back to article Audacity users stick the knife – and fork – in to strip audio editor of unwanted features

Contributors disgruntled with the recent direction of cross-platform FOSS audio software Audacity are forking the sound editor to a version that does not have the features or requirements that have upset some in the community. One such project can be found on GitHub, with user "cookiengineer" proclaiming themselves "evil …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

    Audy McAudioface? :-)

    Sorry.

    1. Lon24

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      TINA - This Is Not Audacity aka There Is No Alternative

      1. fidodogbreath

        Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

        I vote for Gentility.

        1. MiguelC Silver badge

          Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

          Audelicious?

      2. CountCadaver Silver badge

        Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

        How about a squiggle with the unofficial name being "The app previously known as Audacity"

        or "NotAudacity

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

          Audacity Is Not Tainted, or AINT, ie it AINT Audacity :-)

        2. Stoneshop

          Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

          TAPKAA

          Yes, that may work.

      3. Jamesit

        Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

        TINA - TINA Is Not Audacity

    2. jason_derp

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      "Sorry."

      Emoticons are a little early oughts...

    3. Sam Therapy

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      Forky McForkface

      1. jason_derp

        Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

        "Forky McForkface"

        Watch out! Maintaining a fork can get you knifed!

    4. Ingenity

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      "The Audacity"

      Nothing quite like having The Audacity

    5. Stoneshop
      Thumb Up

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      Suicidal Insanity, as the next name in the line of Galactic Fleet Battleships after Audacity.

      1. Glenturret Single Malt

        Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

        My suggestion is Audax which is the Latin word for bold and the root from which audacity is derived. My only concern is that the owners of Audacity think that it is too similar.

    6. torquemada71

      Re: Certainly, it can't be called "Audacity"

      FKAA (pronounced F-ker)

      Formerly known as Audacity?

  2. John Robson Silver badge

    Auda-town?

    Auda-village?

  3. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Oh!dacity...

  4. fuzzie

    Audiance

    Audio + Ambiance ?

    1. cornetman Silver badge

      Re: Audiance

      I really like that.

      1. Youngone Silver badge

        Re: Audiance

        Me too. V clever.

        1. ThatOne Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          Re: Audiance

          Me too, it's elegant and most of all, serious sounding.

          That name might not attract cheers in forums for it's fun or cleverness, but the program has to live with it for the rest of its life, and people have to be able to talk about it to other people who aren't specifically looking for puns and general smart-alecness. The GIMP was harmed a lot by its name.

          1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

            Re: Audiance

            I too like the name - but the first thing I thought of when I saw it was my diabetes drug Jardiance...

    2. Pantagoon

      Re: Audiance

      How very dare you to take this seriously.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oi! Dacity!..

    "... You might be free and have a bunch of handy options that make sound editing a breeze (or more accurately, that look a bit crap really but at least it's free) but that's no excuse for prying on your cheapskate customers and their perfectly legitimate uses for your handy but cluncky looking software!"

    Yours,

    Frank Doberman

  6. Sam Adams the Dog

    How about "Audible City"?

    How about "Audible City"?

    1. Soruk

      Re: How about "Audible City"?

      Sadly, Amazon might have a thing or two to say about that.

  7. fidodogbreath

    I'm just glad to see people outside of IT pushing back hard against the ever-encroaching "telemetry" threat.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Agreed that it's good non-tech people are pushing back. For too long telemetry has been used for reasons that are not just to improve the user's experience. I didn't read the privacy policy for Audacity, so I can't speak specifically to that case.

      But I know from looking at several FLOSS projects (Moodle, Lyx) that the way the developers figure out if/how a feature is being used is to send email to the developer list to ask people (usually developers, who are incredibly biased) what they think about such and such feature. That is such a backwards way to evaluate functions compared to tracking how users work (research in UX will show you that you have to observe users using the software if you want to get useful information). I only wish there was some way for FLOSS to use telemetry for true anonymous data to improve features without trust being doubted. Thanks Facebook/Google/Microsoft/Adobe/etc.

  8. Muckminded

    Some Auptions

    Tuning Fork

    Super Happy Audio Tinkerer

    Audabull

    Sagacity

    Space Audity

    The Last Strawdacity

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Some Auptions

      @Muckminded

      Super Happy Audio Tinkerer… SHAT?

    2. gobaskof
      Pint

      Re: Some Auptions

      "Tuning Fork" - This, in my mind, is perfect! Have a pint!

    3. chubby_moth

      Re: Some Auptions

      "Tuning Fork" is a great name.

  9. Nifty Silver badge

    Audacious Gracious

  10. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    Audacifork?

