Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by wfuser 2012 days ago
> I think the name and the logo is good. Don't listen to the people who just keep talking and not helping!

Agreed. It's funny that people here are complaining "Rocky Linux" isn't a professional name and they won't be able to convince corporates clients to use it. Yet, there exists a billion dollar revenue company named "Red Hat" which clearly is a "professional" name.

5 comments

"Thinking back to early CentOS days... My cofounder was Rocky McGaugh. He is no longer with us, so as a H/T to him, who never got to see the success that CentOS came to be, I introduce to you...Rocky Linux"

— Gregory Kurtzer, Founder

I am not even sure what is going on.

1. The Name has a meaning. As shown in the quote above. And it is tribute / honour to a founder, from a previously well known project ( CentOS )

2. That meaning and the linkage in itself is extremely marketable. Especially to the target audience which are using CentOS.

3. This message explaining its meaning has been there since Day 1 according to Github history.

4. But more than half of the comments ( 150 ) are pissing on its name.

5. Which suggest that either a) They didn't actually click on the link and read anything or b) They dont like name for whatever reason.

6. I will be judgemental, and I am willing to bet those who are complaining about the name has never done any professional marketing or sales for any decent period of time.

Having said all that, they are still entitled to their opinion. But it also shows why product development and marketing based on surveying doesn't really work.

> They didn't actually click on the link and read anything

Bingo.

"Ubuntu".

It's widely accepted nowadays, it was pretty weird in 2004. I got my fair share of jokes in 2005-2007 from friends when talking about that "ubuntu" thing, and I'll spare you the examples.

"Ubuntu" is an African word that means "I'm not able to install Debian" :D
This is the best Linux joke I've ever heard.
High 5
The notorious local news story about a woman who flunked out of college because her laptop came with Ubuntu comes to mind. I think that was in the mid 00s.
For those who haven't come across it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qj8p-PEwbI

Quite embarrassing for all involved.

Same here. Things that come to mind: Rocky, the champion boxer who can "go the distance" and never gives up... the Rocky Mountains, which are, well, rocky and strong... Rocky Road ice cream, which tastes good.

A zillion times better than trying to explain what a "Suse", an "Ubuntu", or a "Manjaro" is, and that's before talking about the various types of hat-based distros.

To be fair, there is also the second definition of rocky, as in "That was a rocky situation", or unsteady / unstable.

I agree though its a perfectly fine name.

And, of course, Rocky and Bullwinkle.

I want Bullwinkle Linux.

I guess you’ve just found the name for Rocky’s development branch!
Sam and Max hit the code.
That trick never works!
Watch me pull a rabbit out of my Red Hat!
Again???
Or whatever the F “Sent-Aus” was.
Or the weirdly mis-spelled version of "googol" that's just going to make people think "goggle" or "ogle".
"Linux" = "Linus' UNIX". This is as amateur as it gets.

Hell, my grocery store sells sausage bites made by Dietz & Watson that are called "Dietz Nuts".

Names are not destiny.