App name once again

[Helium314]

This is one more place for the name decision, essentially what I present are results from #3 and #142 filtered by what doesn't give too many search results, what I like and what appears to be popular.

Popular suggestions

• FossBoard: there is only some facebook page for pedal board
• LibreBoard: only some 10 years abandoned project
• HeliumBoard: twitter account, but I don't really understand what it's about... maybe some cryptocurrecy

Actually I don't like referring to Foss or libre. There are already several other open source keyboards, and this app isn't more FOSS / libre than any of those. You could even argue this one is worse, as it allows you to include a closed source library.
Putting my (nick)name into the app name feels really weird, but HeliumBoard seems to be the most popular suggestion...

Other suggestions I liked, though I appear to be the only one besides the author (I took only those that had no relevant search results)

• CryoBoard
• QuickQuill
• KeyBlurt (my favorite)

Note that this is not a fair democratic vote. In the end the decision is mine, but I would definitely like to know your opinions.

[Turbolqk]

HeliumBoard sounds like a good name in general for a keyboard, your username or not.

[AnnaZrust]

Personally I like KeyBlurt. It's easily recognizable and fun.

[Pentaphon]

I like Heliumboard the most from this poll but if you were to put this on the Play Store, I'd prefer you make the official name Helium Keyboard because that makes it more discoverable by normal people on the Play Store who need a keyboard that isn't full of bloat and spyware.

Also you shouldn't feel weird about having your username be in the keyboard since your gaseous name turned out to be appropriate for a low-density, non-toxic keyboard. It would only be weird if your username was say...Mike314 and you called it "Mike's Keyboard" which isn't appropriate at all for the software.

Not a fan of Keyblurt since that implies this keyboard has some "fun" or "unexpected" aspect (like blurting out a word) that other keyboards don't have, which it doesn't. The fork is more of a practical, open source keyboard for everybody.

[Pietro395]

+1 for Helium Keyboard

[Aegeontis]

+1 on the Keyblurt contra argument. Its much easier to tell people about a "cool no-bs keyboard, that doesnt spy on you" if it has a serious name.

"Try HeliumBoard/FossBoard/LibreBoard/CryoBoard/WhateverBoard"
vs
"Try Keyblurt"

[Tony4dev]

I dunno, not everything must be serious, some people react better on fun names or cute mascots. In the end you will send a link to the app store anyway and what's important is whether or not they will try and like it. I mean there are probably no people that would say "I would install it but it doesn't have serious name so even though I want to try some private keyboard I will definitely not give this one a try".
Helium is fine, but in the end helium has nothing to do with keyboards, its like calling it something random like WaterKeyboard. (And I know its the creators name, but not everyone who sees it in the store will know that.
Foss, Libre, author mentions its not exactly fitting. And cryo sounds (I mean reads) almost like crypto which would probably deter more people.
KeyBlurt is playful, I hope it wins 😀

[Helium314]

Hmm, the gas-reasons for the name would also apply to others like Argon.
I see how much HeliumBoard is the most liked name, but still it feels too weird to me... so maybe use some other gas?

[Pentaphon]

Hmm, the gas-reasons for the name would also apply to others like Argon.

I would prefer Helium since we are all used to it but if you really don't want Helium, there's also these from the noble gases:

• Argon
• Neon
• Xenon
• Krypton
• Radon

Of all of these, the only one I can see working is Krypton which sounds good because it has a K like keyboard for "Krypton Keyboard" which also sounds like "crypt" as in "encryption" so it may have some favor with security-minded folks.

[MysteriousOrb2000]

I personally prefer LibreBoard, but if there's closed source libraries, then it doesn't make sense to name it like that. HeliumBoard sounds nice without it sounding like a joke. The other names sound weird and aren't taken seriously.

[Nordlicht-13]

I like LibreBoard, but much more I would prefer oBoard Libre :-)

[eliottmusk]

I voted for Keyblurt, but I like more Helium Keyboard, but HeliumBoard I don't like, I think the ideal name is Helium Keyboard, because in the end people can just say Helium.

What keyboard you use? I use Helium!

[Pentaphon]

I think the ideal name is Helium Keyboard, because in the end people can just say Helium.

