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Comment by Avshalom | Hacker News Reader

The only problem and it's really a very tiny problem, is that the library community has settled on a fairly... purile naming convention.

Beyond that it's a fantastically easy way to get started writing a game.

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I don't know if I would call it tiny; looking at the library naming convention it doesn't seem to be far from the controversy around 'pantyshot' a while back: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/violetblue/when-software-offends-t...

Though I would assume most library authors are not necessarily attempting to be offensive, not the greatest culture to construct around your toolset regardless.

As biased as I am (very), I'm not sure how this applies, none of the library names I know suggest anything sexist, or otherwise offensive. Now, as for whether naming libraries after sex acts, and possibly body parts, is a good idea, well, does it matter? Worst case it makes your conversations more fun.

Asking a co-worker about the AnAl library could elicit a chuckle, or it could be an example of what alienates female programmers from the game industry. It isn't inherently a big deal, but in the hands of the immature and can easily go from funny to uncomfortable.

> alienates female programmers from the game industry

Also males such as myself that are just tired of peurile humour when they witness the darker side of their peers so frequently?

If the sexual funniness stems from the library the team is using, then the awkwardness can be addressed in a team meeting well in advance. Perhaps resulting in a only-one-joke-a-day policy or changed pronunciation (e.g. AnAl like "analgesic").

You can turn everything uncomfortable, or nothing at all, it's up to the one using the name, not the name itself.

That was business software; this is games. I'd expect the gaming community to be a bit more lenient.

I don't think the gaming community as it exists now would complain, no. However, opinions differ on whether that's a good thing:

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/eight-women-eight-responses-an...

among other examples - what counts as acceptable behavior in the gaming community is a pretty hot topic right now. there is a strong argument to be made that anything that isn't acceptable in the business community should be discouraged in gaming.

damn... yeah fair enough.

"fair enough" is something you say when someone you initially disagreed with makes a point. I don't see any disagreement here. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fair_enough

In Australia the context is different and implies that you agree that someone is making a point which is fair enough to be valid, in other words that you agree with it.

"I don't know if I would" is something you say when you disagree.

Come on, they're basically just tongue-in-cheek names to evoke a chuckle or two.

'HardonCollider' collision system, 'Lube' networking library etc, I can hardly see anyone being offended unless they _really_ want to be.

Apart from that I fully agree, despite doing lots of coding in Python, I, just like the author find löve a better choice than pygame for quickly developing/prototyping games, YMMV and all that.

"Offended" may be too harsh a word, but "annoyed" would certainly apply to me and "uncomfortable" to a number of professional software developers I know. I don't know many shrinking violets, but that doesn't mean you want to be hit over the head with (stupid) sexual metaphors when you're working just because the library developers are incapable of reining in childishness.

Like, by itself, not a gamebreaker or anything (for me that would be a weakly typed language--though I've encouraged my little brother to play with Moai, another Lua environment, in the past), but given the choice I'd probably go with tools with a culture that encourages a bit better judgment.

Except, the original article is talking about finding a framework suitable for 7- and 10-year-old boys. Which might change the context of the jokes for some people :o

When I was 8, I insisted on buying a little book containing a collection of toilet stall graffiti sayings. I didn't get half of them, yet merrily recited them.

And look where I am now, happily employed software developer with >=1000 karma.

So I wouldn't worry too much.

For those not familiar with what libraries have been developed see here:

https://love2d.org/wiki/Category:Libraries

I love Löve as well, but yeah, the 3rd party library names are pretty infantile. It would probably have been hilarious when I was 12 though...

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