What's in a name?

[bigballofyarn]

Did you obsess over coming up with the perfect name for your forum or domain? Do you think that a good name is vital to the success of your forum? Do you even notice or pay attention to a forum's name when you join, or do you focus more on the design?

I've considered a more appropriate name for my forum for at least 5 years because "bigballofyarn" doesn't reflect anything other than something silly I made up before I even had a forum. Every time I asked my members for input though, they didn't really care, and my childish moniker didn't embarrass them.

I started trying to answer my own question, and I guess I was always less judgmental of other forums.  I do appreciate clever names and alliterations, but the design, layout, features, and members seem to be what keep me on a site.  A lot of times, I don't even fully read the link I'm clicking until after I notice the name of the site in the banner.

On the other hand, I suppose if a site had a name that was offensive to me, I wouldn't join despite its visual appeal.

What about you?

[Retread]

Jul 10, 2019 9:08:59 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

I do appreciate clever names and alliterations, but the design, layout, features, and members seem to be what keep me on a site.

That's pretty much the bottom line for me, too.

I think talk-talk would be a good name for a forum for discussions of talk shows and hosts.
chatty-chatty-bang-bang would be a fun name for a general discussion forum.

But neither of those would sway me to join a forum if I didn't like what I was seeing in terms of visual and/or content.

Jul 10, 2019 9:08:59 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

On the other hand, I suppose if a site had a name that was offensive to me, I wouldn't join despite its visual appeal.

I might join if it was cleverly offensive. nipple-twisters (a hypothetical forum for plumbers and pipe-fitters) sounds slightly offensive but in this context it (mostly) isn't.

[cshipman]

I think it's thoughtful to put a lot into a name and it's someting that people will remember forever. But if everyone has known you as bigballofyarn since you were a child, that's probably why no one can think of a better name for you.

[Nscalerr]

The url, (and original name) for my forum grew out of a model partwork actually about an N scale model railway with a village that you could build your self. My username on here also stems from that.

The partwork ended up being a test and died, but my forum was started so the people on the tiny forum for it could keep in contact, then it grew to encompass everything to do with the hobby industry and general chat.

[bigballofyarn]

Jul 16, 2019 6:22:31 GMT -8 Nscalerr said:

The url, (and original name) for my forum grew out of a model partwork actually about an N scale model railway with a village that you could build your self. My username on here also stems from that.

The partwork ended up being a test and died, but my forum was started so the people on the tiny forum for it could keep in contact, then it grew to encompass everything to do with the hobby industry and general chat.

That's interesting. Thank you for sharing that with me.

[kevinjs]

I wanted the word "music" in the name somewhere, since that's the only reason for the forum's existence, and wanted the idea of a physical location. MusicShack seemed to have a ring to it, so...

[Former Member]

When I first opened my forum it Canadian Forum Chat then realized that someone else had a similar name already so without a second thought I named it Canadian Bacon.

My friend and I loved it, it was actually better than the first one I had, it's been a hit since and I've been slowly giving it a theme that best fits us all over and so far everyone is loving the theme and the name.

We're so basic and simple there, none of us like cluttered forums let alone a lot of scrolling, keeping it clean and simple is how I like it and gratefully so do my friends as well. 😊

[Mandoli]

I never stressed over "Game Show Paradise", but shortening it to GSP makes me feel like I'm going to get others confused between my forum and the UFC.

[Lynx]

I named one of my forums as Casual Gamers Inc so I could shortcut it to CGI. I only added the "Inc" part so it wouldn't just be CG - which might confuse people with thinking it had something to do with Computer Graphics.

[bigballofyarn]

Aug 5, 2019 13:38:13 GMT -8 Lynx said:

I named one of my forums as Casual Gamers Inc so I could shortcut it to CGI. I only added the "Inc" part so it wouldn't just be CG - which might confuse people with thinking it had something to do with Computer Graphics.

That's exceptionally clever. CGI. Had I noticed that on my own, I'd be giggling for a WEEK!!

[Former Member]

I just wanted something with mental health in the URL. I did try for mental health support but it was already taken so I went with mental health issues

[Bones]

I think it helps. Especially in the url. I do think the name should be catchy as well as reflecting/seeing what the forum is about. Have I always been as as prestigious with mine over the years? No.

My earliest forum as a sci-fi forum and although the starter name and The one it ended up with and became known for, were both based of Star Trek Next Generation titles (Or at least the latter one) I just used the name i gave myself/my favourite Trek character in the url. Maybe it wasn't so much as a bigger deal back then though.

My current and only remaining Transformers forum, also went through a journey. The name has never changed, could it be better? Probably, but after 16 years+ I'm not about to start changing it now. The url also went through a journey, using the latest animated series of the time (2002) as part of the url, which was fine but as years then past it felt dated and the url didn't reflect the forum name. Thank heavens for the Purchase to be able to change your urls (Thanks ProBoards!) More thought could've gone in.

In forums past, now closed; I had to change a 2007/2008 wildlife one I made calling it "Living with nature" to begin with. Which is fine, but it eventually felt like it was saying "Putting up with nature" which is not what I wanted. The latter wonders/watchers of wildlife became more apt. Even the very last forum I made a few years ago was a 1980s forum and I did do a tonne of internet searching first that time to see what was already out there. That forum was the one I really did research for names, the only one. If I still made forums these days I would give it considerable thought.

So yes, I do think it matters as you want it to be catchy but you want to sell your idea of what the forum is about to guests and that and the url I think - is very important and should be given serious thought.