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As initiated in Shaken, not stirred; let's expand the site!, Beer SE is expanding to include a variety of topics not limited to wine and spirits!

What should the new site's name and subdomain be?

Please submit ONE proposal per sitename or URL. If you feel that your name or URL pairs better with certain other URLs or names, then feel free to suggest those pairings, as long as it's clear we're voting on a singular sitename or URL.

Also, you can find the latest guidelines for site names and URLs here.

Some things to consider about the target audience:

  • How does the name sound to someone who stumbles upon the site accidentally? e.g. browsing SE's list of communities, or while Googling a loosely related question. Would they remember our name or bookmark the site?

  • How does the name sound to someone who participates in comparable communities? e.g. RateBeer and BeerAdvocate forums, /r/beertrade, and wine and spirits counterparts. Would they consider our site a serious alternative to their home grounds?

  • How does the name sound to experts in the field? e.g. homebrewers, distillers, industry experts, etc. We'd love to attract this group to build a strong, reliable community. Would a name that sounds too generic turn off potential experts, e.g. with the feeling that the site might fail to appreciate or highlight their level of experience and sophistication?

Again, one proposal per sitename please!

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  • I see. Thanks, Marshmallow! I meant to highlight how different names vs subdomains could be, not necessarily the quirkiness, but that's a good point I didn't realize I might be miscommunicating.
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 5:23
  • To clarify what you type into the browser is the subdomain. It should be something easy to remember and easy to key in.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 12:50
  • @Marshmallow MI Yodeya might be a special case, but it's a little different from what you said so I want to clarify. Mi Yodeya was an SE 1.0 site; when it joined the network in 2011 it became "Jewish Life and Learning" (with the subdomain "judaism"). When the site graduated in 2012 the team restored the Mi Yodeya name. I think if we can make a case for a non-matching name the team will be open to it, especially given that bluefeet has been part of this conversation and hasn't said anything against the idea yet.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 12:55
  • 2
    Whatever name is decided, please keep in mind that we have naming standards.
    – Taryn
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:36
  • If you read the standard linked by bluefeet The subdomain should match the site title as closely as possible (even if it's not the shortest possible subdomain we could use). We can still create redirects if there's a true need for them.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:16
  • @Paparazzi - Thanks, I did see that, but I think a part of me didn't want to overconstrain the proposals here, because so far I haven't seen a matching sitename + URL that captured the "craft and appreciation" intent of the site in a casual or common term. Not a good reason to break the guidelines, of course, but let's see what's out there. Appreciate all your inputs regardless!
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:23
  • @AndrewCheong I politely disagree. That is the standard and should at least be a recommendation. Right now the question reads as no need to match.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:34
  • @Paparazzi - Fair enough; you're right, I had forgotten my own wording of that paragraph (written before I read bluefeet's link). I've removed it altogether, and linked the standards from the question.
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:38

11 Answers 11

Reset to default
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Name: The Open Bar

I think the name will stand out to those browsing the site list and is memorable. It's all-encompassing without being wordy, and feels to me like it fits in with BeerAdvocate and similar sites, which is where (some of the) expert consumers hang out. I don't know how experts in the beer/wine/spirits industry will view it (I don't know any of those to ask).

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  • Initially proposed here.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 13:00
  • I split out my proposal for the subdomain to allow separate voting, and also because I think the subdomain works with several names.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 13:17
  • 1
    I like it without The better. Open Bar
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 13:34
  • I like "Open Bar" while BYOB is catchy I feel that BYOB is associated with beer and if that's the case then don't even change the name, the obvious like paparazzi said ( alcohol or more precise, ethanol) is clean and straight to the point, if you want catchy then I would go with "Open Bar" because it encompasses all drink types, BYOB is subjective since you can use BYOB for almost anything that starts with B Y O And B ... Bring your own beer, Buy your own beer, build your own boat, bake your own brisket...etc...etc.
    – Mr Hons
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:44
  • Interesting -- where I live "BYOB" almost exclusively means wine. But the alcohol laws are very strange here and that might be part of it. :-)
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:11
  • Would this option leave it open to general questions about the bar industry? Such as appropriate customer service in different kinds of bars, how to handle unhappy customers etc.
    – Quizzical Creature
    Apr 19, 2016 at 16:58
  • I also agree with @Paparazzi and Mr Hons that just 'Open Bar' would be better.
    – Quizzical Creature
    Apr 19, 2016 at 17:00
  • Only if the url is TOB.stackexchange :3
    – Just Do It
    Apr 19, 2016 at 21:39
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Subdomain: drinking.stackexchange.com

As noted by someone in the earlier thread, "drinking" and "going out for drinks" are common ways to describe going to a tavern to appreciate produce in aged liquid form. "Drinking" implies alcohol.

