• (cs)

    Ya know, given how many times in the last couple weeks I've seen people whining about "this isn't a real WTF, it's false advertising", I'd think that more of them would appreciate that Alex has apparently decided to listen to their complaints. If you're so convinced he's not posting WTF's, why do you want the site called the Daily WTF? Y'all have complained, he's responded, so what if it's not what you wanted? Man up and deal with it.

    I personally don't care what the site is named; I like to read the stories, and I like to read the comments. I'm actually hoping that with the number of people who have threatened to stop reading we might cut down on the number or people putting "frist psot!" comments in.

  • doof (unregistered)

    It's really sad how folks can't comprehend the difference between "censorship" and "tact / discretion / decorum".

  • mcv (unregistered) in reply to Ryan
    Ryan:
    I think "The Daily WTF" was part of this site's success and an excellent brand. We'll see if Worse Than Failure captures new audience as well, I doubt it.

    Perhaps the site's name should remain The Daily WTF, but change the official meaning of WTF to "Worse Than Failure". That way we can tell grandma's aboout the site, but we can also still attract the "cursing is cool" crowd.

  • Troy Mclure (unregistered) in reply to bstorer
    bstorer:
    yeah, but i bet none of them would dilute their brand by renaming.

    Dilute the brand? Are you completely insane? It's a blog!

    Oh, and tell that to Verizon, Mandriva, Wireshark, Ask.com, CBS Radio, and USAirways... I could keep going.

    Bingo - it is a blog. That is it.

    And for all of you who say you are leaving and never coming back you're full of shit. You dont come here b/c it was called WTF (at least I hope not). So I guarantee you will return.

  • (cs)

    I can't remember a thread on thedailywtf with more than 300 posts. I think Alex is a reasonable guy and may listen to his "following".

    Alex, I think you're a good person and sometimes good people make mistakes. Let's hope that Worse Than Failure ends up on the same junk pile as Microsoft Bob.

  • (cs) in reply to b0red

    Right, the new name is creative, explains what it going on with the site better than the old name and is an improvement.

    It's creative because all these code segments are worse than failure...at least if the person writing it had failed to implement something then someone could have done it correctly the first time.

    It explains the site better because, as Alex said, it's more than daily now, there are multiple forums, and not all of the code segments/ stories make you say "WTF", but they are all worse than failure.

    It's an improvement because of the above reasons and because those who do have relations who care about that stuff can redirect them to something we think is funny and show them a small part of the headaches we deal with daily without having to obfuscate the website.

    To those who are angry about the idea of political correctness: You'll find that Alex actually increases his readership by changing the name because there is a large portion of the population who just get tired of hearing all those meaningless words all the time. "What the fuck?" has no inherent meaning and must have one assigned to the specific phrase whereas something like "What's going on?" or "This is insane!" convey a true, single, well-defined meaning. How can you work with syntax specific languages all the time and not see that using phrases like "What the fuck?" are like writing this:

    void c(int* x, int* y){x=y;y=0;(int)x!=0?c(x,y)}

    when you could have written this:

    void clear(int* x, int* y) { x = 0; y = 0; } ???

  • (cs)

    The biggest WTF ever is the reason why the sites name has to be changed. You are ashamed to talk to your grandma about your sites name? You GOT to be kidding me. The last time i held back about anything in front of my relatives was when i still depended on them giving me those extra bucks when i visit :P And a coding contest? And "other things"? Just keep the site like it is dude. The site is fine as it is. If you're bored with it, make another one. But don't fuck up a site people already love ;) I shouldn't actually really care, cause, well, it's your site. But the new name really sucks :P

  • TheRealBill (unregistered) in reply to I like considerate people
    I like considerate people:
    Censoring FAILS!:
    Basically, I am completly against censoring, and as this is censoring I am against this website, and as I am against this website I will stop reading this website as regulary as I did before.

    I think you should study the word censoring. Censoring is when someone removes certain speech deemed inappropriate by some certain ideology. No one is censoring him, nor pressuring him to censor himself. He's making changes for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is consideration of others, an idea that is miles away from censorship.

    Actually, not all censorship is directly externally imposed, perhaps you should do more studying. For example, at one point in US history there was the "Equal Time Doctrine" which held that when a media outlet provided space and/or time for a political view, it was required to provide an equal amount to the other side(s). This led inevitably to the outlets not allowing any political content because they were then forced to double the amount of time/space available. This was correctly held to be a form of censorship as it effectively prohibited certain speech. This is but one example. If you truly did as you suggested you will find many many cases of this.

