A new name for the forums? Submit ideas here

So far, some of the names suggested to me include the following:

CULTURECIDE
BLADES CLUB
KEEPING THE BRITISH END UP
KOWALSKI
THE GREAT BEYOND

Debate the merits of any of the above, or submit your own preferred name for our forums here.

The Blades Club for me. I haaaaaaate those other suggestions.

THE BULL RING
PARLIAMENT OF OPINION
QUARTERDECK
THE CULTURAL DEBATING SOCIETY
CULTURAL ONE-STOP SHOP
CULTURAL LIFEBLOOD
CULTURAL SAFE HOUSE
THE CULTURAL FORUM
CULTURAL WORLD VIEWS
THE CULTURAL CRUCIBLE
CULTURE IN THE CRUCIBLE
LEGAL FICTIONS
CULTURE 21 (meaning Culture in the 21st Century) (Northern Ireland has a new liberal party called NI21. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NI21)

Some kind of cool play on a word like Parliament may lead somewhere....

M wrote:

Some kind of cool play on a word like Parliament may lead somewhere....

Yes, I think so, too. PARLIAMENT OF OPINION or CULTURAL PARLIAMENT or THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE all have a distinctive ring to them. I created the term PARLIAMENT OF OPINION as far as I know. I used to use it to describe CBn before I was binned there.

M wrote:

Some kind of cool play on a word like Parliament may lead somewhere....

the Clink maybe.

The Blades Club for me...

Keeping the British End Up is what the old MI6 forums were called, and it would suggest we are still bitter and/or highly unoriginal.

Clean slate and all. Blades Club.

I vote Blades Club.

I'm coming round to THE BLADES CLUB too.

But do many people outside of Bond fandom (or who live next door to Blades Club) even know what Blades Club is? There's no universal pulling power or clarity to the name, which could be an unnecessary problem.

Blades Club will work in two ways. First of all, die-hard fans will automatically connect it to Bond, attracting those users. Second, it'll establish us as a sort of online club or lounge, which is what we'd all like out of this place.

BLADES CLUB gets my vote. It suggests what Ambler envisioned for this forum - an online pub for humour and banter, and a retreat from the woes of the world, though a bit more intellectual. A cross between a drinking establishment and a gentleman's club.

It could also inspire imagery for the banner - a crystal chandelier, candelabras, George IV silverware, Beluga Caviar, a bottle of Mouton Rothschild '34 or Dom Perignon '46, poker tables, backgammon, cigarette smoke etc. That kind of stuff, without having to appease everyone with pics from Bond actors, classic films, Mad Men, or Star Trek.

Control wrote:

Blades Club will work in two ways. First of all, die-hard fans will automatically connect it to Bond, attracting those users. Second, it'll establish us as a sort of online club or lounge, which is what we'd all like out of this place.

Yeah, it really is the best of both worlds and works as a great alternative to BOND AND BEYOND. If you're a die hard, you'll get the reference, if you're not a Bond person the name sounds intriguing.

Even if I like BLADES CLUB best I fear that it will not attract too many new visitors as it is not a term that will gets much typed on google. This in comparrison with the Bond name.

As Control says, it would attract a different kind of poster.

I'm gathering if Kowalski wins it won't be accompanied by a picture of Barry Newman.

My vote went the way stated above. Blades. Substitute Parliament of Opinion with The Rump Parliament.

Suggesting restrictive, "exclusive" or "elitist" forum names at this point in time strikes me as beyond ridiculous. Bond And Beyond has become restrictive enough in that it has failed to attract members from outside of Bond circles, so to go with another Bond reference or anything else which sounds exclusive or limiting would just be another nail in our coffin. We need a forum name and front page which any of us could recommend to any of our friends, and for those friends to have at least one thing on that front page to hook them in enough to bother registering. If one of us were using a music forum elsewhere or a Star Wars, World Cinema or football forum, there should be enough variety on our front page and variety implied through our name for us to be able to offer members of those other forums an invite they would accept.

I'm not suggesting that my own name suggestion of CULTURECIDE is 100% perfect, but the intent of using such a name is to indicate that all aspects of culture are discussed here. We also need the name to be simple, possibly even just a one-word title in the way the likes of Pitchfork, Quietus, Spin, Q, Mojo, NME, Empire, Facebook, Twitter etc have names which have become synonymous with cultural/media/social commentary. IMO, having a name that fits in seamlessly among that list (yet also states what we're all about here) is the way to go.

One way of keeping a Bond link but also implying something universal would be to use the name "Tomorrow", with a Carver newspaper-style banner and a slogan such as "Tomorrow's news today" or 'Tomorrow's culture discussed today", etc. Maybe not a brilliant idea, but just an idea to throw in with the others until any other thoughts spring to mind.

I know where you're coming from, Laz, but to make this a catch-all forum for cultural debate would be at odds with the number of members here who want this place to stay Bondcentric. Bond is what brought most of us together in the first place and I don't think it would be the wisest move to run against that.

That said, If you want a less elitist name, I suggest Culture Council - a play on Paul Weller's Style Council.

Instead of CULTURECIDE (which sounds negative and off putting) what about CULTUREPHILE? (CULTUREPHILIA's been taken by a blog)

Some other variations:

CULTUREFILE

CULTUREFILES

CULTUREPHENIA

CULTUREPHRENIA

CULTUREVOX - The Voice of Culture

VOX*

*There is no forum called Vox. The amp manufacturer uses www.voxamps.com/forum/

I'm starting to think the name's fine.

It's possible that our name has been tarnished by some of the controversies over the last year. It's not like Bond and Beyond has a major fan following on Facebook who'd be confused by the name change. It'd be a way of wiping the slate clean. A fresh start.

Largo's Shark wrote:

It's possible that our name has been tarnished by some of the controversies over the last year. It's not like Bond and Beyond has a major fan following on Facebook who'd be confused by the name change. It'd be a way of wiping the slate clean. A fresh start.

Exactly. Wipe the slate clean is a good way forward, I think. We need to attract new blood here. It's no time to be sentimental in any way about names! A name which is not Bond-centric seems to me to be the best way forward at this point.

What about PARLIAMENT OF CULTURE or THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE or MINISTRY OF CULTURE or CULTURE ROYALE or QUANTUM OF CULTURE?

Should I just stop now?!

Dragonpol wrote:

Should I just stop now?!

Yep.

I think single words are best. Punchier and more memorable.

If I had to choose one of my suggestions, I'd go with CULTUREVOX. Rolls off the tongue well, rhymes with Ultravox, no one else using it etc.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Should I just stop now?!

Yep.

I think single words are best. Punchier and more memorable.

If I had to choose one of my suggestions, I'd go with CULTUREVOX. Rolls off the tongue well, rhymes with Ultravox, no one else using it etc.

Sorry. I was busy editing my reply.

Yes, CULTUREVOX is quite simple and nice and snappy. How do we the members and mods collectively decide on the name change, though? It has to be in place by the end of June. Forum email to all members asking for submissions or a poll where all interested/active members can vote on a list of agreed new names for the relaunch of the site?