Ambiguous Name: Sdrawkcab Name

How is it 'fun'?

Also, 'empirical evidence'?

I would support a simple split:

• Sdrawkcab Name: For any meaningfully backwards name.
• Sdrawkcab Alias: For a character whose alias is its own name backwards. This gets the current trope definition.

If "sdrawkcab" cannot be in the trope names, then I would use Backwards Name and Backwards Alias. I am against "mynoduesp" or any other backwards words in the trope names. I think that "sdrawkcab" is more obvious, and "mynoduesp" is too confusing.

I would not add other anagrams to these tropes, because we already have Significant Anagram.

Use "sdrawkcab" with Backwards as a redirect. It's more memorable that way.

I think Sdrawkcab is very clear if you read it, but less optimal for search engines. Redirects are great for search engines.

What about cases like Louis Cypher, where a single name is broken down into multiple ones that individually sound very much like the components of the original name that they were derived from? That's not an anagram or a backwards-spelled name, but it follows the same principle of name-scrambling.

edited 22nd Nov '12 3:33:10 AM by MarqFJA

I support the proposition in post 27.

I am drafting a YKTTW for Sdrawkcab Alias. I have not yet posted the YKTTW because Sdrawkcab Name has a very long list of examples, and I will copy about half of those examples into the YKTTW. The full YKTTW may be longer than 10 or 20 screens.

"Sdrawkcab" is both bad for search engines and hard to spell - even the word it's derived from is sometimes spelled as backwords by less literate folks. We have precedent for renaming hard-to-spell tropes (Wryyyy to give one example - I hope I'm y's enough to have spelled the old name correctly), and there is no grandfather clause. I put that last part in boldface because the only reason to keep "Sdrawckab" is that it's been that way since this wiki started.

I may not be a major part of this wiki, but I've been here since 2009. I know what makes for a good trope name, and Sdrawckab Name is not a good trope name. It's simply an attempt to make the trope name self-demonstrating, which only leads to misuse and accidental redlinks.

As such, I support redefining and renaming to Meaningful Backwards Name or Meaningful Reversed Name. The alias counterpart would have the same name except with the last word replaced with "alias". In addition, the "meaningful" part of the name prevents misuse.

The fact that Sdrawkcab Name has over 800 wikilinks does not support your argument that people find it hard to use.

Leave this name alone. It's fine. If you want to work around a split trope is fine, but there is no reason to ditch this one.

"Bad for search engine" is also a meaningless argument, as we can have redirects. And, of course, Backwards Name is already one.

There are numerous reasons why opaque names are bad. "Hard to search for" is not one of them.

"Sdrawkcab" is hard to spell. So hard, "Sdrowkcab" (EDIT: and "Sdrawckab") is a common misspelling. I can only "Sdrawkcab" because I see it on this page. (By now, I have memorized S-draw-k-cab.) I like "Sdrawkcab" because the letters "sd" and "kc" look wrong in English, which is a major hint that someone scrambled the letters. But this is also the problem: any word with "sd" and "kc" is hard to spell.

Also: http://pastebin.com/4p14SYtJ is my current draft for "Sdrawkcab Alias". I will not post YKTTW until I finish copying the examples.

edited 2nd Dec '12 8:42:22 PM by Kernigh

For the record, Google indicates that "Sdrawkcab Name" has either been more or less fully absorbed into the Internet-lingo by now, or that it was a preexisting (though perhaps slang/colloquial) term to begin with.

YKTTW is here: Sdrawkcab Alias

Sdrawkcab Alias does not include any of the following:

• Names belong to two different characters, like Waldo and Odlaw.
• Name is a reversal of an actor's or writer's name.
• Backwards name is real name, like Tobor. Though Tobor is a robot, Tobor's name is not Robot.

Well, dang, the only examples I had were already on Sdrawkcab Name, and you spotted and grabbed them for the YKTTW. So I gave you a hat instead. :)

Not going to weigh in on the split or the name, except to vehemently veto any OTHER word being spelled backwards in a trope name.

"Sdrawkcab" is untiutive enough once you see it, because your brain goes, "Gibberish!...oh WAIT—" and makes the leap.

That would never happen with Svokehc, etc. For expert anagramers, perhaps; not for us mortals.

Exactly what I was going to say. Spelling backwards backwards is itself a common joke, so it's much more understandable. People don't even notice that Der Trihs is Red Shirt backwards quite a lot of the time, even though it doesn't make sense backwards. You really think they'd figure out vokehc?

I plan to launch the Sdrawkcab Alias YKTTW after I have enough hats.

Todo:

1. Launch the ykttw.
2. Redirect Backwards Alias to Sdrawkcab Alias.
3. Edit Sdrawkcab Name to adjust description (here is a draft) and cut examples that moved.
4. Edit Alucard to mention Sdrawkcab Alias.
5. Check and change links to Sdrawkcab Name.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to make those tropes so closely named. They are already sister tropes, so names that are so similar have a high chance of confusion.

Maybe we could use a name spelled backwards in the title?

How about replacing Alias with Ecila (Alice) or something?

edited 10th Dec '12 9:48:49 AM by Oreochan

I was thinking something like that. Like...Noel -> Leon Alias, for instance.

Ecila And Bob

To be honest, I agree with Lomerell and Mr Pod Person on this one - while people can parse "sdrawkcab" fairly easily, it's a lot harder to recognize other backwards words.

Just using Sdrawkcab Alias is fine with me. The names are similar but that's not that big of a deal.

I don't see a problem with Sdrawkcab Alias as long as Backwards Alias is a redirect. It's similar to Sdrawkcab Name because the trope is similar to Sdrawkcab Name; they're a closely-related supertrope and subtrope.