    Most of us do in fact practice self-censorship at various times - especially those of us who are married.

    The "consideration of others" is one of the bricks on the road of good intentions. Are people forced to read thedailywtf.com? Nope. It is a voluntary choice. Thus, there is no need or benefit to the alleged "consideration of others". Further there is no evidence that there exists any consideration of others among a self-selecting audience.

    That self-selecting audience made a conscious choice to read the site - many due to the name. It was apropos. It made sense. Now it does not. It is no "immature whining" on the part of readers to disagree and to stop reading or suggest that they might. indeed, if anything is immature it is those of you who call the "whiners" children. That is known as an ad hominem attack and is a good way to show you have nothing of value or merit in your argument. Instead of attacking the argument, you attack the poster. Quite immature.

    Indeed some of the arguments made are made from experience. As history and experience shows us when groups or entities start shifting towards more political correctness, it is more often than not a sign that change is coming. And more often than not that change is in watering down the content, intent, or purpose. The stories have slacked off over the last few months IMO. Taken with the PC name change it is not illogical to conclude there is a chance that the essence of what was thedailywtf.com is waning.

    Will it go away? At this point it is quite likely. As people who are in the IT world and seeing these WTFs leave the site due to it losing it's essence (it's purity some would say), the submissions of good, genuine WTFs will decrease. This will further decrease the essence that was thedailywtf.com thus perpetuating the fall.

    Will it come to pass? Perhaps. It would be neither the first nor last time such an event occurs.

  • Tufty (unregistered)

    I preferred the old name... that said, as long as the content remains funny, I actually don't give a shit what the site is called. I come here to learn and to be entertained, not to be immature and laugh at the name of the site.

    And yeah, Slashdot-style fr1st psot bullshit irritates the fuck out of me. Hopefully this will cut them down, if not I might have to get hold of a chainsaw (and not by the blade).

  • Someone peeved at the twats (unregistered)

    God almighty, what a bunch of fucking crap arsed whining little bitches.

    Jeeze, it's like a little bunch of children arguing over which pokemon is better.

    It's pretty simple really ... there is a purpose in life for swearing, but not everyone likes to hear a nonstop string of profanities.

    Sure, this name change might upset all of you stuck up twits that seem to think we give a damn if you come here and post your drivel. Sorry if you're so used to being able to cuss a storm and get your own way ... sorry if you feel you've been oppressed by the man ... hell I'm even sorry if you got dropped on your head as a baby ...

    BUT WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT!

    I mean seriously ... how much credibility do you think any major organization would have if they swore in their names or slogans?

    "www.Google-it-bitch.com" ... yeah, sure bet that'd do wonders for their user base...

    "Dell gives a damn about you" ... Yeah, so much B2B sales gonna come from that one...

    "MicroShit Windows" ... actually that might be kinda appropriate

    Are we getting the point yet dumbdumbs? Since Alex appears to wish to expand the readership and activity of the site, the best move for his credibility is to get a name that won't destroy his credibility as site worth viewing.

    And for the record, I'm one of these people that consider it highly inappropriate to swear in front of children, your parents/grandparents, or complete strangers ... but I am willing to make some exceptions when dealing with 2 short planks.

    Now can we all please get over it and go back to laughing at the crazy code?

    puts his straight jacket back on

  • Yo-er (unregistered)

    Apple changed their name, everyone hate Apple?

  • Cthulhu (unregistered) in reply to Edowyth

    The real WTF are comments like this:

    Edowyth:
    there is a large portion of the population who just get tired of hearing all those meaningless words all the time. "What the fuck?" has no inherent meaning and must have one assigned to the specific phrase whereas something like "What's going on?" or "This is insane!" convey a true, single, well-defined meaning.

    CAPTCHA: Quake - this relevant captcha reminds me of the BFG (10K) in quake2. ID software could have gone all PC or worried about 'inherent meaning' and called it the "What's going on gun" instead. They didn't. It's better this way.

  • Harrow (unregistered)

    The Bard said "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" but if the Poet had had to write "My love is mighty like a bunjeewapper" it wouldn't have been quite the same.

    -Harrow.

