WalterBright 2 years ago

When I was at Aph around 1978, we all trooped off to some electronics convention. Since my job there was assembling prototype boards, when I was getting the badge at the ticket booth, and I was asked my job title, I said "Gnome".

The guy creating the badge was horrified. He asked me several times if I really wanted this, and I confirmed. The Aph people behind me then gave their job titles as "Wizard", "Nerd", and some other fantasy terms.

Attendees would read our badges and exclaim they should have done the same thing.

Thereafter, this became commonplace.

I don't know if I started this trend, but it seems like I was the first. I wish I'd kept the badge, but who knew?

version_five 2 years ago

There has to be some weighing for if/how they are actually used in the wild. For example, metamates is objectively horrible, but I'm not sure anyone actually uses it. Xoogler, noogler objectively are neutral, but end up sounding super douchy because of how often they get thrown around by actual google people

Also, domosapien https://www.domo.com/company

  • ryeights 2 years ago

    >domosapien

    LOL. The only one of these I’ve actually liked

    • MollyRealized 2 years ago

      In a theoretical world where "domosapien" was related to a company named after "Mr. Roboto" -- say, a company called Kilroy -- I cold really dig being called that.

  • jmartens 2 years ago

    Great point and examples!

killjoywashere 2 years ago

Army - Soldiers (nailed it)

Navy - Sailors (nailed it)

Marines - Marines (nailed it)

Air Force - Airmen (eh, okay?)

Coast Guard - Coasties (I mean, sure. Welcome, our DoT brethren)

Space Force - Guardians, complete with Star Trek outfits and staring upward into the distance. /sigh

  • techdragon 2 years ago

    While we’re talking about government versions. The NASA astronaut recruits have arguably one of the worst. Their official title is “Astronaut Candidate” but as nothing so long can go un-abbreviated at NASA, they are simply referred to as (even in many official documents) as ASCANs, pronounced “Ass Can”.

  • 5555624 2 years ago

    > Coast Guard - Coasties (I mean, sure. Welcome, our DoT brethren)

    During peacetime, the US Coast Guard is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. (It was part of the Department of Transportation fro 1967 - 2003.)

  • defrost 2 years ago

    Space Cadets would've been the polite goto in Australia .. given collectively the US forces are often referred to as seppos.

jaggederest 2 years ago

Funny story about New Relic: The name is an anagram of the CEO's, "Lew Cirne". Not sure if that's widely known, but he just used it as a placeholder while working as an entrepreneur in residence at a VC fund for his next project, and it stuck.

  • mynegation 2 years ago

    FWIW I think New Relic is an awesome name. It has rhythm and slight hint of controversy to it.

    • pc86 2 years ago

      I'll be honest, I have no idea what a "hint of controversy" is supposed to mean in this context.

      • positr0n 2 years ago

        Probably the juxtaposition of terms New and "Relic" when relics are supposed to be ancient objects.

        • quickthrower2 2 years ago

          “New Relic” describes most code committed in the last week!

      • mynegation 2 years ago

        Sorry, cannot edit original comment. As an ESL I fell into a classic “false friends” trap. I meant “paradox”, not a “controversy” (that in English usually means something akin to “bad rep”).

      • asplake 2 years ago

        Hint of paradox?

logicalmonster 2 years ago

Facebook = "Metamates" = Peak cringe

  • Sevii 2 years ago

    Please tell me they used to be called "bookies" before that.

    • aristus 2 years ago

      It was "facebookers" in spoken talk, "fbers" written. Former employees are generally referred to as "ex-fb". Many private discussion groups with that in the name.

  • lokokokonut 2 years ago

    Should've just called them Mates

    • kojiromike 2 years ago

      Missed opportunity to call themselves "metahumans" and get the DC Comics lawyers after 'em.

paxunix 2 years ago

If you're in a building at Amazon, sure, Amazonians. If you're out on the street in Seattle with regular people, it's often Amholes.

open-paren 2 years ago

Adobe employee. I keep trying to get "Adobos" or at least "Adobians" to catch on, but it hasn't yet.

renewiltord 2 years ago

Research in Motion : rimmers

SAP: saps

Snowflake: Snowflakes

Workday: Workers

Microsoft: Softies

Intel: Intelligentsia

Adobe: Dobes

Broadcom: Broads

IBM : Bummers

PayPal: Charge Friends

Uber: Uberalles

Atlassian: Shruggers

Marvell Technology: Kree

Dell: Dellions

  • masenf 2 years ago

    I’ve tried “Dellberts” internally once and it wasn’t well received.

  • 6nf 2 years ago

    Dell: Delldos

  • xnx 2 years ago

    Uber: Ubermensch

  • ComputerGuru 2 years ago

    Did you just make these up? Good job quick thinking!

    > Atlassian: Shruggers

    Ayn Rand?

    > Marvell Technology: Kree

    Stargate?

    • klipt 2 years ago

      > Marvell Technology: Kree

      More likely a reference to the recent Captain Marvel movie.

      • ComputerGuru 2 years ago

        I prefer my sci-fi aged and esoteric, like a fine wine. (Haven't watched most of the Marvel movies after it became sequel after sequel six months apart.)

        "Jaffa! Kree!" is timeless (though with no connections to MRVL).

jlarocco 2 years ago

My current company, Anark, we would be "Anark-ists", but we don't actually refer to ourselves that way.

Personally I can't stand that type of name, and think the whole idea is silly and cringy.

moomoo11 2 years ago

Just call them dorks.

- also called something dorky at my job lmao

I like it tho even if it’s a bit cringe. At least we all on the same mission while we working together.

whoibrar 2 years ago

Not necessarily bad name, but the company where I'm currently in is itself called "CAW", short for "Chimps At Work".

The founder is ex-Microsoft and apparently, Chimp was a title given to Microsoft employees working on new projects.

0xbadc0de5 2 years ago

They're all terrible. You're a human being with dignity and a name, not a farm animal. Any employer who tries to name you as the latter should be politely asked to stop.

  • soneil 2 years ago

    I think they're a lot more natural than you make it sound. I mean we have denonyms from placenames. Some of them are fairly rote (newyorker, londoner, dubliner), some take some imagination (okie, mackem, geordie).

    I really don't see why this is any different?

d23 2 years ago

Reddit is snoos. I don't think it's that bad though.

blululu 2 years ago

Pinployees at Pinterest Twilions at Twilio Coinbaes at Coinbase

hooverd 2 years ago

The pivoting pivots of Pivotal Software. gong noise

napsterbr 2 years ago

Stripe: strippers?

  • haneefmubarak 2 years ago

    No, the formal name used is "Stripes".

  • joshxyz 2 years ago

    Rolls out of the tongue very well.

cperciva 2 years ago

I don't know what YC employees are called, but I really hope they're "Combinations".

  • jahewson 2 years ago

    Surely they should be functions?

Hellion 2 years ago

Credit Karma’s Karmanauts. Oof.

  • shoo 2 years ago

    i hope their compliance department goes by "karma police" internally

taldo 2 years ago

Bending Spoons -> Spooners

cratermoon 2 years ago

At Metal Toad they are Toads.

  • jmartens 2 years ago

    That's bad, but I am sure there are worse!

rcarmo 2 years ago

Innies, in Severance? :)

rl1987 2 years ago

Scoot Pte Ltd: Scooties.

upghost 2 years ago

Atos. Astros. Heh.

gedy 2 years ago

Citrix: Citrites