4 ms·

Tampon now lets you buffer tweets with pictures

14 points by julien_c 14y ago

shaggyfrog 14y ago
There is no way I would ever use this project at work or even for home projects because at some point, someone somewhere will have to read its name, or hear it in a conversation. Which will be some combination of embarrassing or insulting for everyone involved. This is the biggest naming fail I have ever seen in the industry.
colanderman 14y ago
Why in the world is this named after a feminine hygiene product?
jgrahamc 14y ago
This really is a terrible name. And putting "tampon means buffer in French" at the bottom while having a logo that looks like a tampon with a string isn't fooling anyone. I like the app idea, but am not going to use something called Tampon.
- welp 14y ago
  In his defense, it looks like julien_c is actually French... but the logo is what got me!
julien_c 14y ago
Ok -- next on my to-do list is a new name.
- noirman 14y ago
  Call it Baffa (Japanese translation of Buffer)
  - julien_c 14y ago
    Good idea, but this sounds a bit too close to Buffer :)
    - noirman 14y ago
      I think anything other than tampon would be fine. Since it's open source, might as well call it "tweet_scheduler".
    - aeurielesn 14y ago
      That's the idea. (It's japanese after all)
    - bryanlarsen 14y ago
      That's because it is buffer -- baffa is just the japanese transliteration of buffer. w1ntermute is right.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    No, gairaigo usually just sound stupid when brought back to English. How about "Kanshou" （緩衝）, the native Japanese word for "buffer"?
- TamDenholm 14y ago
  I dont like the name either but at least you got people talking about it and im sure as shit going to remember it, probably for the wrong reasons, but out of all the stupid names people call their apps (mine included) at least i wont forget this one.
jonny_eh 14y ago
Why advertise the trendy technologies (-PHP) it's built on?
- julien_c 14y ago
  Because it's an open source project: https://github.com/julien-c/Tampon https://github.com/julien-c/Tampon
girlvinyl 14y ago
"Tampon"? Seriously? Let the app shine without stopping people short because of the name.
- sp332 14y ago
  Hey if iPad overcame its name, this could work too!
  - meepmorp 14y ago
    Pad, in English, has common uses other than a feminine hygiene product - a pad of paper, a building pad, a launch pad. Tampon doesn't.
denzil_correa 14y ago
I initially thought it was an app for female hygiene!
ComputerGuru 14y ago
I'm sorry, but this is just outrageously sexist. And then people complain and argue that the industry isn't outright biased against women. The developer needs to grow up and come to his senses. And notice how I'm certain it's a guy.
- aeurielesn 14y ago
  I also think it's a really bad name but I didn't go as far as label it as sexist. Do you mind sharing the basis behind your affirmation?
  - ComputerGuru 14y ago
    Feminine hygiene is a touchy subject. It's not something you just casually bandy about, and it's a major turn-off admittedly for both guys and girls. But to be in an industry where it's OK to go ahead and make an app and call it Tampon and not get called out for it (I'm glad people here on HN have, thank you guys) means that we are in a crass industry where people have no regard for touchy subjects that could make our female compatriots uncomfortable. (Some) women go to great lengths to hide their monthly discharge and related hygiene control. Imagine how they would feel if they tried to use this app on a daily basis? There isn't a good comparison for the guys, but the real grind is that it's a bad name for an app that has nothing to do with its purpose. Imagine if it were called, I dunno, Condom. Why the fuck would you call it that, even if condom where West Gibberish for "buffer?" It's not funny, it's just uncouth and inconsiderate. For the record, I'm a guy.
    - joezydeco 14y ago
      I know a few women who were repulsed by the name of the Ford Probe. It's not just hygiene but any connotation of a very intimate device or action.
rglover 14y ago
How about "Sponge" for a name? Same idea as your current name, but less...upsetting. Could go a few ways too: bitsponge, sponge.it (a verb!), etc.
- julien_c 14y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion! Much more useful than complaining about the current name IMO.
ww520 14y ago
I was skeptic whether this is a real project, or it is just a parody/trolling site/project.
daledavies 14y ago
Thought I had gone back in time for a sec... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4484526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4484526

