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I've studied in the US, binged every Sorkin series, scored a 700 on the verbal SAT, and work almost exclusively in an English-language environment. And yet I've

I've studied in the US, binged every Sorkin series, scored a 700 on the verbal SAT, and work almost exclusively in an English-language environment. And yet I've never heard of Fleets enema". It's strange what cultural blind spots remain. That being said, "Fleets" strikes my non-native ears as an above-average naming choice with its double entendre of "Group of something" as well as "fleeting". (It's also an ongoing pet peeve of mine how risk-averse people are in regards to naming. "CockroachDB" or "Plan B" (the morning-after pill) strike me as hilarious and instant classics of the genre, both evoking a rich set of emotions that fit pretty well with their respective products. I guess it's Keynesian-Beauty-Contest sort of fallacy, where everyone believes all the others are into Playboy models, even though they themselves prefer the Girl-next-door type)

karatestomp 7y ago
Native (US) English speaker here. Semi-old, too. Never heard of a "fleets enema".
Traster 7y ago
Actually I think you've pointed out a potential confusion. My understanding was they're "Fleets" because they're ephemeral - they get deleted after 24 hours. So they're "Fleeting" definition -lasting for a very short time. Not "Fleet" as in group of boats sailing together. So the name potentially implies they're something they're absolutely not.
fullshark 7y ago
Never heard of it either, here's someone else making the same point: https://www.inputmag.com/culture/im-sorry-but-twitter-babe-you-cant-call-your-new-product-fleets https://www.inputmag.com/culture/im-sorry-but-twitter-babe-y... Twitter acknowledging it: https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1235271981462720512 https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1235271981462720512
lotsofpulp 7y ago
Also born and raised in US and have no clue what a fleets enema is. edit: apparently it’s a brand of enema laxative. I wonder what proportion of people have had to use an enema. I may be in the minority due to young age and being male?

karatestomp 7y ago

Native (US) English speaker here. Semi-old, too. Never heard of a "fleets enema".

Traster 7y ago

Actually I think you've pointed out a potential confusion. My understanding was they're "Fleets" because they're ephemeral - they get deleted after 24 hours. So they're "Fleeting" definition -lasting for a very short time. Not "Fleet" as in group of boats sailing together. So the name potentially implies they're something they're absolutely not.

fullshark 7y ago

Never heard of it either, here's someone else making the same point: https://www.inputmag.com/culture/im-sorry-but-twitter-babe-you-cant-call-your-new-product-fleets https://www.inputmag.com/culture/im-sorry-but-twitter-babe-y... Twitter acknowledging it: https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1235271981462720512 https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1235271981462720512

lotsofpulp 7y ago

Also born and raised in US and have no clue what a fleets enema is. edit: apparently it’s a brand of enema laxative. I wonder what proportion of people have had to use an enema. I may be in the minority due to young age and being male?