Quote from: GhostPlayer on June 12, 2015, 07:11:49 PM

Quote from: MarleysGhost on June 12, 2015, 03:44:17 PM

Quote from: the-baker on June 12, 2015, 03:39:19 PM

Quote from: MarleysGhost on June 12, 2015, 03:35:21 PM

The name is similar and is causing confusion. So, in light of this: why was the name "Dash" chosen?

it seems that Dash was suggested by someone one BCT a while ago as an abbreviation (of sorts) for Digital Cash. but I'm pretty sure that was mentioned in the article you've read. If you're really interested, go back a couple of hundred pages in this thread, there is an extremely exhaustive discussion of Dashcoin, Dash the wahsing powder, and a lot of other things using similar names, as well as the rationale for the name switch

Never-the-less, Darkcoin's change of name to Dash could open up a legal minefield, which could rear its ugly head in the not too distant future.

So, considering all this, why was the name "Dash" chosen?

It has been explained, but I'll refresh. The debate was ongoing on DCT, about the need of a rebrand. Someone suggested Dash and it gained quite a following. This was entirely a community driven debate (not that it didn't come up many times in the past...). The Foundation started studying the legal implications of such a thing, if we were ever to drop the negatively connoted "Darkcoin". They used Dash as a study case, to see what requirements were needed.

It was soon found a "previous use of the name" was point fact to avoid trademark issues, whichever name would ever be chosen. So Evan bought out Dashcoin's github account out of his pocket (Dashcoin being a dead coin) to see what came up next. He logged into the account but forgot to logout and ended up committing Darkcoin code to it, and people spotted it.

A huge mexican soap opera bursted, all hell broke loose, the "cat got out of the bag".... But the community ended up pulling together and supported the idea of an actual rebrand. So "Dash" instantly became the defacto choice by majority of opinion. Then we voted on a logo, rolled op our sleeves, and got back to work hard, real hard, as usual.

Thank you for giving me the paperback version. It saves me wading through the 5,000 pages of this thread. I did finally manage to watch the interview with Evan Duffield that BrainShutdown pointed me to, in order to explain why the name "Dash" was chosen, when there was an existing Dashcoin community that used the word Dash in reference their coin and to themselves.

The interview was published on 17th March 2015, some 12 weeks ago. Unfortunately, I didn't find the precise answer that I was seeking. I did, however, find material particular to the current discussion: that the 'Darkcoin' name had negative connotations; that a member of the Darkcoin community suggested the name 'Dash'; that Evan mentioned that Darkcoin was in the exploratory "stages of legal work" on the viability of using the Dash name.

https://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/lets-talk-bitcoin-196-distortions-towards-privacy-or-many-hands-makes-light-work

I like to check the facts, which some of you might have noticed that I am quite keen on doing. I just have a few more questions:

You mention that Dashcoin was a "dead coin". How was that conclusion come to? The Dashcoin community seem to be very much alive.

Does purchasing the Dashcoin GitHub account amount to purchasing the rights to the Dash name? Am I right in assuming that GitHub is an open source project? It would seem that no one person owned Dashcoin and that the Dashcoin community contributed to any good name that it might have.

Did it not occur to anyone that appropriating a name in such a manner might be viewed as being underhand and that it might reflect badly upon Darkcoin/Dash at some point in the future?

Could it not be foreseen, that some in the Dashcoin community might not want to be associated with the Darkcoin/Dash reputation, much evidence of which can be mined by looking through Darkcoin/Dash's voluminous, 5,000 Bitcoin Forum pages?

I believe that there are compelling legal reasons why Darkcoin/Dash should consider another name change as a matter of urgency. Darkcoin has done it before and should be able to do it again. There is evidence of 'confusion' between Dashcoin and Dash and that might be an important point to consider.

My intention is not to talk Darkcoin/Dash down, and I have tried to be sparing with my choice of words. I hope that some of you will appreciate that. This may be my last post here. My next port of call will be to send a private message to Evan Duffield. In the meantime, any answers to my questions would be appreciated.

And thank you, once again, to BrainShutdown and GhostPlayer for your helpful responses.

MarleysGhost

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