It's funny, everytime Weboob is presented somewhere, and everytime there is a post about the latest version of Weboob, the first comment is a variation of "it's sexist/boobs are unprofessional/grow up", and very very little time is spent talking about the actual thing, what it does and why its only goal is to become irrelevant. Sad thing.
Here's what they have to say about it, and why there's very little chance they will change anything:
> It's funny, everytime Weboob is presented somewhere, and everytime there is a post about the latest version of Weboob, the first comment is a variation of "it's sexist/boobs are unprofessional/grow up", and very very little time is spent talking about the actual thing
I don't believe it's a problem with the name itself but more a problem with how commenters are more easily concerned about everything sounding professional even though it may very well have nothing to do with a job.
Don't click the link above. It may crash your browser.
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Full text:
We often get complaints around Weboob‘s name, and the various application names.
There’s no denying they’re childish. What they are not, however, is sexist.
There is “boob” in the main name, and “boob” is a friendly name referring to (mostly female) breasts. We would, for example, avoid using “tits” or “cunt”, because they are often demeaning1. Though it is a happy accident (our earlier ideas like “woob” and “webob” were taken), we certainly like playing with that.
The idea is the same with application names; it’s all about friendly jokes (like wetboobs the weather tool, which manages to be related to weather and boobs).
If you’re offended, just ask yourself “how is it sexist?”.
As it appears, Weboob is a formidable tool to detect people that are part of the “be offended first, think later” crowd. Interestingly, the crusaders2 are to date all male, and often assert that women can’t like jokes about breasts or sex in general3. How fucked up is that?
They will always make a scene4 on how they’re never going to use Weboob because of names. Guys, here’s the thing: we don’t need you and we certainly don’t want you. I for one am glad we created an Asshole Detector, albeit by accident.
We however are mostly not native English speakers. Mistakes can happen. [↩]
This is not an euphemism. They act like they are fighting for a good cause, but it’s only pretend. [↩]
And who the hell are they to talk in place of others? That is actual sexism. [↩]
So that it is abundantly clear, this is purely about making a scene; I do not care about their opinions or how many penises they may have. All our contributors do not and do not have to like the branding. [↩]
It's a fun read. You know, I'm not normally one to jump on the "offended" bandwagon. In this case I felt compelled to speak up because the name makes it pretty much impossible to reference or recommend the project in a business setting. Wearing a t-shirt to work makes me feel like a true rebel; mentioning a project with components such as "boobsize" and "wetboobs" is going to simply be too weird for many people.
> It's funny, everytime Weboob is presented somewhere, and everytime there is a post about the latest version of Weboob, the first comment is a variation of "it's sexist/boobs are unprofessional/grow up", and very very little time is spent talking about the actual thing, what it does and why its only goal is to become irrelevant. Sad thing.
That in itself is a very good reason why the naming scheme needs a long, hard rethink. It's distracting.
Put another way, I wouldn't blame everyone else if every time my hypothetical company "Natzie" was mentioned the conversation devolved into something unrelated to the reason it was mentioned. If you want to succeed, you need to make decisions based on the real world, not how the world should be (not that you can't push limits, but baby steps are often needed).
I think it probably /is/ an asshole detector, but not quite in the way that the authors of that webpage /think/ it is.
from Wikipedia:
Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unpleasant impulses by denying their existence while attributing them to others.
Here's what they have to say about it, and why there's very little chance they will change anything:
http://laurent.bachelier.name/2013/12/weboob-the-asshole-det...
(This comment is not directed at you directly)