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_#_ has to be one of the worst word shortening schemes I've ever seen get widespread. It only works with a very small number of long-lived technologies, in whic

_#_ has to be one of the worst word shortening schemes I've ever seen get widespread. It only works with a very small number of long-lived technologies, in which case they basically just get a nickname, "k8s" "i18n". It does not at all work for larger contexts. You're basically making someone solve a crossword (2 across, 10 letters with two filled in) just to parse your sentence.

jjj123 1y ago
I just googled it and it looks like “n8n” is the name of the service. The op wasn’t abbreviating anything so I don’t think it’s the same phenomenon as what you’re describing.
- lgas 1y ago
  Well, the service is doing the same thing though. The part I don't understand is that I assume n8n is short for "Nation" but literally every single person I've seen talk about it on YouTube (which is quite a lot) say "En Eight En" every time.
  - nemomarx 1y ago
    nation is too short for 8 - maybe navigation?
    - pkaye 1y ago
      Looks like n8n is short for nodemation
      - firesteelrain 1y ago
        Why do we do this to ourselves?
        Y_Y 1y ago
        Techno-flagellation is the only way to atone
      - lgas 1y ago
        So the 8 stands for "odematio"? That sounds about right.
- oppodeldoc 1y ago
  https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n?tab=readme-ov-file#what-does-n8n-mean https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n?tab=readme-ov-file#what-does-n...
eddieroger 1y ago
It's just another form of any other jargon - unknown until you know it, and usually specific to the use case. I see k8s and i18n or a11y and I know exactly what they mean because at some point I learned it and it's part of the world I live in. Searching for stuff is how we learn, not solving crosswords.
- mecsred 1y ago
  Right, my complaint is that it only works like jargon, where you are just giving something a context-specific nickname. As a word shortening scheme, it's terrible. A world where many projects have names like s11g is a nightmare.
- wongarsu 1y ago
  I kind of get k8s and can live with i18n (at least it's a long word). But a11y just shouldn't exist. "Oh look, it looks like ally, what a cute play on words". Yeah, but for a dumb joke and 9 saved keystrokes you literally made the word accessibility less accessible. That's exactly the opposite of what accessibility is about
- psychoslave 1y ago
  No it's not just part of the world and it's fatality we have to live with like gravity. Abbreviation can in rare occasion have a net benefit, but only in very narrow highly unusual context do they bring any general benefit. Most often than not it just obfuscate the message for new comers, making artificial entry barrier higher.
globalise83 1y ago
The app is actually called n8n - https://n8n.io/ https://n8n.io/

jjj123 1y ago

I just googled it and it looks like “n8n” is the name of the service. The op wasn’t abbreviating anything so I don’t think it’s the same phenomenon as what you’re describing.

lgas 1y ago
Well, the service is doing the same thing though. The part I don't understand is that I assume n8n is short for "Nation" but literally every single person I've seen talk about it on YouTube (which is quite a lot) say "En Eight En" every time.
- nemomarx 1y ago
  nation is too short for 8 - maybe navigation?
  - pkaye 1y ago
    Looks like n8n is short for nodemation
    - firesteelrain 1y ago
      Why do we do this to ourselves?
      - Y_Y 1y ago
        Techno-flagellation is the only way to atone
    - lgas 1y ago
      So the 8 stands for "odematio"? That sounds about right.
oppodeldoc 1y ago
https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n?tab=readme-ov-file#what-does-n8n-mean https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n?tab=readme-ov-file#what-does-n...

eddieroger 1y ago

It's just another form of any other jargon - unknown until you know it, and usually specific to the use case. I see k8s and i18n or a11y and I know exactly what they mean because at some point I learned it and it's part of the world I live in. Searching for stuff is how we learn, not solving crosswords.

mecsred 1y ago
Right, my complaint is that it only works like jargon, where you are just giving something a context-specific nickname. As a word shortening scheme, it's terrible. A world where many projects have names like s11g is a nightmare.
wongarsu 1y ago
I kind of get k8s and can live with i18n (at least it's a long word). But a11y just shouldn't exist. "Oh look, it looks like ally, what a cute play on words". Yeah, but for a dumb joke and 9 saved keystrokes you literally made the word accessibility less accessible. That's exactly the opposite of what accessibility is about
psychoslave 1y ago
No it's not just part of the world and it's fatality we have to live with like gravity. Abbreviation can in rare occasion have a net benefit, but only in very narrow highly unusual context do they bring any general benefit. Most often than not it just obfuscate the message for new comers, making artificial entry barrier higher.

globalise83 1y ago

The app is actually called n8n - https://n8n.io/ https://n8n.io/