Hi everyone,
I’ve been a lurker in the community for a while and have enjoyed the conversations! I wanted to express a concern I’ve had for a while about the name Couchers. I personally feel it’s too close to “couchsurfing” and will ultimately prevent this platform from getting its own unique identity.
This hit me hardest when I was thinking about submitting a logo design for the group, and I realized that the only defining characteristic of the name “coucher” is a couch and the act of sitting on it… But this platform will be SO much more than that - it will be about cultural exchange more than the surface on which you’ll get to sleep at night. In addition, I remember that a French-speaking person in the forum had previously brought up that the word has sort of a sexual connotation in French. Shouldn’t the name of the platform be something that reflects its message and transcends languages?
I strongly urge the community to come together and find a new potential name. I know that we haven’t found a good alternative yet, but I also know I’m not the only one who has expressed concerns about the existing name. Why don’t we compile ideas from all of us and have a discussion to select our top choices?
Some ideas of mine:
couchmap
philoxenia or filoxenia
xenophiles
Sorry if my first post sounds like I’m dishing on the amazing work that has been done so far by the development team - I am not, and I really admire and look forward to seeing this platform develop! I just have held this opinion for a while and wanted to voice it.
Thanks!