  • Cthulhu (unregistered) in reply to Someone peeved at the twats
    Someone peeved at the twats:
    Jeeze, it's like a little bunch of children arguing over which pokemon is better.

    But now you mention it that Pikachu one is overrated

  • Poppa Vein (unregistered) 
    public class Website 
{
  public static void RenameTo(string name)
  {
    if (name.Equals("Worse Than Failure"))
    { 
      Website.Flush();
      Website.Close();
    }
  }
}
  • Adrian (unregistered)

    Pathetic, this site has always censored and sheltered people....why not rename it to jumped the shark.

    I know give out free stickers that'll help.

    Now all we need is a classic WTF story about rebranding and how it always is a diaster.

  • None (unregistered)

    the new name, it's lame.

  • Rob Sirloin (unregistered)

    Grandma is one tough bitch! I don't think you gave her enough credit. She lived through 2 World Wars and a depression, pumped out and raised six kids on Grandpas factory paycheck. I think Grandma can handle a couple of F-bombs now and again.

    New name is Lame. I'll prob still read, but change it back.

  • Craig Boland (unregistered)

    I understand if Alex changed the name for business reasons. After all the advertisers pay his salary, not the readers. But the name 'WTF' is just so close and personal to developers. It truly is our first mental reaction when we see code like the submissions on the site. Whoever really thought 'Worse than failure?' when encountering those abominations of creativity. Our culture is now less that what it was before the name change. But good luck, Alex, and I'll keep reading.

  • (cs)

    Aw, don't listen to the whiners, Alex.

    The new name is just fine; I had a somewhat similar problem, if only because saying "Double U Tee Ef" out loud sounds weird.

    Now I can just tell them to check out Worse Than Failure. :)

  • yoz (unregistered)

    well it's not the name but the content which matters

    way to go alex

  • fattymcgee (unregistered)

    May I suggest some other retroactive backronyms:

    1. Wuss Towards Family

    2. Wet, Tiny, Flacid

    3. Write Terrible. Flee.

    4. Win The For

    5. Well Timed Fart

  • SablKnight (unregistered)

    Lame, weak, crappy. I never would have started reading if this was the original name.

  • JTK (unregistered)

    You all must live in some alternate reality -- at my corporate workplace, swearing is NEVER appropriate. Profanity is a sign of a small mind. Those of you who can't communicate without it should invest in a dictionary.

    Having said that, I have to admit that "Worse Than Failure" does not exactly roll trippingly off the tongue. There have been some much better suggestions in all the above drivel:

    The Daily WOE (describes my job to a T) The Daily SNAFU (can use Situation Normal - All Fouled Up as the tag, while the script kiddies snicker in the back of the room) The Daily FOOBAR (as above, dates back to K&R C)

    Alex -- It's your site, and the rest of us should remember we are but guests. I applaud you for having the guts to stick with your convictions, regardless of what the rest of us freeloaders think.

  • Adam (unregistered)

    Wanted to put my 2¢ in.

    First, I started reading the site because of the name. I'm not one to swear, so telling others can make me blush, but I think it attracts readers. I'm glad WTF wasn't spelled out or I might not have visited. (I don't think I could visit a site with f*** spelled out in the URL at work!)

    But when I viewed the code submitted here I always had "WTF?" running through my head. I thought it was very appropriately named site.

    I'm doubtful people will stop visiting just because of the name change. If they do, fine. I know won't stop visiting. (I will still go to thedailywtf.com instead of the new URL however!) But I do have to say, the content seems to have gone downhill lately. (But if the "frist" posters all leave, great!)

    I would have rather seen you tell your granny that WTF stood for Worse Than Failure than change the name of the site (I know I could never said f*** to my grandma!), but I understand how a site with WTF in it could turn off potential employers or companies wanting advertise here. It is kind of sad though.

    I like the suggestion of keeping thedailywtf.com domain name and having a different header for visitors to that site.

    As for the free stickers, I think I'm going to try to score one and then just cut off the bottom.

  • Adam (unregistered) in reply to JTK
    JTK:
    The Daily SNAFU (can use Situation Normal - All Fouled Up as the tag, while the script kiddies snicker in the back of the room) The Daily FOOBAR (as above, dates back to K&R C)

    How is SNAFU or FOOBAR (originally FUBAR) any better that WTF? They all started with the F meaning f*ck. (At least to me! And still do!)

