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openscribe/docs/naming.md
Laurence 8fd9b694f8
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docs+site: Nightjar brand, hosted service, infrastructure plan, saved site 
Persists the branding/commercial/infrastructure work (previously only in chat and
on the live site) into version control.

What changed:
- docs/naming.md: due-diligence and the decision to brand the product Nightjar
  (OpenScribe domain/GitHub/trademark collisions; alternatives screened; why Nightjar).
- docs/hosted-service.md: the commercial model - plan tiers (Self-host / Cloud
  Starter / Cloud Pro / Private), indicative pricing, backend mapping, and the
  build-to-sell roadmap (metering, billing, provisioning, DPA).
- docs/infrastructure.md: backend infra plan. Primary option = self-host on the
  3x Minisforum MS-02 cluster (one with an RTX 3050 6GB) fronted by a Cloudflare
  Tunnel, with node roles, the 3050 capacity reality, caveats, and a Hetzner cloud
  fallback. Provision-later.
- site/: reproducible marketing-site source - block content for all 11 pages
  (rebranded to Nightjar), the navigation, the Contact Form 7 config (honeypot),
  the ApisCP SOAP helper (tools/apiscp.php, no secret), and a README on how the
  WordPress site is built and managed via the API.
- state/: DECISIONS (Nightjar rebrand, hosted service, MS-02 backend), PROJECT
  (brand + commercial section), TODO (rename decision, trademark, mailbox, pricing,
  hosted-service build, infra provisioning).

Why:
- User asked to save everything to the repo. Captures the product rebrand, the
  commercialisation plan, and the infrastructure decision so a cold session has the
  full picture.

Notes:
- The repo is still named `openscribe`; the product/brand is Nightjar. A full
  codebase rename is deferred (tracked in TODO + docs/naming.md).
- No secrets committed: the ApisCP API key is read from a local scratch file, never
  the repo.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-05 22:24:24 +01:00

2.5 KiB
Raw Blame History

Naming and branding

Record of the naming due-diligence and the decision to brand the product Nightjar.

Reviewed July 2026.

Decision

  • Product / commercial brand: Nightjar. The site is live at https://nightjar.12hobbies.studio.
  • The repository is still named openscribe for now. Renaming the whole codebase (repo, SPDX headers, firmware namespaces, docs) is a separate, larger task - deferred until decided. "OpenScribe" survives only as the original project name in code history.

Why not "OpenScribe"

"OpenScribe" failed a due-diligence screen for a commercial brand:

  • Domains: every desirable exact-match is taken. openscribe.com (parked, for sale since 2009), openscribe.ai (parked, for sale), .net/.org/.app/.dev registered, .org is an active dictation product, .io/.co host live sites.
  • GitHub: 33 repos match "openscribe", several in the same category (an AI medical scribe at ~188 stars, dictation apps, transcription tools). Heavy in-category collision.
  • Trademark: descriptive ("Open" + "Scribe"), so weak/hard to register, and there is at least one live commercial product on the exact name in the same class. Not cleared.

Why "Nightjar"

  • A nightjar is a bird with a famously distinctive call - evocative, memorable, and it does not collide inside the AI/voice/transcription category (the trap OpenScribe hit).
  • GitHub name collisions: ~104 (vs 5,000+ for the coined alternative "Recita", and far lower than dictionary words like murmur/cadence/quill).
  • As a bird name applied to AI software it is an arbitrary mark - a strong, defensible trademark position (unrelated to the goods).

Names screened and rejected

  • Mockingjay - Hunger Games / Lionsgate trademark, aggressively enforced. Hard avoid.
  • Lyrebird, Fathom - already established voice-AI / AI-notetaker brands (in-category traps like OpenScribe).
  • Murmur, Cadence, Quill, Cairn, Keepsake - dictionary words: taken domains + heavy GitHub collisions.
  • Recita - coined but turns out common (Italian word), ~5,000 GitHub matches.

Caveats / follow-ups

  • Every short name has its exact-match .com squatted; Nightjar is no exception. Domain routes: getnightjar.com / a modern TLD if free at a registrar / the studio subdomain (current: nightjar.12hobbies.studio).
  • A formal trademark clearance (USPTO / UK IPO / EUIPO, ideally via an IP attorney) is the last step before spending on the brand. This screen is not a legal clearance.