%% title: 6lang: The Naming Discussion Update
%% date: 2017-09-28
%% desc: A rose by any other name 2.0...

When a couple months ago [I rekindled the naming
debate](https://6lang.party/post/The-Hot-New-Language-Named-Rakudo)—the
discussion on whether "Perl 6" should be renamed—I didn't expect anything more
than a collective groan. That wasn't the case and today, I figured, I'd post a
progress report and list the salient happenings, all
the way to my currently being the proud owner of
[6lang.party](https://6lang.party) domain name.

## The "Rakudo" Language

The "new" name I mentioned in my original post was *Rakudo*. As many quickly
pointed out, it wasn't the greatest of names because it was the name of
*an* implementation. Yes, I agree, but originally I thought few, if any,
would be on board with a new name, or extended name, and *Rakudo* was basically
the only name people *already* were using, so it stood out as something that
could be "hijacked."

## The Blog Post Fallout

There was quite a bit of discussion on
[r/perl](https://www.reddit.com/r/perl/comments/6lstqu/the_hot_new_language_named_rakudo/),
[r/perl6](https://www.reddit.com/r/perl6/comments/6lstq3/the_hot_new_language_named_rakudo/), and
[blogs.perl.org](http://blogs.perl.org/users/zoffix_znet/2017/07/the-hot-new-language-named-rakudo.html#comments). The general mood among the Perl community members who aren't avid 6lang users was that the entirely new name was a good
idea. However, the 6lang users, and especially core devs, overall,
argued "Perl 6" still had some recognition benefits and should not be removed
entirely.

The middle ground was aimed at then: *extend* the language name. The
"official" name would be among the lines of "*Blah* Perl 6" and users opposed
to the 4-letter swear word would just use the name extension on its own, while
those who feel the original name has benefits can still reap them.

The decision on the naming extension was placed [on the 6.d language
release
agenda](https://github.com/perl6/6.d-prep/tree/master/TODO#language-extended-naming),
with the final call on whether and with what the name should to be extended to
be done by Larry, when we cut the 6.d language release.

## The 6lang

Fast-forward two months. A kind soul (thank you, by the way!) asked Larry
what he thought about the naming debate during the last Perl Conference:

<iframe width="560" height="315"
    src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E5t8qaAGw9w?start=4885" frameborder="0"
    allowfullscreen></iframe>

Larry opined that we could have other terms by which Perl versions or
Perl distributions are marketed as. So that gives us an option to pick
an alternative name to be the second name with any "official" standing.
Personally, I really like this idea; even more than name extension, because should
there indeed be more benefit to the name without "Perl" in it, the alternative
name will naturally become the most-used one.

Another core dev, AlexDaniel++, coined an alternative name:
spelt ***6lang***; can be pronounced as ***slang***, if you want to be fancy.
I really liked the name, so I jumped in and registered
[6lang.party](https://6lang.party)

```irc
<AlexDaniel> Zoffix++ for making me recognize the need for
                   alternative name. For a long time I was against
<AlexDaniel> and honestly, I can start using something like 6lang
                   right away. “Rakudo Perl 6” is infringing on
                   language/compiler distinction so I'm feeling reluctant
<Zoffix> OK, I'll too start using 6lang
* Zoffix is now a proud owner of 6lang.party :D
<timotimo> wow
<AlexDaniel> that was quick
```

And a couple of hours later, our Marketing Department churned out a [new
poster](https://github.com/perl6/marketing/tree/master/TablePosters/6lang-Concise):

<img class="img-thumbnail img-responsive center-block"
    src="/assets/pics/6lang.png" alt="">

The drawback is that the name can't
be used as an identifier… and Larry doesn't think it's a terribly sexy name.

```irc
* TimToady notes that 6lang isn't gonna work anywhere an identifier
           needs a leading alpha
<TimToady> it's also not a terribly sexy name
<TimToady> I could go for something more like psix, "where the p is silent
           if you want it to be" :)
```

Although, on the plus side, the name has the benefit that alphabetically it
sorts earlier than pretty much any other language.

```irc
<AlexDaniel> If we see “6lang” as a more marketable alternative, then
             the fact that some things may not parse it as an identifier
             practically does not matter. However, this little bit is quite useful:
<AlexDaniel> m: <perl5 golang c# 6lang ruby>.sort.say
<camelia> rakudo-moar 39a4b7: OUTPUT: «(6lang c# golang perl5 ruby)␤»
<AlexDaniel> :)
<AlexDaniel> .oO( AAAlang – batteries included )
```



## To 6.d Release And Beyond

So that's where things progressed to so far. No official decisions have been
made yet, but we're thinking about it and playing with the idea. The
decision on the naming debate is to be made during 6.d release.

Having learned a painful lesson from *The Christmas* release, we're reluctant
to put down any dates for 6.d release, but I suspect it'll be somewhere
between the upcoming New Year's and It's-Ready-When-It's-Ready.

See you then \o