Ask HN: What are the worst names given to employees of specific companies?

When I was at Aph around 1978, we all trooped off to some electronics convention. Since my job there was assembling prototype boards, when I was getting the badge at the ticket booth, and I was asked my job title, I said "Gnome".

The guy creating the badge was horrified. He asked me several times if I really wanted this, and I confirmed. The Aph people behind me then gave their job titles as "Wizard", "Nerd", and some other fantasy terms.

Attendees would read our badges and exclaim they should have done the same thing.

Thereafter, this became commonplace.

I don't know if I started this trend, but it seems like I was the first. I wish I'd kept the badge, but who knew?

As if the name of the company "Wedge Computer, Inc" wasn't bad enough: "Wedgies".

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28803672

https://groups.google.com/g/comp.windows.news/c/VpdsNfxERQQ/...

https://books.google.nl/books?id=Cj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA...

There has to be some weighing for if/how they are actually used in the wild. For example, metamates is objectively horrible, but I'm not sure anyone actually uses it. Xoogler, noogler objectively are neutral, but end up sounding super douchy because of how often they get thrown around by actual google people

Also, domosapien https://www.domo.com/company

Army - Soldiers (nailed it)

Navy - Sailors (nailed it)

Marines - Marines (nailed it)

Air Force - Airmen (eh, okay?)

Coast Guard - Coasties (I mean, sure. Welcome, our DoT brethren)

Space Force - Guardians, complete with Star Trek outfits and staring upward into the distance. /sigh

Funny story about New Relic: The name is an anagram of the CEO's, "Lew Cirne". Not sure if that's widely known, but he just used it as a placeholder while working as an entrepreneur in residence at a VC fund for his next project, and it stuck.

Facebook = "Metamates" = Peak cringe

If you're in a building at Amazon, sure, Amazonians. If you're out on the street in Seattle with regular people, it's often Amholes.

Adobe employee. I keep trying to get "Adobos" or at least "Adobians" to catch on, but it hasn't yet.

Ok I really like this question which got me digging and someone made a pretty comprehensive and somewhat verified list: https://mikepope.com/blog/AddComment.aspx?blogid=2354

Personally I would say Microsofties is the worst.

Research in Motion : rimmers

SAP: saps

Snowflake: Snowflakes

Workday: Workers

Microsoft: Softies

Intel: Intelligentsia

Adobe: Dobes

Broadcom: Broads

IBM : Bummers

PayPal: Charge Friends

Uber: Uberalles

Atlassian: Shruggers

Marvell Technology: Kree

Dell: Dellions

My current company, Anark, we would be "Anark-ists", but we don't actually refer to ourselves that way.

Personally I can't stand that type of name, and think the whole idea is silly and cringy.

Just call them dorks.

- also called something dorky at my job lmao

I like it tho even if it’s a bit cringe. At least we all on the same mission while we working together.

Not necessarily bad name, but the company where I'm currently in is itself called "CAW", short for "Chimps At Work".

The founder is ex-Microsoft and apparently, Chimp was a title given to Microsoft employees working on new projects.

They're all terrible. You're a human being with dignity and a name, not a farm animal. Any employer who tries to name you as the latter should be politely asked to stop.

Reddit is snoos. I don't think it's that bad though.

Pinployees at Pinterest Twilions at Twilio Coinbaes at Coinbase

The pivoting pivots of Pivotal Software. gong noise

Stripe: strippers?

I don't know what YC employees are called, but I really hope they're "Combinations".

Credit Karma’s Karmanauts. Oof.

Bending Spoons -> Spooners

At Metal Toad they are Toads.

Tweeps.

Innies, in Severance? :)

Scoot Pte Ltd: Scooties.

Microsoft - microbes

Atlas, Atlassians?

Atos. Astros. Heh.

Citrix: Citrites

It’s so cringey

Xero - Xeroes

Metamates.

Microsofties.