The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

[Tylluan Penry]

In the US and outside the UK you may not have heard of this. But the new Polar Research Vessel needed a name. A poll was held. The name Boaty McBoatface won hands down. It romped home.
But... the government has decided it would be too embarrassing to tell the Queen of the new name. So the vote may be disregarded after all.
(Note: considering the Queen is married to a man who seems to have made a career out of embarrassing just about anyone he meets - just 'Google Prince Philip gaffes' if you don't believe me - I doubt she would be much embarrassed.)

besides, I think Boaty McBoatface is a nice name...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/19/boaty-mcboatface-tyrants-have-crushed-the-peoples-will

[iris]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

No, it reached our news too
Shame, if you let the internet decide something like that you should be prepared for the consequenses. I'm sure the queen would get a laugh from it

[B. de Corbin]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

I haven't heard of it, but that's a hoot!

'Course, if it happened in the US, that McClownfacesellerofbadfood would sue - that Mc sues anybody or anything that uses "Mc" in it's name.

Which is weird, considering how many people have "Mc" in their name...

[anunitu]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Snootymcsnotface and creppymcweirdTaranasourusarms..I need sleep badly(woke at 2:30am,and can not get back to sleep.

[Denarius]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Shame, if you let the internet decide something like that you should be prepared for the consequenses.

I remember fondly when we almost got the Hitler Did Nothing Wrong soda.

[anunitu]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Internet: place where if you can think it,it might go viral...also do not blink,cause you might miss a trend...

[B. de Corbin]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Maybe the gooberment would have prefered a tougher sounding name, the "The Medusa" -

[DanieMarie]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

They should keep it. The Internet has spoken, and it chose Boaty McBoatface. I think it's a fine name. I would have voted for it!

- - - Updated - - -

I haven't heard of it, but that's a hoot!

'Course, if it happened in the US, that McClownfacesellerofbadfood would sue - that Mc sues anybody or anything that uses "Mc" in it's name.

Which is weird, considering how many people have "Mc" in their name...

They can't copyright or trademark that. It's an abbreviation of "mac," a Scottish prefix that means "son of." There are even a ton of MacDonald and McDonald people out there because it was a really big clan. They can trademark businesses named "McDonalds", but that's it.

In Germany there are a ton of "Mc" businesses out there. McPaper, McFit, etc. Maybe it works in the US, but most of the world has deemed McD's claim on their "Mc" prefix irrelevant.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

?.. They can trademark businesses named "McDonalds", but that's it.

In Germany there are a ton of "Mc" businesses out there. McPaper, McFit, etc. Maybe it works in the US, but most of the world has deemed McD's claim on their "Mc" prefix irrelevant.

Yup, I know all that.

But they can sue, and a small business can not aford the legal fees, so it changes it's name out of necessity. The US is different...

Essentially, if your name is McTaffy, you can't name your shop McTaffy's Books, unless you can spend the money to go up against the lawyers of a multi-national corporation.

[DanieMarie]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Yup, I know all that.

But they can sue, and a small business can not aford the legal fees, so it changes it's name out of necessity. The US is different...

Essentially, if your name is McTaffy, you can't name your shop McTaffy's Books, unless you can spend the money to go up against the lawyers of a multi-national corporation.

Yeah, the US is weird that way.

It's not just McDonalds, either. Disney regularly tries to protect its use of public domain fairy tale characters. And not just depictions similar to theirs...any depiction.

Anyway....Boaty McBoatface. Even though I think it's a shame that Boaty McBoatface may not be a part of our glorious world, I thought this Guardian commentary on it was really funny: http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...will?CMP=fb_gu

Choice quote:

Boaty McBoatface was too beautiful to live. He was a rare and precious flower, simply not cut out for these ugly times. We created Boaty McBoatface. We created him after our own image, in a rush of optimism, deluding ourselves that he was ever worth a damn. Boaty McBoatface was a perfect idea in an imperfect world. He was all that we were not. He was strong. He was resolute. Truly, he was Boaty McBoatface.

[thalassa]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

An internet poll is hardly the arbiter of even moderately good sense, enduring intelligence, nor is it a legally binding resolution. Boaty McBoatface would make a great Thomas the Train character...which is precisely why it SHOULDN'T be the name of a research vessel. This is why people can't have nice things. How many people REALLY thought that through that voted for it? By the results, I can only think none of them. Not even the guy that SUGGESTED it actually voted for it.

Seriously, would people still think "the people have spoken" and "its a betrayal of democracy" if the winning contender had been to call the ship the Himmler? Doubtful.


...but still hilarious.

[anunitu]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

I do remember Macdonalds suing a guy whose NAME was Macdonald who had a fast food place named Macdonalds that started BEFORE mickyd's ever came to be. They sued him for using the macDonalds name of all things.

Go here.(Its a wiki)

"The company waged an unsuccessful 32-year legal action against McDonald's Family Restaurant which was opened by a man legally named Ronald McDonald in Fairbury, Illinois in 1956.[18] Mr. McDonald ultimately continued to use his name on his restaurant, despite objections by the franchise.[19"

[ThePaganMafia]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

I do remember Macdonalds suing a guy whose NAME was Macdonald who had a fast food place named Macdonalds that started BEFORE mickyd's ever came to be. They sued him for using the macDonalds name of all things.

Go here.(Its a wiki)

"The company waged an unsuccessful 32-year legal action against McDonald's Family Restaurant which was opened by a man legally named Ronald McDonald in Fairbury, Illinois in 1956.[18] Mr. McDonald ultimately continued to use his name on his restaurant, despite objections by the franchise.[19"

So, that's where Coming to America go it's ideas.

[anunitu]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

Here for the home town story.

"Earl and Dorothy McDonald, Ron McDonald's parents, opened their Fairbury sit-down restaurant in 1956 in a rented, white-frame building on U.S. Highway 24, which is Fairbury's main drag. They had been in business 14 years, remodeling several times and expanding, when the first ominous letter arrived from the other McDonald's."

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: The Great Boaty McBoatface Dilemma

An internet poll is hardly the arbiter of even moderately good sense, enduring intelligence, nor is it a legally binding resolution. Boaty McBoatface would make a great Thomas the Train character...which is precisely why it SHOULDN'T be the name of a research vessel. This is why people can't have nice things. How many people REALLY thought that through that voted for it? By the results, I can only think none of them. Not even the guy that SUGGESTED it actually voted for it.

Seriously, would people still think "the people have spoken" and "its a betrayal of democracy" if the winning contender had been to call the ship the Himmler? Doubtful.


...but still hilarious.

Very true... but of course, it didn't end with Boaty...

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/stand-aside-boaty-horsey-mchorseface-533063

Honestly, you couldn't make it up!