Exactly. People already call this fork "the helium314 fork" or "the helium fork" on other discussion sites so people would not have to deal with another name change.

[Slion]

@Helium314 Hi, small world 😁
Came here through this issue.

Is it really not possible to keep it going as OpenBoard and take over the old repository?
Neither @dslul and @MajeurAndroid can give you admin access to @openboard-team ?

Otherwise I vote for Akiboard or Akeyboard cause I don't really fancy the aboves 😁
Maybe Okiboard or Okeyboard…
You could also try the latin version ClavisTabula which surely does not mean anything 😆

[Helium314]

Hi!

Is it really not possible to keep it going as OpenBoard and take over the old repository?
Neither @dslul and @MajeurAndroid can give you admin access to https://github.com/openboard-team ?

I guess the could, but they haven't been responding to anything for a long time.

[Uranusek]

I think this fork should have a unique name to make it stand out. The name OpenBoard exists not only for this keyboard.

[MysteriousOrb2000]

@Helium314 It's been about 3 weeks now since the poll was initiated (and longer if you count the other issues and discussion posts) and decent amount of people have answered it, so I think we should pick a name soon and start renaming the app.

[Slion]

hboard

[Helium314]

I had a while now, and I decided I really do not want to put Helium in the name.
I also considered hBoard, but with h being next to g, everyone would expect a gBoard clone, and I don't want that (though I realize from the issues that a lot of users want exactly that).

So the closest to HeliumBoard or Helium Keyboard I feel ok with is HeliBoard. That should still be recognizable enough.

[Pentaphon]

I don't know what do you think this is. Proper and dignified name lol. Its a keyboard not child of queen of the world for crying out loud.

I'm just saying that a good name is important, which is why we have been trying to come up with one for months now.

I liked KeyBlurt

See, that's just a dumb name. It sounds silly, like a keyboard meant for non-serious stuff. We want this keyboard to be the best open source alternative to Gboard, a keyboard meant to be a daily driver and "Keyblurt" isn't going to sound right to people who get recommended it.

But I think Helium should be able to name it whatever he feels like since he's the maintainer now

Of course its up to him in the end but I think it's important to tell him the truth about what we think so that he has honest feedback when coming up with his final decision.

[CristianKerr]

I'm just saying that a good name is important, which is why we have been trying to come up with one for months now.

Yes, but good name doesn't mean it has to be "proper and dignified". It can be cute or funny and still be good (and proper for that matter).

See, that's just a dumb name.

Well to you it sounds dumb, to me it sounds cute. That something doesn't play with you, doesn't mean it won't play with others. Even Helium liked it so it probably is not as dumb as you think. I do not see a reason why you could not daily drive KeyBlurt. Many people daily drive e.g. Lawnchair (launcher) which is nice word play. I think people do not care about names of apps as much as you think.

Of course its up to him in the end but I think it's important to tell him the truth about what we think so that he has honest feedback when coming up with his final decision.

Sure, tell him what you think, but maybe saying it once is enough.

[Pentaphon]

Yes, but good name doesn't mean it has to be "proper and dignified".

You keep confusing my usage of "proper and dignified" with "royalty" like we are naming a king or something. Please stop equating the two. I'll clarify.

"Proper and dignified" is what "good name" means. The name should be appropriate for what it does AKA proper and you don't "blurt" things out with a keyboard like a nervous child in public would.

"Dignified" just means "worthy of respect" so the name shouldn't be something silly like "Keyblurt". Few people respect a "blurting out" as opposed to being "carefully spoken" or for a keyboard " thoughtfully typed out" so that name just doesn't command any respect for what is supposed to be a daily driver keyboard. "Keyblurt" just sounds like a "wacky" keyboard with crazy emojis or something non-serious.

I realize the dev has said it was his favorite in the OP, but this is why it's not mine and I suspect also why most people don't back it as a name.

