Re: Package "luwak"

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

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  > The main issue that I think Richard wants to tackle is
  > discoverability.

The two goals I am concerned about are (1) discoverability and (2)
understandability.  "Luwak" is bad on both of those dimensions.  Even
if you read about the package 6 months ago, you are likely not to
recall what it does, because the name does nothing to help you recall.

                      So while luwak as a name is is meaningless, doesn't
  > mean that it in itself is a bad name -- it is unique, and easy to
  > remeber.

In my view, meaningless names are bad names.  Mere uniqueness is not
enough to make up for the lack of discoverability and
understandability.

There can be unusual cases where a unique, meaningless name might
suffice: for a feature that is so important and so often used that
everyone will encounter the feature every week, perhaps we can expect
all users to learn and remember what it does.

In those cases, perhaps it won't matter than the name is meaningless.

But such cases are unusual.

  > Instead of trying to find "perfect" names

By saying "perfect", that sentence criticizes bvy exaggeration.  I am
not calling for "perfect" names.  What I said is nothing like that.

I am calling for an effort to look for a name that is at lesst
somewhat helpful -- rather than adopting a totally unhelpful name
that has no reasons to prefer it.

    wouldn't it make more sense to have another
  > field, or extend the Keywords field?

That might be a good idea; how about posting a proposal
in a different thread with a different subject line.

But that wouldn't eliminate the benefit of a name that is meaningful
and helpful.


-- 
Dr Richard Stallman (https://stallman.org)
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)