  • (cs) in reply to yoz
    yoz:
    well it's not the name but the content which matters

    way to go alex

    yep, I personally liked the old name more than this one but whatever while it's funny it's okay.

    About the meaning of the old name, some have said that 'daily' it's not good now because it's not 'daily' anymore and 'WTF' is because 'cursing is cool' :P I've never thought of it this way I always thought that 'daily' comes from the idea of being a newspaper and 'WTF' not because of the 'fuck' but because 'WTF' is a very very (extremely very) common expression. Anyways, let's hope for the best (=

  • Kuba (unregistered) in reply to doof
    doof:
    It's really sad how folks can't comprehend the difference between "censorship" and "tact / discretion / decorum".

    Tact? Discretion? Decorum? When it comes to WTFs for some of which the perpetrators should be sentenced for life in front of a firing squad?? Get real. We're big boys and we talk here of things where swearing is the least you should do. I'd manhandle some of the WTF'ers had I worked with them.

    Tact, my ass. What the WTF perps do is tactless already, so The Daily WTF was simply following that direction, and it made sense to me.

    The name change is quite spineless to me.

  • eikonos (unregistered)

    The real WTF is the new name.

    captcha: waffles -- as in, "thinks of a good website name, but then waffles"

  • rgz (unregistered)

    I admit that I'll continue reading this site, but I recommend against the name change. Firstly is the branding of course, because each and everyone of your readers are (and should be) mature enough to read it. And like most people have said, the new name means nothing lacks strength and is just not funny.

    My recommendation would be to -- as others have said -- to keep multiple version of this site, with different branding depending on the url. By the way, I'm the guy that recommended you to register therealwtf.com. Hurry up before some one else does so. This site deserves it since the tradition originated here.

    Me, myself, I'll keep on reading this web site, but i promise to use the word FUCK at least once in every comment and commend people to do the same.

    Oh by the way, this is in reply to: "Profanity is the sound of an inarticulate person seeking to express himself forcefully."

    Except when you choose so. You miss the point, programmers are incredibly articulate people, yet we still like to express ourselves forcefully. Besides bending your speech to show off your literary prowess for fear of being mistaken as inarticulate is a sign of insecurity and immaturity, unless you do it because you choose so.

    Disclaimer: not a native speaker, spare me of reaching a thesaurus.

  • DarkLadyWolf (unregistered)

    It's not my site, so I don't have any say in it. However I'm totally against the name change.

    Worse than Failure doesn't have the same rhythm and flow as DailyWTF.

    WTF was a perfect name, because almost all of those that (I believe) this site is aimed at know that expression. And have probably used it.

    However WTF itself is simply an acronym, or a collection of letters. Why not leave the name as it is, and just explain to your Grandmother that it means Worse Than Failure?

    Or heck, use the Phonetic alphabet: WhiskyTangoFoxtrot.

    Of course I'll keep reading; it's the same site. But I really think you've made a bad decision here. I just can't see the point.

  • (cs)

    hey! just a crazy stupid idea: why not keep BOTH names ah? :o :o :o it will be very fun to have a backdoor and make it load different logos/site-names based on where you came from, and it also can have secret passages and all that stuff xDDDD ok it's pretty stupid but you can't deny that it may keep happy all the people in this site.

  • (cs)

    ok, so I'm a little late into the fray. Hey, I'm overstressed as it is. Look, bring back the old name. I don't want a sticker. This is like M$ getting rid of the My Pictures toolbar in IE7 (the only good feature ever added to IE6). Complained to someone in India who didn't get it and pointed me to the tech department for installation problems...WTF?!? It's a feature I can't install cause you GOT RID OF IT! Look, nobody liked New Coke either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke Ironically, the new name describes exactly what it is: worse than [a] failure.

  • Anonymous Luser (unregistered) in reply to overstressed admin

    Yuck.

    I understand your desire to try something new, but I'm not keen on the new name. I don't think it is at all descriptive of what gets posted here.

    "WTF" is what we say when we see the things that happen to us that relate to the stories and code snippets that are on here. It's relevant, topical, and has "brand" value, since we've been reading "theDailyWTF" for as long as we have.

    Let me know when you change it back.

    AL

  • (cs)

    New name: Lame, sad, depressingly dull. Sorry Alex, but it's a big mistake. I know it's your site and we are just guests, but you've made a bit of a bog of that one. Vinny.

