Hi,
I've been reading the discussion with great interest. So, "To .org, or not to .org, that's the question" ;)
Many corporations have changed their corporate names into soup of alphabets. I shall call this 'alphabetization' and have affected names like HP, IBM, P&G, GE, CA, GM, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), just to name a few.
To some extent, the full-version of corporate names like Hewlett-Packard and Proctor & Gamble mean something, as it bears the founders' names and carry the weight of their reputation. The reduction to merely HP and P&G indicate impersonalization of corporations. No longer, people get to identify a corporation by its full-name. Now, they associate them with acronyms. Now, an organization, it seems, is no longer a 'living organism'.
For many consulting firms, trust is paramount as people need to trust their so-called 'wisdom' before spending millions of dollars on your advises. You still see firms like McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bain and Company, Delloite Consulting, Perot System and A.T. Kearney, are still proudly using its full-name for branding, rather than 'alphabetize' their names. I haven't seen McKinsey & Company brand itself as M & C! On the same note, Oprah Winfrey identifies herself as Oprah rather than OW. On a more personal level, we won't identify ourselves as acronyms. I won't identify myself as ML, but as Michael Lim.
Now, back to the question "to .org, or not to .org": If we want to build trust among the masses, we should personalize our name. As mentioned, OpenOffice.org indicates both product name and THE community. Imho, retaining the .org goes a long way in arresting the detachment of the community from the masses. I believe the ultimate aim of the community can be summarize as: OpenOffice.org, By the People, For the People. I feel the omission of the .org would degenerate the community towards impersonalization and becoming just another product. Microsoft Office is just another product. However, we are more than just another product. We are both a product and a community. With just 'OpenOffice', we are becoming just another product!
Michael Lim