Drinking, as opposed to drinks, conveys an activity. While production questions are in-scope too, first and foremost this site is for consumers of alcoholic beverages. The verb does a better job of conveying that.

Drinks would create more ambiguity; we'd get some questions about non-alcoholic drinks and, in particular, would need to redirect some questions to Coffee.

Stack Exchange has historically been a little inconsistent about verbs versus nouns -- Writers but Worldbuilding, Astronomy but Community Building, Ask Ubuntu but Academia, Programmers but Programming Puzzles. So I think we're free to go either way here, especially in a subdomain (I'm not talking about the site name here).

The subdomain is memorable and easily typed.

On the downside, I wonder if drinking carries a connotation of "to excess"; do people hear "drinking" and think of frat parties? Anybody who stops to think about it would likely conclude no, because a whole Q&A site about that kind of drinking doesn't make sense, but first impressions matter. This is why I'm proposing this for the subdomain but not for the name.

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  • I propose this subdomain to go with a different name, such as this one (but others might be suggested too).
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 13:16
  • 1
    To me drinking is not specific to alcohol. Looks like you are drinking coffee in your picture.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 13:34
  • The word "drinking" is broad, which is why I didn't propose Drinking as the site name. By the time people see the URL they'll have seen the name, so in context I think it's OK. But I'm just one person, so people should vote.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:06
  • I don't follow they will see the URL before the name? But cheers. I don't want it to seem like I am arguing with you as that is not my intent.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:12
  • No worries - this is a productive discussion, and this is how we figure out what's best.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:27
  • 1
    @Paparazzi - For those who feel drinks still works, here is the complementary proposal.
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:07
  • How dare you insinuate coffee isn't for drinking‽
    – Caleb
    Apr 17, 2016 at 6:49
  • @Caleb lots of things are for drinking, and coffee is important enough that it has its own site. When somebody says "we're going drinking" without further context, though, do you think of coffee? (Dunno, maybe you do and I'm seeing a western bias here?)
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 17, 2016 at 15:28
  • 1
    Where I live going out for drinks means getting tea. There are more specialised ways of indicating alcohol but the default social beverage is tea. Unless you come anywhere near my office then there will be coffee on hand.
    – Caleb
    Apr 17, 2016 at 15:53
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Name: Alcoholic Beverages

URL: alcohol.stackexchange.com

Not all that fun but is a clear description

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  • I also submitted BYOB, I think BYOB and Imbibe are more fun but if I could vote on my my own answer I would vote for this based on clarity.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:58
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URL: drinks.stackexchange.com

I don't propose "Drinks" as the sitename, for pretty much the reasons @MonicaCellio described in her proposal above or below, but, between "drinks" and "drinking," I am indeed one of the people to whom the latter is associated with bar hopping, loosening up after the 9-5 (usually in pursuit of the alcohol rather than the craft of the beverage), etc.

Meanwhile, "drinks" to me sounds a little more casual and inclusive of the beer / wine / bourbon / tequila enthusiast looking to enjoy a few drinks.

As for ambiguity with other, non-alcoholic beverages, for me it takes more pause and thought to dispel the non-refined notions of "drinking," than to simply click "drinks" and realize the site's not really about coffee. So, I think the simplicity and lightheartedness of "drinks" is perfect :-)

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  • Actually, I think somebody else suggested Drinks on the other proposal, so it's not really my idea either. Thanks for raising it separately.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 16:00
  • Woops, you're right, it was Xander's—but I first read it proposed as a subdomain in your comment. I'm just gonna remove the crediting since we're all friends here.
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 16:03
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Name: Speakeasy

The term Speakeasy was used back in the 1920's when you wanted to refer a place where -due to the Prohibition era- alcohol was sold (Illicitly). They were called this way cause you had to "speak quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police or neighbors" Wikipedia

The Prohibition era is long gone now, and although we are not doing anything illegal in the site, I felt like besides being related to alcohol in some way the name itself is quite catchy.

