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graft-project / graft-white-paper

Graft is a global, open-sourced, blockchain-based, decentralized payment gateway and processing platform
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Concept is interesting, definition of graft is very negative, consider name change #2

Open truedat101 opened 6 years ago

truedat101 commented 6 years ago

The colloquial use of the word graft in the english language is extremely negative: A colloquial term referring to the unlawful acquisition of public money through questionable and improper transactions with public officials.

I am trying to be very constructive in my feedback, no snark implied here. Graft as a word is the exact opposite of the trust and ease and propriety of transactions that one might want to convey. Strongly consider a name change. Would be interested to hear the authors/project team and their view on the name.

truedat101 commented 6 years ago

In fact, the name almost seems like a joke, per a reference I saw on twitter, pure irony, but at closer look this appears to be a serious project.

softarch24 commented 6 years ago

Does a name like "apple" or "git" or "google" not sound like a joke?

Anyway, besides a joke, the name "GRAFT" (all capital) has the following meanings for the GRAFT Network team:

  1. Global Real-time Authorizations and Fund Transfers (GRAFT) - decentralized global open platform for processing real-time authorizations and settlements of merchant payments and fund transfers using untraceable blockchain, decentralized API, and open community of service brokers that support variety of payment and payout methods including cryptocurrencies, cryptographic tokens, and traditional credit cards and bank transfers.

  2. GRAFT as a symbol of combining traditional (plastic cards) and crypto payments - "Graft is a a plant that has a twig or bud from another plant attached to it so they are joined and grow together. Grafting is an advanced technique that botanists, farmers, gardeners, and hobbyists use to add living tissue from one plant to another. Why would anyone go to all this trouble of attaching two bits of plants together? Well, it turns out that this technique has a lot of benefits. Growers can choose different parts of plants that have particular attributes, and attach them to other plants. Let's say a certain tree has really strong roots, but its fruit isn't so great. This tree would make great rootstock, or a plant selected for its roots. It can be combined with another tree that doesn't have good roots, but produces wonderful fruit. Plants that are selected for their stems, flowers, or fruit are called the scion. A desirable scion can be grafted onto a strong rootstock to create a truly great tree. This is pretty common practice in the gardening industry. It allows for plants to grow in many new areas, and gives us access to more products."

truedat101 commented 6 years ago

Again, constructive feedback here. No, Apple Records or Apple Computer does not sounds like a joke. Pick some better examples to make your point. The tweet I referenced was posted by someone referencing the corruption that seems to have found it's way into the ICO market. This person was making a joke that implied the ICO market had hit a new low because there was an ICO called Graft. I thought they were joking. In fact, Graft is a real ICO.

Not sure where you are from, but colloquial English language is a good indicator of common use, not the more obscure origins of a word or the second or third definition one might find. I understand "grafting" as a concept for skin transplants or combining multiple fruits on a tree (citrus or apples for example). Grafting is a verb. The more common use of the word graft is in reference to illicit corruption. You can argue that it's still a great acronym, and I won't disagree that someone did a good job converting the longer name into a nice short acronym. But if you are trying to build trust, the name doesn't do that for native English speakers.

govhubs commented 6 years ago

Completely agree. Graft in English "... is a form of political corruption, being the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain..." For example, a politician might take a bribe from a contractor in exchange for favourable input on a proposal. I love the concept, but as one who is looking to implement a tool similar to this, I could NEVER suggest a client use something called "graft" as a payments processing mechanism. I'd absolutely have to rename it.

To refer to the previous post, I think the point the person is making is it is akin to something like having a dating site called "Hookers", which might suggest you are "helping to connect individuals", but in English it references prostitution. Or, selling a caffeinated drink, and calling it "Tweaker", which might mean a way to boost your energy, but the slang also references a person high on crystal methamphetamine. Another analogy might be to call a piece of security software "Virus", etc.

Don't feel bad about this. It is a common challenge for companies and many have faced similar obstacles. The business world is awash in examples:

truedat101 commented 6 years ago

@govhubs you nailed it. Trust and Payments are synonymous, they must go together, otherwise, no one will use a payment system. Names matter.

I have an example. There was sadly a payment system called ISIS. Ever heard of it? It was an NFC payment system from a consortium. Prior to 2014, it was called ISIS. It is now called Softcard because they just didn't want to be associated with terror. Softcard, ever heard of it? https://androidandme.com/2014/09/applications/isis-mobile-payment-officially-renaming-to-softcard/

Names matter.