[Tfug] Naming scheme

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Joe,

--- Joe Blais <joe.blais at pti-instruments.com> wrote:

> > I don't want the user to have to change anything
> > in *his* machine just because he happened to walk
> > into a room with someone else who opted to pick
> the
> > same "handle"/have the same moniker, etc.  Then,
> > you get annoyed and feel like *you* have done
> > something "wrong" (otherwise, why is the machine
> > "scolding me"?)
> >
> > Presumably, you would notice (because someone else
> > would approach you and ask "which Foobar are
> you?")
> > and either "fix" the problem or shrug it off
> > ("Heck, I'll never be around this other Foobar
> > again so why bother?  Besides, Foobar is such a
> > great moniker...")
> >
> 
> In new places, what can go wrong, will go wrong --
> so if you pick a simple
> name to begin with, like John or Joe, chances of a
> conflict arise.

Exactly.  "Experienced users" would learn this
early on.  But, you still have to deal with
others whoi might not be at your level of
expertice, etc. -- especially since they can
"pollute" the namespace.

> If the system just adds a number onto the end if
> your moniker, like I'd be
> Mortimer5 in this room today, then friends wanting
> something, could probably
> tell that I'm Mort5 today because of the content in
> my folders.

Ah, but *which* "system" is adding that disambiguator?
You're missing the distributed concept, here (and
it's attendant problems coupled with the issues
related to the wireless connectivity). 

I.e. if *your* machine sees 3 other "Morts", it can
give you each unique ID's -- Mort[1..5] (assuming
*you*, also, are given a name in this same template).
But, some other machine might not see you -- yet.
So, it has assigned Mort[1..4] to the 4 Morts that
it has already seen -- you *must* now be Mort5
ONCE THAT MACHINE SEES YOU (even though *your* 
machine had decide to call you Mort2).

So, who you are varies as a function of who is
*asking* and their past exposure to other entries
in the namespace.  E.g., there may have been
27 Morts at one point -- Mort[01..27] -- despite
the fact that only Mort 23 and Mort08 are still
"present".

> I don't know if people would verbally ask me which
> Mortimer I am, because it could be anyone in the
> room.
> 
> If I'm talking to a new acquaintance, I might tell
> them the info they want is in my foo folder.

Assuming they were looking for something "atypical"
(I assumed standardizing on a place for your *typical*
data -- business card, calendar, etc. -- would be
effective in handling the common "requests" without
any user interaction.)

> Perhaps the tack-on would be the time you entered
> the area, then if my
> friend wanted something, but she saw 5 Morts, she
> could ask me, or may have noticed, when I arrived.
> 
> Friends wanting something, could probably tell that
> I'm Mort5 today because
> of the content in my folders.  Total strangers
> wouldn't know the pattern of
> my files, but I could tell them I have the
> WinningHorses folder.
> 
> We could have an Icon or picture of ourselves
> available that would be more
> unique.  Perhaps in a MyIcon folder that everyone
> would have.
> 
> At any rate, we tend to go to the same place all the
> time so eventually I'd
> get the idea that there's enough Morts around so I'd
> pick a different name.

Exactly.  Something odd like "Bexley Hall"  :>

> I just don't see a way of making sure everyone had a
> unique name all the
> time without some type of intervention or additional
> information available.
> 
> Perhaps a search function.  I tell someone I have a
> sure thing list of lotto
> numbers in my Lotto.pick file.  So he searches for
> Lotto.pick across
> everyone there.   Perhaps the search could work like
> a bit torrent so
> someone has an index all the time.

Hmm... that's something I should consider.  I am
trying to keep things distributed, connectionless,
etc. so that the net is very "fluid" and doesn't
unduly burden any participant.
 
> ???
> 
> Hope Santa filled your stockings!

(sigh) I'm still looking for disk enclosures, etc.
And, some WARMER NIGHTS!!  (I am tired of babysitting
the citrus trees  :< )  Assuming the weather-folks
can get withing 5 degrees of actual, then tonight
I may actually get a full night's sleep!  :>

OT:  Can anyone suggest why temperatures level off
from about midnight to just before dawn.  Then,
*plummet* just as the Sun is rising?  I could
understand temperatures steadily falling until just
before dawn and being at their lowest at that time
(since the ground has had the longest time to
radiate it's stored heat to the blackness of space).
But, that would imply a *steady* decrease in temps
which is not what I observe.  (I wonder if my
location bears any influence on this...?)

(Yeah, it's *way* off-topic but an interesting
musing, nonetheless  :> )

--don

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