  • Tale (unregistered) in reply to Edowyth
    Edowyth:
    void clear(int* x, int* y) { x = 0; y = 0; } ???
    Perhaps you meant int&.
  • Michael (unregistered)

    man... that's a very sad and disenchanting experience!

    let's hear what our good old friend Bill Hicks thinks about the new name:

    "Piieeeeecccee ooooooofff sssssshhhhiiiiiitttt !!!"

    c'mon change it back! you know it sucks!

  • Christian (unregistered)

    This page shall stay "The Daily What-The-FUCK" forever!

    Can't we use some Firefox Plugins to replace text and images?

  • (cs) in reply to Cthulhu
    Cthulhu:
    [this] reminds me of the BFG (10K) in quake2. ID software could have gone all PC or worried about 'inherent meaning' and called it the "What's going on gun" instead. They didn't.

    No, they called it Blast Field Gun/Generator, IIRC.

  • danieLs (unregistered)

    What if the both domains work at the seam time ? :P If they use the same database i don't think it should be any problem.

  • Raina (unregistered)

    While I have nothing against the 'wtf' in the original name, I know what you mean about explaining to grandma .. I had the same problem with my multimedia programming class last year. me> you should check out this site to know what not to do... [writes url on board] fairly clueless female student > what does wtf stand for ? me> err ... err ... 'what the fudge' :) class> laughs

  • Paul (unregistered)

    WHAT THE FUCK

    Your grandma can handle the FUCK word. Seriously. To think otherwise is rather condescending.

  • Paul (unregistered)

    On further thought, the whole grandma excuse sounds too cliche. What's the real reason Alex? Investors/advertisers upset with the site name, don't want to be associated with a site that has FUCK in its name? This would at least be more understandable -- disappointing, sure, but everyone understands you gotta pay for hosting.

    So be honest with us, is it really because of Grandma?

  • Havic (unregistered)

    Weak. You could have just told you grandma that it stood for "Worse Than Failure" if you had liked. I'll check back in a year or so...

  • jdsakf (unregistered) in reply to Paul

    the website is "The Daily WTF", as far as I know it was never "The Daily 'What the Fuck'". If you're so worried about the omgswears! why couldn't you just clarify, officially, what the acronym means (The Daily 'Worse Than Failure').

    Whatever, i'm not going to lose any sleep over it but it's a pretty retarded move IMO. New name sucks, old name rocks.

  • Unklegwar (unregistered)

    AWFUL decision. WTF is a universal constant. This new name is LAME as it comes.

    AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.

    Captcha: atari!!!!!!!

  • Unklegwar (unregistered) in reply to Paul
    Paul:
    WHAT THE FUCK

    Your grandma can handle the FUCK word. Seriously. To think otherwise is rather condescending.

    Hell, Grandma had to do it herself, otherwise she wouldn't be a GRANDMA!!!!

  • GrandmasterB (unregistered)

    Why would you sabotage your website by changing the name to something so f'ing lame??? TheDailyWTF had such a terrific edge. That edge is important to attracting programmers - particularly the kind you want here.

    I've worked for a lot of small companies, and I see it all the time - as soon as things get going people in charge will start making a truly stupid mistakes (like changing the name) and derail themselves. And then fragile ego's prevent them from acknowledging the mistakes and fixing them. Dont follow that road to failure.

    Let me give you a bit of free advice. GO WITH WHAT GOT YOU THERE. There's tons of sites out there that cater to IT people and cubicle monkeys, and their need for sufficiently watered down, office safe humor. But there is and always will be just one TheDailyWTF.com! DONT SCREW THAT UP!!!

  • RMG66 (unregistered) in reply to Corion

    YOU ARE STUPID FOR CHANGING THE NAME!

    STUPID!!

  • Tom Woolf (unregistered)

    Sigh.... As someone who has tried to show "Dogma" to his 80 year old mother, I can understand the hesitancy to tell your grandmother what WTF stands for. But before screwing with the name that so many of us appreciated, couldn't you have simply told your grandmother that "TheDailyWTF" actually stood for "The Daily Worse Than Failure", and left well-enough alone?

    Great site, great stories, great original name, and I'll stop there.

Leave a comment on “Announcement: Website.RenameTo(“Worse Than Failure”)”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article