[CristianKerr]

You keep confusing my usage of "proper and dignified" with "royalty"
so that name just doesn't command any respect

You sir, are just blurting here, do you even read after yourself? You contradict yourself on so many levels.

you don't "blurt" things out with a keyboard like a nervous child in public would

Well you sure are uptight, no fun. And the reason why I am pounding on you here is because you are disrespectful to other peoples idea. Not sure about Helium314 but I sure would not want anyone this disrespectful to tell me how I should name my pet project.

so that name just doesn't command any respect for what is supposed to be a daily driver keyboard

Maybe for you. I respect some nice word plays. On the other hand I don't respect people that tell others that their ideas are dumb, terrible and ridiculous.

and you don't "blurt" things out

it may come as a surprise to you, it doesn't have to mean a property of the keyboard, it is just a wordplay. But if you want it to have this meaning, well, what about your suggestions/votes?
Lets see:
"I like Heliumboard" - the keyboard has no functionality that would be like Helium
"..there's also these from the noble gases.." - nor any other "noble" gasses
".."Krypton Keyboard" which also sounds like "crypt" as in "encryption"..." - nor encryption.
"I'd go with Libreboard" - nor it is entirely libre as it can be used with proprietary libraries
"...so...Pi Board..." - nor is it a keyboard for mathematicians

You should go seek attention elsewhere.

[Pentaphon]

"I like Heliumboard" - the keyboard has no functionality that would be like Helium

The author's username is Helium. The keyboard is without proprietary code, making it "lighter than" the way helium is lighter than air. Those 2 points make it more than appropriate for a software name. You might not like that, but that's enough.

And the reason why I am pounding on you here is because you are disrespectful to other peoples idea. Not sure about Helium314 but I sure would not want anyone this disrespectful to tell me how I should name my pet project.

You really need to learn the difference between "disrespect" and just telling a dev what you think about a name. It is one thing to call a name dumb and another to attack users. There is no need to "pound" anybody here for their opinion about a name being proper or not and you need to chill out.

[BabyOilJohnson]

NobleBoard or Key

[Helium314]

Thank you all for discussing & contributing here!
Really, I did not expect this much feedback.

So it's going to be HeliBoard.
The name may not make any sense, but it's reasonably close to the clearly most popuplar name, does not contain my user name but is still recognizable, and it produced much fewer negative comments than KeyBlurt.

On some of the other names:

• I still like KeyBlurt a lot, but I get why some people really dislike it.
• HeBoard could achieve great things with the right logo, fighting its archenemy SkeletorBoard. But that's probably too much...
• PiBoard in some languages is pronounced like pBoard, which doesn't sound serious at all. Though with a pie in the logo the pronounciation should be clear.
• FossBoard / LibreBoard just seems to generic. Almost every app on F-Droid could be named Foss<something>.
• A name related to OpenBoard does not feel right, as this app has less in common with OpenBoard than OpenBoard has in common with the (presumably) LinageOS keyboard it was forked from.
• HeliumBoard / Helium Keyboard: I really do not want to put Helium in the name, sorry guys.

Sorry for dragging this out for a bit too long.

[Croydon]

Since the name is now decided, please do remove the fork status of this repository. As long as this repository has the fork status, GitHub behaves differently, thinks that we want to contribute upstream etc. and people might think similar.

You can remove the fork status by writing an informal request to the GitHub support and saying that you want the fork status removed. The repository remains as it is, minus the fork status.

[Aegeontis]

@Croydon the fork status is a way of showing credit. Also, some people might find this repo by looking at the forks tab of the upstream repo (thats how I found this project)

A lot of huge projects dont remove their fork status either.

[Croydon]

Credits are still permanently shown in git history and can additionally be shown in the readme, repository description and many other places. This is not about hiding the origin story or former contributors, this is about optimizing the workflow and visibility of the repository.

[Helium314]

@Croydon I also find the current behavior annoying, as I never will open a PR to OpenBoard anyway. Request submitted.

@Aegeontis the contributor stats will not change, and OpenBoard ist still mentioned in the credits section of the readme.

I actually would like to go even further with the credits, and put the original AOSP / LineageOS keyboard commits into the repository. This would allow to more easily see which changes were actually done by OpenBoard, and allow for better history (which sometimes is useful when investigating the reason for the current status).
But my git knowledge does not go very deep, and I don't want to spent too much time on this.