# Naming like a 1972 IBM engineer (2026-10-03)

**URL:** <https://pluralist.net/t/naming-like-a-1972-ibm-engineer-2026-10-03/349>\
**Category:** Code Reading\
**Created:** [October 4, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://pluralist.net/t/naming-like-a-1972-ibm-engineer-2026-10-03/349 "2026-10-04T02:27:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![delyan](https://pluralist.net/user_avatar/pluralist.net/delyan/32/245_2.png) [@delyan](https://pluralist.net/u/delyan)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://pluralist.net/t/naming-like-a-1972-ibm-engineer-2026-10-03/349/1 "2026-10-04T02:27:07Z")

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We, here at the Pluralist Network, love [this naming rule](https://x.com/usgraphics/status/2096869949520453957) from **Neil Panchal** of [U.S. Graphics Company](https://usgraphics.com/):

> Every name you choose, for files, scripts, directories, functions, variables, classes, commits, branches, anything, must use precise professional vocabulary. Choose the word a 1972 IBM engineer would write in a specification. No slang, no casual shorthand, no cute or clever names, no words borrowed from chat culture. This applies universally, not only to the one example that follows: a script that deploys dashboards is `deploy_dashboards.sh`, not `push_dashboards.sh`. That is one illustration of the principle, not the extent of it.

The 1972 IBM engineer is a wonderful reference point. You can almost see and smell the manual. Someone chose each word carefully and thoughtfully because someone else would have to operate the machine.

`deploy_dashboards.sh` tells us what the script does. With `push_dashboards.sh`, there is still a question: push them where, and for what purpose?

We’ve added this to our global `AGENTS.md` for the coding agents we use. Files, functions, variables, commits, branches - we want to understand them when we come back months later.