5 ms·

If you're talking about the name "scuttlebutt" then where I'm from (Upstate New York, USA) it's basically a synonym for chatter or gossip.

elcomet 7y ago
In non English-native countries, people don't know this word. So it just sounds like "scuttle butt" and I don't want to recommend something with "butt" in the name to people.. which is a shame because it looks like a nice project.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  Considering that it made you do a double-take, and convinced me to click on it, I think it's a perfect name for a project. In a similar vein, there's a CPU architecture called "brainfuck", oft-stylized as "brainfck". It's a lot* more memorable than something like MAOIIA or something.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    I think that's a programming language, not a CPU architecture.
- eitland 7y ago
  Or we can just get over it like git and a number of other things. I tend to be rather conservative in what I utter myself but I will actively defend the right of projects to use uncommon English words as names. In fact I think it is a net positive.
  - elcomet 7y ago
    git is not a well known word like butt is. The name scuttle butt just sounds silly, like a kid's joke
    - jnwatson 7y ago
      It is a well-known term in the UK.
  - false-mirror 7y ago
    Meanwhile folks defend "GIMP", a confirmed sexual and ablest term, to the death.
    - eitland 7y ago
      When I search for gimp on ddg, the whole front page is filled with information about the GNU Image Manipulation Program. You can try for yourself here: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=GIMP&t=fpas&ia=about https://duckduckgo.com/?q=GIMP&t=fpas&ia=about If anything, if people actually cared about the disabled they should rejoice that this word is getting a new meaning. I for one didn't know the original meaning of that word until someone line you told me. Oh, and if we give in on this the battle doesn't stop there, seems "butt" is next in line: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20831167 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20831167 :)
- jszymborski 7y ago
  This strikes me as odd. The last time I was in an environment where the word butt was considered rude was the third grade.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    Do you live in an English environment? I think words like butt can sound worse for those of us who don't, since we don't use it colloquially (we use the native equivalent), only in more "forceful" cases. Frankly the first that comes to my mind hearing that word is "what what". Still, I like the name and would be sad if they changed it!
    - jszymborski 7y ago
      I live in a weird mix of English and French (Montreal) :) It's just surprising to me since butt always was less formal than "posterior" and less rude than what we'd more frankly call an "ass". I definitely want to acknowledge that I know not all environments are similar to mine :) I'm just surprised to hear there are contexts where someone might find the phrase "I've fallen on my butt" to be more rude than if any other body part was mentioned. I would have assumed the problem is less the word choice and the fact that people are being rather prude about bodies and their function, much like grade schoolers are like to be.
    - olah_1 7y ago
      English also has the word "but" with only one t. So actual English speakers aren't automatically triggered when they hear the sound of "b-u-t" together. "Scuttlebutt" sounds like a hokey old timey word and it has only one definition. As an English speaker, it's also miles better than "toot"(Mastodon) which has multiple definitions and the most common is "to fart".
shirro 7y ago
I think it is everywhere in the english language world. It might not be in common usage but most adults would know the meaning. Butt is such an innocuous word for arse it is used by preschoolers and cartoons. It isn't offensive to anyone and clearly it no more means arse in this term than it does when referring to the end of a cigarette or gun or hitting someone with your head. I once had a client see a server monitoring package refer to daemons and I thought I was going to be the victim of a satanic panic but I quickly pointed out how the spelling differed from the usual biblical version and that a bunch of hippies in california in the 60s were into mythology and the name stuck. People are weird.

elcomet 7y ago

In non English-native countries, people don't know this word. So it just sounds like "scuttle butt" and I don't want to recommend something with "butt" in the name to people.. which is a shame because it looks like a nice project.

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
Considering that it made you do a double-take, and convinced me to click on it, I think it's a perfect name for a project. In a similar vein, there's a CPU architecture called "brainfuck", oft-stylized as "brainfck". It's a lot* more memorable than something like MAOIIA or something.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  I think that's a programming language, not a CPU architecture.
eitland 7y ago
Or we can just get over it like git and a number of other things. I tend to be rather conservative in what I utter myself but I will actively defend the right of projects to use uncommon English words as names. In fact I think it is a net positive.
- elcomet 7y ago
  git is not a well known word like butt is. The name scuttle butt just sounds silly, like a kid's joke
  - jnwatson 7y ago
    It is a well-known term in the UK.
- false-mirror 7y ago
  Meanwhile folks defend "GIMP", a confirmed sexual and ablest term, to the death.
  - eitland 7y ago
    When I search for gimp on ddg, the whole front page is filled with information about the GNU Image Manipulation Program. You can try for yourself here: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=GIMP&t=fpas&ia=about https://duckduckgo.com/?q=GIMP&t=fpas&ia=about If anything, if people actually cared about the disabled they should rejoice that this word is getting a new meaning. I for one didn't know the original meaning of that word until someone line you told me. Oh, and if we give in on this the battle doesn't stop there, seems "butt" is next in line: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20831167 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20831167 :)
jszymborski 7y ago
This strikes me as odd. The last time I was in an environment where the word butt was considered rude was the third grade.
- icebraining 7y ago
  Do you live in an English environment? I think words like butt can sound worse for those of us who don't, since we don't use it colloquially (we use the native equivalent), only in more "forceful" cases. Frankly the first that comes to my mind hearing that word is "what what". Still, I like the name and would be sad if they changed it!
  - jszymborski 7y ago
    I live in a weird mix of English and French (Montreal) :) It's just surprising to me since butt always was less formal than "posterior" and less rude than what we'd more frankly call an "ass". I definitely want to acknowledge that I know not all environments are similar to mine :) I'm just surprised to hear there are contexts where someone might find the phrase "I've fallen on my butt" to be more rude than if any other body part was mentioned. I would have assumed the problem is less the word choice and the fact that people are being rather prude about bodies and their function, much like grade schoolers are like to be.
  - olah_1 7y ago
    English also has the word "but" with only one t. So actual English speakers aren't automatically triggered when they hear the sound of "b-u-t" together. "Scuttlebutt" sounds like a hokey old timey word and it has only one definition. As an English speaker, it's also miles better than "toot"(Mastodon) which has multiple definitions and the most common is "to fart".

shirro 7y ago

I think it is everywhere in the english language world. It might not be in common usage but most adults would know the meaning. Butt is such an innocuous word for arse it is used by preschoolers and cartoons. It isn't offensive to anyone and clearly it no more means arse in this term than it does when referring to the end of a cigarette or gun or hitting someone with your head. I once had a client see a server monitoring package refer to daemons and I thought I was going to be the victim of a satanic panic but I quickly pointed out how the spelling differed from the usual biblical version and that a bunch of hippies in california in the 60s were into mythology and the name stuck. People are weird.