"Scuttlebutt" is nautical term for a water fountain (which was originally a cask, not a fountain). Since sailors would congregate around the scuttlebutt and gossip, "scuttlebutt" also came to mean gossip as well. I guess I'd call it the nautical version of "water cooler talk."

It's rather obscure term to use outside a nautical context, so I agree it's a bad name if targeting the general public. It would be a fine name if its target audience was only sailors.