most people don't sympathize with. Imagine any IT department in a large company, when they're deciding which technology to use, this definitely matters. I mean, funny names like "mongodb" is alright, but the first image when people hear about "cockroachdb" is not a good picture. And first impression matters a lot. It's marketing 101. -- Just think about real-life scenario of how you would recommend to a co-worker: "Hey we should definitely use this new database. It's called couchdb!" vs "Hey we should definitely use this new database, it's called cockroachdb!" Or, "Hey we should check out this awesome way of representing API. It's called JSON-API!" vs "Hey we should check out this awesome way of representing API. It's called Swagger!"
- zzzcpan 10y ago
  Agreed, they can change it if they ever get big enough. But before that more memorable brand is going to make it feel more trustworthy than the competition.
MikeAMartinez 10y ago
I always thought MongoDB was a pretty horrendous, semi-racist name and they ended up dominating, for better or worse, the NoSQL market. Of course, I quickly found out that Mongo was meant to be related to term 'Humongous' and not 'Mongoloid'.
niyazpk 10y ago
Created an issue here: https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/issues/13634 https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/issues/13634
Scaevolus 10y ago
The founders of Cockroach Labs are also the creators of GIMP.

radub 10y ago

http://morgana249.blogspot.com/2014/10/images-of-most-beautiful-cockroaches.html http://morgana249.blogspot.com/2014/10/images-of-most-beauti...

artursapek 10y ago

I think it's the most memorable database name I've seen. So at least it has that going for it.

atmosx 10y ago
I'm not a native English speaker and have troubles pronouncing "cockroach". In my view the naming is rather unfortunate.
- artursapek 10y ago
  Do you find it easier to pronounce "postgres"?
  - mixedCase 10y ago
    Not him, but as a native spanish speaker "postgres" rolls of the tongue more easily than "cockroachdb" or just "cockroach".
  - atmosx 10y ago
    Yes but I'm not sure the comparison stands. PSQL was created in 1996 and it happens to be one of the 2-3 most common/famous databases ever made as far as I can tell. If you're postgres, it doesn't really matter because you're already there.
cocktailpeanuts 10y ago
People will remember if the product is good so if you're confident in your technology you don't need any gimmicky tactics. They're just hurting themselves for no good reason other than feeling good about their bad sense of humor most people don't sympathize with. Imagine any IT department in a large company, when they're deciding which technology to use, this definitely matters. I mean, funny names like "mongodb" is alright, but the first image when people hear about "cockroachdb" is not a good picture. And first impression matters a lot. It's marketing 101. -- Just think about real-life scenario of how you would recommend to a co-worker: "Hey we should definitely use this new database. It's called couchdb!" vs "Hey we should definitely use this new database, it's called cockroachdb!" Or, "Hey we should check out this awesome way of representing API. It's called JSON-API!" vs "Hey we should check out this awesome way of representing API. It's called Swagger!"
zzzcpan 10y ago
Agreed, they can change it if they ever get big enough. But before that more memorable brand is going to make it feel more trustworthy than the competition.

MikeAMartinez 10y ago

I always thought MongoDB was a pretty horrendous, semi-racist name and they ended up dominating, for better or worse, the NoSQL market. Of course, I quickly found out that Mongo was meant to be related to term 'Humongous' and not 'Mongoloid'.

niyazpk 10y ago

Created an issue here: https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/issues/13634 https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/issues/13634

Scaevolus 10y ago

The founders of Cockroach Labs are also the creators of GIMP.