So, what (in your opinion) makes a name a good name for a roleplay? what are terrible naming trends, or instances? (Not asking for naming of names, but what you found objectionable about them.)

I sometimes think of the topic I'm doing, and then try and relate to the topic.

For example, I have one HP site that I'm working on, and I named it Beyond The Veil after a chapter in the 5th book.

I'm also working on a midwest USA type site, and I named it Amarillo Sky. It takes place in Amarillo, and Amarillo Sky is the name of a song I love.

I don't really care about the name of a site as long as it's unique, I think swearing would be a good thing to avoid as well, considering it's probably going to be posted everywhere with adverts.

When I name my site I usually just use song lyrics.

Well, I have a long process in choosing the name. Forum names, to me, are very important. A good name is really eye catching, methinks :) And anyone can come up with a good name - you don't have to really have any 'skill' to come up with one.

I don't like song-titled forums too much, only because most Admins make a poor decision on what part of the song they chose. I've seen plenty of people do a great job with song-titled forums, so it isn't completely bad.
I also don't like the ones which are in a different language. I can't pronounce them, much less read them. I don't understand why people think it's cool :/ I also don't like...expected? names. Like, if you do an HP one, you put Hogwarts/Magic/etc. in the title. Yeah, it's a dead giveaway, but I dunno, I just don't like it.

missmoss has a good point - swearing isn't such a great idea.

For the love of God, at least let it give some HINT of what the forum's about. For instance, if you're doing *yet another* Harry Potter school, don't name it 'Blood and Roses.' That makes me think of vampires or terrible romance novels. I don't really care if you name it 'Hogwarts whatever'. I just want something vaguely topical.

I agree, its nice to have relation to the board. I hate finding forums with titles that make me think one thing, and its an entirely different board. Its misleading and not cool. ^^ Song lyrics are only nice if they relate to the board, and aren't over used or cliche or annoying...

/ramble.

Mine's called Show the Colours because it's a Napoleonic Wars-era site, and the phrase 'show the Colours' is bound up a lot with honour, as well as declaring your allegiance to one side or the other, all important things back then. So, it's topical, easy to remember and easy to say.

Generally speaking, I think titles should have some relation to the board and what the board's about. I've seen some good ones in people's sigs here, and I've also seen some that make me think 'What's that about?'

I think it's probably easier to come up with a self-explanatory but interesting name if it's a world or theme that isn't over-used, but isn't necessarily of your own making.

I don't really know if my name relates to my board, because it's kind of got a vague plot, but then the majority of sub plots we've had kind of fit the title.

It was named because I put all the forums together before myself and my co-admin decided on a name, I was going to change the URL when I was done, but my co-admin liked it, and so we kept it.

As said, it really ought to have a clear connection to what the topic of the game is. The name is often the first thing that people see when looking at different sites, so people should be able to get a decent idea of what they're in for by reading the name. Something catchy and original often grabs peoples' interest, but that's kind of pointless if it has absolutely nothing to do with the roleplay. I'm totally fine with song lyrics or quotes if they're appropriate for the game, but that's often not the case. ;)

I didn't name Meliora, but I think it's a decent name. Meliora is the name of the country in which the game takes place, so it's obviously related to the RP. It's also an unusual word (as in, it's clearly a name) which I would think would make it stand out. Also, it should suggest that the site is in the fantasy genre. We aren't trickin' anyone with this name. ;)

For me, I chose the cool/useful factor over the practical factor for AMOS.

AMOS is an acronym. For what? That is the thing. It doesn't have a single meaning, but multiple. Each meaning is revealed after each plot event, thus integrating 'chapters' into the forum's life.

Please don't add lots of symbols to the site title, whatever you name it. : ) I've never understood the ones that are like $&+{{{{BOARD TITLE... if the name you want is taken, just think up a new one.

But I agree with what everyone else has said so far-- it is nice to have an eye catching, unique title, but it gets really confusing when the title has no relation to what is actually happening on the board.

As for song titles... it irks me when new boards are opened using popular top-40 song titles because they're... well, popular and often have no relation to the actual board.

Short, simple and sweet. (:

Even if it isn't something I'm necessarily interested in, if it manages to get me to click the link to find out more, it's a good one.



Then there are some that don't have very exciting names, but in truth they're really great places. (Usually I find that this is the case with most older RPs - somebody chose a simple yet nice name and the place has developed so much that the name really doesn't give you an idea of how great it is).

With site names, I just pick something that sounds right. My modern fantasy roleplay is named Carpe Diem, a slight nod to our inspiration which uses the Carpe Noctem phrase often. It is an overused name, but I think it's proper.

I'm currently working on a site named Alive, We're Alive after a line from my favorite EE Cummings poem. And it relates to the actual roleplay, which takes place in a polar-deep type setting in the future with little technology- frankly, they're greatful they're alive.

I called my site Legends of Man - mainly because one of the races is human (Man) and Legends are the documentation of their history and deeds. It was written as The Creator who made them all, so it is the tales of their deeds.

To me it also suggested medieval/fantasy - legend being a word that is strongly associated with both.

No song names, please. When one names a board after a song, it loses all of its individuality, especially to people just browsing through. Name it something snappy that gets the reader's attention and lodges in his or her mind, even if it is something seemingly simple.