Cohousing-L Mailing List: Choosing a name

[Stuart Staniford-Chen (stanifor]

Tom Nelson Scott wrote:

[Two Acre Wood took numerous meetings to agree on a wonderful name].

>
> Secondly, does the condo model lend itself to more efficient cohousing
> decision procedures? Evidently not in all cases: Denise's condo-type
> community is evidence that a seemingly simple and straightforward task
> of selecting a name can drag on and on and on ... What hope have we
> for ever resolving more sensitive issues in more tightly knit
> organizations?

Actually, my feeling is that community name is one of the hardest  
issues.  Empirically, many groups have had a really hard time with it,  
and indeed there are several groups who have existed for years without  
being able to come to consensus on a name (I understand the communities  
commonly known as Pioneer Valley Cohousing and Berkeley Cohousing are  
both in this embarrasing predicament).

It's hard because
        * it's purely a matter of taste
        * compromises between two options tend to be far worse than either 
          option.
        * the name will be used daily for years to come and will have a
          major effect on how the community is perceived by strangers on 
          a first impression.  So it matters.
        * the connotations of a particular name will be quite different to 
          different people based on different personal and cultural
          background.

So, don't be surprised if your group has great difficulty.

If I were involved in a community which needed to choose a name, I think  
this is one of the *very* few cases where I would advocate "consensing  
to vote".  Do it in *one* meeting.

        * Have everyone brainstorm all the options they can think of in
          advance of the meeting and in the first twenty minutes.
        * Use a straw vote to pick a few favorites.
        * Talk about them for an hour and maybe generate a few more
          options.
        * Vote, choose the most popular (or maybe the least unpopular),
          and get on with your project.

Stuart.

Stuart Staniford-Chen
http://www.cohousing.org/
Cohousing Network Webweaver
"Consulting Member" of Marsh Commons and N St Cohousing.