Ask HN: I made a JavaScript library called NippleJS and people are getting angry

33 points by YoannMoinet 7 years ago | 31 comments

It all started with an issue on my library, https://github.com/yoannmoinet/nipplejs/issues/80 which is cool, because we can discuss about the issue and the point raised was fair IMHO.

But it all went to shit pretty quickly, so I locked the thread and decided not to change the name.

Now the guy is just insulting me on twitter.

https://twitter.com/lazerwalker/status/1054658757228195840 https://twitter.com/lazerwalker/status/1054768005249462272

I still think NippleJS is a funny and innocent name. Everybody has nipples, so it's pretty inclusive too.

I don't know anymore... is it? I'm really looking for advices on how to handle this before it goes sideways.

Sorry for the drama.

room271 7 years ago |

Yeah just ignore. His initial tweet ('precious white dudes...') is borderline racist even. Reading the github issue, you handled things well even if others didn't, regardless of the merits of renaming the library or not.

lysp 7 years ago | |

Not sure how colour/race and gender come into the issue at all.

The fact that he's bought them into the argument to emphasise his point shows his point has little merit.

YoannMoinet 7 years ago | |

Thank you, that's reassuring.

I'll proceed with ignorance then.

cimmanom 7 years ago |

Woman here. I don’t find the name offensive or foul or exclusionary, though I don’t find it especially humorous either and could understand why it might make some people uncomfortable. With that in mind, I’d describe it as a bit crass; and in a career context, unprofessional. Not worth getting into a flame war over, either way.

datahipster 7 years ago |

Here's an article of a developer who went through something similar: http://findingscience.com/ruby/2014/11/17/why-im-renaming-a-...

The bit that stands out to me is an e-mail he received from a female engineer:

> While the idealist in me would love to aim for a world where sex was treated more equally and openly, the unfortunate reality of tech is that it has been a haven for misogynistic men and the environment is heavily male dominated. While in an ideal world the name SexMachine would be something that both genders could joke about, the reality is that the tech community is not ready or capable of that today.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 7 years ago | |

From the comments on that thread:

> RapeLiberalSluts • 4 years ago

> For your own mental health, stop believing this nonsense about misogyny. Your peers are brainwashing you.

That's even 4 years ago when it wasn't quite as popular to be so edgy/hateful outside of certain communities.

cimmanom 7 years ago | | |

Edgy?

Sohcahtoa82 7 years ago |

> https://twitter.com/lazerwalker/status/1054768005249462272

One of the tweets in response to this one:

> Thanks for doing this. It is especially tone deaf at this moment in time when trans rights are under direct attack in the US for a group of cis men to feel entitled in how they talk about other bodies.

What the hell does this have to do with trans people? "entitled in how they talk about other bodies"? What?

It's a nipple. Men have nipples. Women have nipples. Everyone has nipples. My cat has nipples. This has nothing to do with trans people.

At worst, the name is unprofessional, but definitely not worth changing.

rl3 7 years ago |

>I still think NippleJS is a funny and innocent name. Everybody has nipples, so it's pretty inclusive too.

I agree. The entire situation is absurd. The advice to ignore the naysayer(s) seems to be the correct course of action.

That said, the original issue has some comedy gems in it which I feel are worth mentioning here:

https://github.com/yoannmoinet/nipplejs/issues/80#issuecomme...

and in a later post (different author):

"And if nipples really make you uncomfortable, maybe you should visit a professional? Today you can't run away from nipples, they are everywhere and you will just be more and more uncomfortable."

nil_pointer 7 years ago |

That Twitter guy should be ignored, some people just want to find something to be outraged about.

clamato 7 years ago |

Just ignore him. It's him who wants to create the drama.

YoannMoinet 7 years ago | |

Thanks! I'll do just that then.

rayalez 7 years ago |

Haha that's hilarious. Don't worry about it, internet is full of dumb people. The only way to never offend anybody is to never do anything and have no personality whatsoever.

Keep the name, don't let them police all the delightful quirkiness out of the world.

colecut 7 years ago |

I'm sorry you have to deal with this..

I find it very amusing that he says "It feels like a microcosm of politics in 2018"

I agree with him there, if he means people finding reason to be offended over anything..

He was scared of mentioning using your library to his colleagues, but has no worries shouting about it to the world on twitter?

It makes me sad that people go out of their way to rob the harmless small joys of others.

nmstoker 7 years ago |

It did take an unfortunate turn.

Good luck with the library, whatever you decide.

In a curiously pertinent piece of timing, you are not the only one rejecting calls to rename:

https://mobile.twitter.com/hardmaru/status/10548722327222231...

kazinator 7 years ago |

Baby bottles have nipples.

Also, those little nuts in a bicycle wheel rim that hold the spokes in place and apply tension to them? They are called spoke nipples.

This numbnut that is harassing you will have a heart attack if he ever brings a bike with a broken spoke into a shop.

Some sort of short connector in plumbing is called a nipple, also.

quickthrower2 7 years ago |

Simple. It is called "compromise". Understand their concerns (they are valid IMO) and offer to change the logo but say you will keep the name for discoverability.

Using for example a baby bottle as your logo would be less offensive. IMO.

YoannMoinet 7 years ago | |

That's actually a good idea. I'll figure something out.

With the current logo I really wanted to integrate the actual output of the library, and it was fitting the name quite well, I thought.

Artemix 7 years ago |

I don't think of it as offensive. It's an anatomy part, why would someone be offended by their body? Imho, don't change it, because there's no reason for such an action

dpc_pw 7 years ago |

Don't change the name. It's awesome. Every time a request like that is honor, the world becomes a little bit more riddicolous place.

zmix 7 years ago |

NippleJS is a totally cool name! Guy is insecure, not your problem. Move on, is what I'd recommend.

nickthemagicman 7 years ago |

He's trying to bully you into changing the name, instead of accepting the communities decision.

kahlonel 7 years ago |

I hate how politics keeps creeping in software industry. A few weeks ago there was a heated debate on Twitter over changing "SLAVE" to "REPLICA" in Redis, and sadly the maintainer gave in to the pressure.

saluki 7 years ago |

y, sounds like it worked out, I think you handled it perfectly.

Nice work btw, I'll have to find a use for this.

YoannMoinet 7 years ago | |

Thank you, it's old code, but it works :D

mostly.

flukus 7 years ago |

Let the people who are complaining maintain a rebranded fork, then we'll see if they really care or not.

svirelka 7 years ago |

such a cool name

julienreszka 7 years ago |

just block the commies

lysp 7 years ago |

And the customary xkcd:

https://xkcd.com/243/

(nsfw language)

carc1n0gen 7 years ago |

Giving you a star just for the name!

jstewartmobile 7 years ago |

"A virtual joystick for touch capable interfaces."

Tune out the Twitter peasants. The name is perfect.