14 points by julien_c 14y ago

There is no way I would ever use this project at work or even for home projects because at some point, someone somewhere will have to read its name, or hear it in a conversation. Which will be some combination of embarrassing or insulting for everyone involved. This is the biggest naming fail I have ever seen in the industry.

colanderman 14y ago

Why in the world is this named after a feminine hygiene product?

jgrahamc 14y ago

This really is a terrible name. And putting "tampon means buffer in French" at the bottom while having a logo that looks like a tampon with a string isn't fooling anyone. I like the app idea, but am not going to use something called Tampon.

welp 14y ago
In his defense, it looks like julien_c is actually French... but the logo is what got me!

julien_c 14y ago

Ok -- next on my to-do list is a new name.

noirman 14y ago
Call it Baffa (Japanese translation of Buffer)
- julien_c 14y ago
  Good idea, but this sounds a bit too close to Buffer :)
  - noirman 14y ago
    I think anything other than tampon would be fine. Since it's open source, might as well call it "tweet_scheduler".
  - aeurielesn 14y ago
    That's the idea. (It's japanese after all)
  - bryanlarsen 14y ago
    That's because it is buffer -- baffa is just the japanese transliteration of buffer. w1ntermute is right.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  No, gairaigo usually just sound stupid when brought back to English. How about "Kanshou" （緩衝）, the native Japanese word for "buffer"?
TamDenholm 14y ago
I dont like the name either but at least you got people talking about it and im sure as shit going to remember it, probably for the wrong reasons, but out of all the stupid names people call their apps (mine included) at least i wont forget this one.

jonny_eh 14y ago

Why advertise the trendy technologies (-PHP) it's built on?

julien_c 14y ago
Because it's an open source project: https://github.com/julien-c/Tampon https://github.com/julien-c/Tampon

girlvinyl 14y ago

"Tampon"? Seriously? Let the app shine without stopping people short because of the name.

sp332 14y ago
Hey if iPad overcame its name, this could work too!
- meepmorp 14y ago
  Pad, in English, has common uses other than a feminine hygiene product - a pad of paper, a building pad, a launch pad. Tampon doesn't.

denzil_correa 14y ago

I initially thought it was an app for female hygiene!

ComputerGuru 14y ago

I'm sorry, but this is just outrageously sexist. And then people complain and argue that the industry isn't outright biased against women. The developer needs to grow up and come to his senses. And notice how I'm certain it's a guy.

aeurielesn 14y ago
I also think it's a really bad name but I didn't go as far as label it as sexist. Do you mind sharing the basis behind your affirmation?
- ComputerGuru 14y ago
  Feminine hygiene is a touchy subject. It's not something you just casually bandy about, and it's a major turn-off admittedly for both guys and girls. But to be in an industry where it's OK to go ahead and make an app and call it Tampon and not get called out for it (I'm glad people here on HN have, thank you guys) means that we are in a crass industry where people have no regard for touchy subjects that could make our female compatriots uncomfortable. (Some) women go to great lengths to hide their monthly discharge and related hygiene control. Imagine how they would feel if they tried to use this app on a daily basis? There isn't a good comparison for the guys, but the real grind is that it's a bad name for an app that has nothing to do with its purpose. Imagine if it were called, I dunno, Condom. Why the fuck would you call it that, even if condom where West Gibberish for "buffer?" It's not funny, it's just uncouth and inconsiderate. For the record, I'm a guy.
  - joezydeco 14y ago
    I know a few women who were repulsed by the name of the Ford Probe. It's not just hygiene but any connotation of a very intimate device or action.

rglover 14y ago

How about "Sponge" for a name? Same idea as your current name, but less...upsetting. Could go a few ways too: bitsponge, sponge.it (a verb!), etc.

julien_c 14y ago
Thanks for the suggestion! Much more useful than complaining about the current name IMO.

ww520 14y ago

I was skeptic whether this is a real project, or it is just a parody/trolling site/project.

daledavies 14y ago

Thought I had gone back in time for a sec... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4484526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4484526