Agree. I actually have a phobia about cockroaches that manifests itself in a physical reaction when I encounter them. That has been a huge factor in me avoiding checking them out, as even seeing their icon graphic in the header gives me a visceral reaction. I'm sure it is a great DB, but the branding doesn't make me want to visit any time soon.

One of thr best racecar mechanics Ive known also shares the same phobia. His shop was squeaky clean and no food was allowed under any circumstance. It kept the pest problem under control. I never understood it until I saw his reaction to seeing one of the little buggers. Just awful.

Agreed. I actually didn't give it much attention for the longest time simply because of the name (I'm talking years - just checked it out a few months ago although I heard of it probably a couple years ago). Now that I've taken the time to check out the project, I'm sold and will definitely use it in place of Postgres, etc. But, the name does turn off some newbies. Eventually it may not matter as all good brands eventually just become familiar.

One of the reasons I'm put off by their name is because I know that they know a lot of people don't like the name. Them knowing this AND keeping at it means they don't care about losing out on tons of users because of this trivial matter, which means they are not being professional. When it comes to something like a database system, I want to use something that's built by a professional team.

When I say they don't feel professional I don't mean their tech is unprofessional. In fact I'm sure their tech is excellent and that's why they're so confident enough to keep at this name. But what I'm saying is I don't believe that the executives or whoever is in charge of the business is reliable enough to keep the business stable.

I don't know about you, but I don't feel comfortable buying a piece of enterprise software or service from a company whose CEO thinks it's OK to have a brand name that turns off tons of users and don't care.

turns off idiots, sure, I honestly can't believe the stupidity of these bikeshed comments.

That's not how bikeshedding works

Instead of discussing the merits of the business model, or technology, they are discussing what it is called, because it is easier.

It is not bikeshedding in the traditional sense, but the spirit is the same.

With that reasoning, every single discussion thread that contains criticism is bikeshedding.

Bikeshedding is for people who care about a project in one way or another. In their mind they're contributing because they're providing feedback, but overall they're just wasting time because their "work" is far from significant, which means they are not really achieving what they think they're achieving.

In this case most people who complain about their name are not their users. Some actually do want to be excited about their tech and want to be their users but they are not. Which means none of these have any intention of trying to make this project better. I am not their employee nor their shareholder. Why should I care about them?

"Bikeshedding" only applies to people who have stakes in a project or care about the success of the project because they are foolishly wasting time on something that doesn't matter when they actually think they are contributing.

This is not the case in this case. I do not care about cockroachdb and I am not trying to contribute to their success. I just bitch about it because i think it's a stupid decision. This is not bikeshedding.

It's like criticizing the hairstyle of your doctor. Do you complain when users report 'bugs' to you too?

My first reaction when I heard that name was to think - 'must be designed to be hard to kill'.

If I went to a dentist and he had a mohawk with pink hair, I would be concerned. And that's how most people react too. I'm not a fan of dressing up which is why I can't imagine myself working at a wall street firm, but at the same time it's arrogant to think that you can beat everyone else even when you are clearly exhibiting a behavior some people find repulsive.

If there was another dentist with exactly the same skills both technically and socially, there is no reason for patients to go to the guy with pink mohawk.

The name is a crucial part of the brand, which itself is the core of the business. That's what Im discussing. I understand if you disagree, but the discussion has merit based on facts.

Some names generate negative brand equity, which I feel is the case here. It would be simple to verify with an a/b test.

I know it sounds like I'm being an ass, but this comes from my desire to see them succeed.

On one hand the name had put me off from wanting to look at it when I first heard about it. But at the same time, it's also the reason I looked, since DB technologies are a dime-a-dozen these days with generic sounding names.

I would still prefer another name though.

I expect it will conjure an unpleasant instinctive response for a long time.

I think it’s fine. It kind of says “we are geeks that don’t give a shit about marketing”. It makes me trust them.

But on the other hand I am one of the guys who find the Postgres name ugly and boring, so don’t trust me :)

You have to give a shit about marketing to build a business to last, though.

Are you in a position to purchase their product? If so, at what scale?

Cockroaches are vermin, it absolutely has a negative connotation, geek or not.

> I think it’s fine. It kind of says “we are geeks that don’t give a shit about marketing”. It makes me trust them.

It kinds of says "we are geeks that don't give a fuck about looking professional". It doesn't make me trust them nor want to try their product.

This has been my gripe with MongoDB for years now. It's a negative word in various languages[1] and has a racist history in German[2].

[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mongo and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mongo

[2] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mongo#Etymology

I'm actually quite happy with the name. For me - cockroaches are bugs that are distributed and survive in harsh conditions - something you want out of a database.

Presumably the name won't last beyond their first encounter with a marketing company. It's not just a nasty insect--it's one the nastiest of them all, and universally recognized as such. Sure, it sort-of makes sense, in that cockroaches are supposed to survive nuclear war, or whatever, but still...

Also, the ironic/flip attitude towards having a deliberately bad name has been done before.

https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Stinking_Fish_Realty