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  • How funny would it be to have se.stackexchange.com ^^,
    – Just Do It
    Apr 19, 2016 at 20:49
  • Speakeasy is a US term and I associate it with an establishment not alcohol.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 20, 2016 at 3:00
  • That could be one of the negative points of this suggestion @Paparazzi , thanks for pointing it out. Although it doesn't really matter since the name has already been chosen.
    – Just Do It
    Apr 20, 2016 at 14:01
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URL: byob.statackexchange.com

Bring Your Own Bottle/Box/Beer/Booze
If you don't know the term then not a good fit but it is pretty common
It is most often associated with alcohol
But BYOB to a prayer meeting means bring your own bible
"Your Own" has a sense of community

wikipedia

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  • I like this. What do you think of it for the namw, too? (Note: byob.se + Open Bar name sounds like cognitive dissonance, so probably not those together. :-) )
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:30
  • @MonicaCellio I will add a name. It don't really like the way the question was formatted. I think you should have a list of names with a subdomain. Not a list of subdomain with single name. It does not work well with Open Bar.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 14:35
  • You're right Paparazzi, and I've realized it's probably best to simply to separate subdomains into separate answers, as @MonicaCellio began doing, and maybe suggest pairings with other names if there are better pairings than others. I apologize, but can you split byob.stackexchange.com into a separate answer? I personally love the subdomain and want to upvote it, but not so much the name.
    – Andrew Cheong
    Apr 11, 2016 at 15:11
  • @MonicaCellio OK I will add it as a name
    – paparazzo
    Apr 11, 2016 at 16:05
  • @Paparazzi I just did; refresh the page. Sorry for causing any confusion. (I just deleted my comment after doing so, but too late!)
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 16:07
-2

Name: Imbibe

It just sounds classier than 'drinks' or 'alcohol'! The term is often associated with drinking alcohol specifically. But the definition can include alcohol free drinks, so questions on 'virgin cocktails' would also be permitted.

The term is widely used in the bar industry. For example, Imbibe bar magazine, Imbibe trade professionals, Imbibe inc. - a team of beverage scientists, Imbibe! by David Wondrich - a guide to the drinks of the famous American bartender 'Jerry Thomas'..and that's just the first few items that come up from a google search.

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  • this definition could also incorporate 'coffee' and 'tea', which IMO should not have sites of their own if beer does not.
    – Quizzical Creature
    Apr 14, 2016 at 21:34
  • The usage of the term in the industry is a significant point in its favor.
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:14
  • @QuizzicalCreature Beer was just not getting enough traffic. I personally would have moved beer to home brewing and tried wine alone but need to go with the flow and respect the moderators need to make a call.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:46
  • I personally like Imbibe but I am wondering if the normal user would know the word.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:55
-2

Name: BYOB

good pairing URL byob.stackexchange.com

Bring Your Own Beer/Bottle/Booze.
If you don't know the term then not a good fit but it is pretty common.
It is specific to alcohol. "Your Own" has a sense of community.

An alternative proposal to the spelled-out form. "BYOB" is short and, as far as I know, widely understood. In contrast to The Open Bar, it focuses more on the drinks than the venue. BYOB is less likely to have connotations of drunkenness.

Wikipedia

-2

Name: Bring Your Own Bottle

good pairing (pun intended) byob.stackexchange.com

If you don't know the term then not a good fit but it is pretty common
It is most commonly associated with alcohol
"Your Own" has a sense of community

wikipedia

-3

The obvious

Name: Alcohol

URL: alcohol.stackexchange.com

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  • This is the URL that was selected and it has 4 down votes.
    – paparazzo
    May 11, 2016 at 11:33
  • downvotes mean disagreement, so it doesn't really matter if it was the url chosen or not, disagreement with this suggestion(now new url) exists.
    – Just Do It
    May 11, 2016 at 15:43
  • @JustDoIt Uh, yes
    – paparazzo
    May 11, 2016 at 15:46
-4

Name: Let's Talk Ethanol

URL: ethanol.stackexchange.com

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  • 1
    In case you are new to meta a down vote does not really mean bad answer. It just means a not vote. It does not go against your reputation.
    – paparazzo
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:32

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