Renaming the project

[lynn]

(Everything in here is completely subjective, and meant in the kindest way! I am just daydreaming out loud. 💙)

I wonder how you feel about renaming the project to something shorter and more memorable. I have to admit that, as much as I love GitFourchette, I think the name is a bit clumsy. Maybe it feels sad for such an excellent Git client to live in the shadow of Fork, name-wise.

I feel a bit similar about the plain "GF" logo. I like the playfulness of GitKraken's name/logo, or GitHub's octocat, etc — I think a fun visual identity is worth having.

If I were tasked with rebranding the project, I might clip the name down to Gitte or even to the middle few letters, Urch (imagine a sea urchin logo!). I feel like the ideal name for any piece of software is somewhere between 2 and 7 letters.

I also really like the prehistoric, "fun", retro theme of your personal website and icon. 🦕 I think GitFourchette deserves to have some of this fun identity. For example, maybe Stego, with a little stegosaur as the logo? 🙂

The project is still young, so I would say now's the right time for a change like this. I can try to make some logo mockups if you're on board with any of these suggestions.

[jorio]

Don't worry - I'm reading this as you caring for the project! I do realize the name is a bit unwieldy, so I'm taking this as constructive criticism.

(Some backstory...) The name started as sort of an in-joke at a previous workplace. I actually sold them on switching to Fork, and my coworkers would refer to it as "fourchette" which is just French for "fork" - I know you know, just adding context for anyone else joining the discussion. So naturally, when I started working on GitFourchette, I went with that name as a tribute. GitFourchette's UI eventually grew into its own identity, but by the time I felt ready to make the first public release, I had gotten so used to the name after 4 years of keeping the project under wraps that I just... stuck with it.

I'm not opposed to considering a change. My biggest reservation is that the Flatpak would probably have to be resubmitted to Flathub, and I'd have to figure out a gentle way to get people to move to the new package. The current user base may not be that significant, but I wonder if it's worth confusing early users that have already found a home in GitFourchette?

About your suggestions:

• "Stego", as a wordmark, resonates the most with me. It's a fun name! It doesn't particularly evoke nimbleness, but that hasn't stopped a distant reptile relative from becoming famous ;)
• "Gitte" might be a little too close to Gitea - I suppose some people might sound out "git-tee" for both?
• I wonder if the "Git" bit should be kept to make it obvious that you're getting a git UI, e.g. if you're scanning an application listing.

tl;dr - I don't know if changing the name is worth risking a "reset" of the tiny momentum the project has had so far, but I'm open to spitballing name ideas.

[lynn]

Thank you for being so open to this, it's nice to hear the history of the name. It's too bad it does seem a bit hard to change the name on Flathub without deprecating the old Flatpak entirely.

I like "Stego" too. I had the idea that a stegosaur can be stylized into looking like a git graph:

[jorio]

It's a charming concept! Very creative to use a git graph as the plates on its back :)

I'm still undecided about taking the leap and all the logistics that a name change would entail, so I'll let the idea simmer for a while longer.

[cornelius-dol]

I confess, coming from an English speaking background, I found GitFourchette a little tough at first; I have pronounced it "Git-for-'shay", which according to Google Translate is not quite right. FWIW, to my uncultured ears Google Translate sounds like it's saying "Git For Sh*t", which is probably going to become an in-joke at some point to English speakers (even though it's the best git client out there).

I like the stegosaurus logo; I think it's clever and aesthetically pleasing. I think that Git has to remain, so StegoGit or GitStego.

I don't feel very strongly about the branding one way or the other; what I feel strongly about is every time I do some work with GitFourchette I am reminded how much I like it and wish I could use it on Windoze.

[SenseiHiraku]

I also think StegoGit is a strong name. It’s catchy and the ‘goGit’ sound is memorable and sticks well.
Regarding the logo drafts above, they feel a bit too liquid/watery to me. Maybe a direction that’s using slightly more bold / solid colors would fit better?

[heythisischris]

I think the name is great. It perfectly captures the inspiration of GitFork, has a fun backstory, and captures that je ne sais quoi.

[IvanZeroOne]

I would keep the "Git" part in the name as it is how I have found the project