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As with others, I am really struggling to see why this has "OS" in the name. It's not an operating system. I'm guessing it stands for "open source", which isn

As with others, I am really struggling to see why this has "OS" in the name. It's not an operating system. I'm guessing it stands for "open source", which isn't really an acronym people use in favour of OSS/FOSS (probably because OS already has a very well established meaning). Can someone share some insight on the naming decision?

r0naa 12y ago
Well, I think that it's a relevant analogy to what an operating system does. Like an OS a system of government (like Democracy) manages a collection of physical elements (institutions) and serves as an interface between those and the end-users (citizens.)
- lugg 12y ago
  That's a metaphor, and its confusing if not mildly infuriating.
  - r0naa 12y ago
    A metaphor is a type of analogy, just so you know. Also, could you elaborate on what is so infuriating?
    - frozenport 12y ago
      #1 An OS does different things, you might want DemocracyUI #2 Its a technical term out of place that redefines what an OS does, as a member of the technical community feel a sense of ownership for a term that I routinely use. Its infuriating when you mess with something that is mine.
      - santisiri 12y ago
        The kind of hardware we deal with it's called Congress. There's where the party we've built comes into place.
    - lugg 12y ago
      I was expecting a democratically run Linux distro or some kind of framework for democratically pulling open source software. Its more confusing than infuriating. Mainly because the term os makes sense only to people like me, but doesn't match what up with what people like me know it as. The OS part of the name doesn't help anything. I'm guessing its only there so you could have the name in the URL.
  - jeff_marshall 12y ago
    Agreed. Within the demographic that understands the acronym (OS=Operating System or Open Source, etc.), it's likely to be confusing. Outside the demographic, it's not useful as a metaphor because they don't know have an expansion for OS in their heads.
saraid216 12y ago
> Her team’s vision is to make DemocracyOS the “operating system of a more open and participatory government.” From: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/designing-an-operating-system-for-democracy/374526/ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/des...
jlgosse 12y ago
Agreed, why not just choose "Democracy"?
- unicornporn 12y ago
  Because the domain will be expensive?
- santisiri 12y ago
  I actually know who owns democracy.com but still, democracy reminisces a 2000 year old system.. we need to update that.
  - dj-wonk 12y ago
    "democracy reminisces a 2000 year old system" ... you have something better in mind? In my opinion, democracy is probably the best we've got. The challenges have to do largely with engaging people in the realities of the process.
  - userbinator 12y ago
    Democracy2.0? It worked for the web...
  - codyh1 12y ago
    In the spirit of the US Military. "Improved Democracy" Or "Updated Democracy". If you're not familiar with this...search US Army IOTV to get an idea.
    - jeff_marshall 12y ago
      How about "Future Democracy System" or "Joint Democracy Platform" ;)
santisiri 12y ago
It's meant to be open for many intepretations: - Open Source because, well, we are open source (github.com/democracyos/app) - Operating System because, well, we aim to build a layer on top of the current political system. - Open Society becasue, well, we aim for societies to become more participatory and democratic. Pick your favorite flavor.. the goal is to nail how democracy should work in the 21st century.
- santisiri 12y ago
  Just had this epiphany: DemocracyOS's name is intrinsically democratic.
andrewliebchen 12y ago
Open a PR for a name change. Let people +1. Boom, democracy in action.

r0naa 12y ago

Well, I think that it's a relevant analogy to what an operating system does. Like an OS a system of government (like Democracy) manages a collection of physical elements (institutions) and serves as an interface between those and the end-users (citizens.)

lugg 12y ago
That's a metaphor, and its confusing if not mildly infuriating.
- r0naa 12y ago
  A metaphor is a type of analogy, just so you know. Also, could you elaborate on what is so infuriating?
  - frozenport 12y ago
    #1 An OS does different things, you might want DemocracyUI #2 Its a technical term out of place that redefines what an OS does, as a member of the technical community feel a sense of ownership for a term that I routinely use. Its infuriating when you mess with something that is mine.
    - santisiri 12y ago
      The kind of hardware we deal with it's called Congress. There's where the party we've built comes into place.
  - lugg 12y ago
    I was expecting a democratically run Linux distro or some kind of framework for democratically pulling open source software. Its more confusing than infuriating. Mainly because the term os makes sense only to people like me, but doesn't match what up with what people like me know it as. The OS part of the name doesn't help anything. I'm guessing its only there so you could have the name in the URL.
- jeff_marshall 12y ago
  Agreed. Within the demographic that understands the acronym (OS=Operating System or Open Source, etc.), it's likely to be confusing. Outside the demographic, it's not useful as a metaphor because they don't know have an expansion for OS in their heads.

saraid216 12y ago

> Her team’s vision is to make DemocracyOS the “operating system of a more open and participatory government.” From: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/designing-an-operating-system-for-democracy/374526/ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/des...

jlgosse 12y ago

Agreed, why not just choose "Democracy"?

unicornporn 12y ago
Because the domain will be expensive?
santisiri 12y ago
I actually know who owns democracy.com but still, democracy reminisces a 2000 year old system.. we need to update that.
- dj-wonk 12y ago
  "democracy reminisces a 2000 year old system" ... you have something better in mind? In my opinion, democracy is probably the best we've got. The challenges have to do largely with engaging people in the realities of the process.
- userbinator 12y ago
  Democracy2.0? It worked for the web...
- codyh1 12y ago
  In the spirit of the US Military. "Improved Democracy" Or "Updated Democracy". If you're not familiar with this...search US Army IOTV to get an idea.
  - jeff_marshall 12y ago
    How about "Future Democracy System" or "Joint Democracy Platform" ;)

santisiri 12y ago

It's meant to be open for many intepretations: - Open Source because, well, we are open source (github.com/democracyos/app) - Operating System because, well, we aim to build a layer on top of the current political system. - Open Society becasue, well, we aim for societies to become more participatory and democratic. Pick your favorite flavor.. the goal is to nail how democracy should work in the 21st century.

santisiri 12y ago
Just had this epiphany: DemocracyOS's name is intrinsically democratic.

andrewliebchen 12y ago

Open a PR for a name change. Let people +1. Boom, democracy in action.