Tampon now lets you buffer tweets with pictures

by julien_c • 14 years ago

14 26 14 years ago

Why in the world is this named after a feminine hygiene product?

jgrahamc• 14 years ago

This really is a terrible name. And putting "tampon means buffer in French" at the bottom while having a logo that looks like a tampon with a string isn't fooling anyone. I like the app idea, but am not going to use something called Tampon.

welp• 14 years ago

In his defense, it looks like julien_c is actually French... but the logo is what got me!

julien_c4• 14 years ago

Ok -- next on my to-do list is a new name.

noirman2• 14 years ago

Call it Baffa (Japanese translation of Buffer)

julien_c4• 14 years ago

Good idea, but this sounds a bit too close to Buffer :)

w1ntermute• 14 years ago

No, gairaigo usually just sound stupid when brought back to English. How about "Kanshou" （緩衝）, the native Japanese word for "buffer"?

TamDenholm• 14 years ago

I dont like the name either but at least you got people talking about it and im sure as shit going to remember it, probably for the wrong reasons, but out of all the stupid names people call their apps (mine included) at least i wont forget this one.

jonny_eh• 14 years ago

Why advertise the trendy technologies (-PHP) it's built on?

julien_c4• 14 years ago

Because it's an open source project: https://github.com/julien-c/Tampon

girlvinyl• 14 years ago

"Tampon"? Seriously? Let the app shine without stopping people short because of the name.

sp332• 14 years ago

Hey if iPad overcame its name, this could work too!

meepmorp• 14 years ago

Pad, in English, has common uses other than a feminine hygiene product - a pad of paper, a building pad, a launch pad. Tampon doesn't.

denzil_correa• 14 years ago

I initially thought it was an app for female hygiene!

ComputerGuru2• 14 years ago

I'm sorry, but this is just outrageously sexist. And then people complain and argue that the industry isn't outright biased against women.

The developer needs to grow up and come to his senses. And notice how I'm certain it's a guy.

aeurielesn2• 14 years ago

I also think it's a really bad name but I didn't go as far as label it as sexist.

Do you mind sharing the basis behind your affirmation?

ComputerGuru2• 14 years ago

Feminine hygiene is a touchy subject. It's not something you just casually bandy about, and it's a major turn-off admittedly for both guys and girls. But to be in an industry where it's OK to go ahead and make an app and call it Tampon and not get called out for it (I'm glad people here on HN have, thank you guys) means that we are in a crass industry where people have no regard for touchy subjects that could make our female compatriots uncomfortable.

(Some) women go to great lengths to hide their monthly discharge and related hygiene control. Imagine how they would feel if they tried to use this app on a daily basis?

There isn't a good comparison for the guys, but the real grind is that it's a bad name for an app that has nothing to do with its purpose. Imagine if it were called, I dunno, Condom. Why the fuck would you call it that, even if condom where West Gibberish for "buffer?" It's not funny, it's just uncouth and inconsiderate.

For the record, I'm a guy.

rglover• 14 years ago

How about "Sponge" for a name? Same idea as your current name, but less...upsetting. Could go a few ways too: bitsponge, sponge.it (a verb!), etc.

julien_c4• 14 years ago

Thanks for the suggestion! Much more useful than complaining about the current name IMO.

shaggyfrog• 14 years ago

There is no way I would ever use this project at work or even for home projects because at some point, someone somewhere will have to read its name, or hear it in a conversation. Which will be some combination of embarrassing or insulting for everyone involved.

This is the biggest naming fail I have ever seen in the industry.

ww520• 14 years ago

I was skeptic whether this is a real project, or it is just a parody/trolling site/project.

daledavies• 14 years ago

Thought I had gone back in time for a sec...

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4484526

Tampon now lets you buffer tweets with pictures

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