RE: Hive...? Or can we choose a different name?
It's a name, one that people are familiar with on steem, and yes there is a lot of negativity that can be associated with it, just as the symbol for the Nazi partyy the swastika went from representing peace and love from many nations and disparate cultures separated by seas and oceans, to a symbol of hatred and loathing by a large part of the world.
My view of the name/word Hive: We are protecting our liberty, not a queen or a king, but we the members are fighting for, feeding, building, and protecting that which we cherish most, our freedom. Take the word, sow a new meaning a new side of it, one that fits.
My choice of a name would be laughed at by most: BTFT, Building Tomorrows Future Today. I fully understand why the quietude on the part of blocktrades, and not wanting to hint at what they are planing. I think it is an option, and am mostly there with it, more will be known tomorrow with their official post.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts bashadow. I agree with your sentiments in general and yeah you can find ways to look at a hive positively, though, the potential implications to freedom and the loss of individuality are also concerning. Hive is not what I think of when I think of freedom, I never once have thought that in my life and it is often used in the opposite sense. But... More than my own personal opinion about the name what I feel more strongly about here is that the community should have been allowed to decide instead of it basically happening in backroom deals in private... I thought that's what we were trying to get away from, yet the new chain has it's birth in such? That's concerning. I hope I'm wrong and that everything goes wonderfully, though, this gives me a not so good feeling.
Also, I like your name more than Hive. BTFT sounds a lot more positive and inspirational and uplifting.
I like steem more too, so yeah. I'm definitely a bit disappointed that it seems like our name which is an important signal to bring more people in is what it is and that it was decided without us in secret basically. shrug.