  11. Ozzard
    Thumb Up

    "Pluck" wins for me

    Congratulations, Richard - I reckon a name that is closely related to Audacity, the plucking of a project out of the jaws of the Muse group, and plucking of stringed instruments is an excellent choice. And therefore guaranteed not to be the one chosen :-(.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "number of 4chan users elected to launch a raid on it."

    Protecting good guy Muse Group? Hah, how bizarre those 4chan kids are.

    I like Audacious because it is close to Audacity. And thus a good "fsck you guys!".

    However, a clear separation would possibly be better in the long run so new users don't accidentally download the obsolete Audacity rather than the proper modern alternative.

    1. John Gamble

      Muse Group "Defenders"

      I took a look at the timelines of the people who were attacking Cookie Engineer and surprise! I found the standard combination of anime and porn posts that indicate bot accounts, at least to me. So who knows who's actually on the attack here.

      This is not the only Audacity fork out there, and I'm curious as to how those accounts are also being treated.

    2. staringatclouds

      Audacious - https://www.audacious-media-player.org/

      Sorry, that's taken

  13. SUDO-SU

    Audiotron

    Audio City

    WaveRider

  14. wub

    Bodacious

    Or am I showing my age too blatantly?

    Supposedly coined from both "bold" and "audacious": how could Bill and Ted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_And_Ted%27s_Excellent_Adventure) have given us less than awesome guidance? Even the Urban Dictionary shows positive associations.

    1. Stu Wilson

      Re: Bodacious

      No way!

      Dude!! Yes Way!

      Damn, I was gonna post that one but you beat me, sniff. have a upvote or three

    2. Teiwaz

      Re: Bodacious

      Just riffing off that....

      Bodasity?

      Bodaudia

      Bodaudio

      Audilicious

      Audiliciousity

    3. Sam_B.

      Re: Bodacious

      Yes, Bodacity was my first thought, but both Tuning Fork and Pluck are good too.

  15. the lad

    people seem to be using the "sh" sound lately

    Audaschity?

  16. 89724102172714182892114I7551670349743096734346773478647892349863592355648544996312855148587659264921
  17. CountCadaver Silver badge

    I vote for any of the following: Agammenon, Apocalyse, Annihilation, Armageddon

    or Expletive, Exclamation

  18. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Linux

    I suggested AudioCity myself, no takers though :(

    It seems a daft point, but they really need to pick a name that's not going to sound too geeky to ordinary folk.

    1. ThomH

      There goes my suggestion of FreeLibre86 Extended Improved Classic.

  19. Philip Stott

    Audacity-Fu?

  20. keithpeter Silver badge
    Childcatcher

    Windows/MacOS build of fork-to-be-named how to publicise?

    Linux distros will turn off the telemetry for version 3.03 and above anyway, guaranteed[1], so the privacy notice won't apply. Muse/Audacity project has been quite clear that telemetry applies only to binaries directly downloaded.

    So the thing now is how to make sure that schools &c know where to get the no-(telemetry/crash reporting/any form of talking to network) versions from when they get around to upgrading from the version 2.x they are probably using at present. That will be the Windows/MacOS binaries which I assume are mostly downloaded from the main project web site.

    Icon: it would be a shame to lose this software from school/college machines. Longer term: a simple to use multitracking audio editor that is just for *local* use would be great.

    [1] example from the slackbuilds project (Slackware) - scroll down to last part of post

    https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/just-in-time-for-15-audacity-becomes-spyware-maybe-4175697320/#post6264269

    Debian experimental page for audacity - they are still looking at the released version 3.02 that does not have the crash report/tracking built in but that will change over the next few months I imagine.

    https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/audacity

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Windows/MacOS build of fork-to-be-named how to publicise?

      "Linux distros will turn off the telemetry for version 3.03 and above anyway,"

      Mmmmmm I think the opposite. Microsoft's VSCode is a increasingly popular example of this, you still have to untick the box. While in a grey area, even base Ubuntu assumes that you want to "report", otherwise the prompt to send would never appear (yeh that's a grey area, but still there's something there). I just assume everything wants to spy in some manner now days.

      1. ThatOne Silver badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Windows/MacOS build of fork-to-be-named how to publicise?

        > I just assume everything wants to spy in some manner now days.

        Indeed, it's the new normal: You were bred and raised to be monetized.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Soundberg

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Windows

      I like it but perhaps it is a tad close to hindenberg (a proprietary multitrack audio recorder specialised for radio journalism and spoken voice).

      https://hindenburg.com/

      I was thinking more of Melba or Caruso.

      Icon: no old man icon so the tramp will have to do

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Hindenburg

        Hindenburg? Oh, the humanity, they actually did intentionally go there with that reference. Yes, it was a long time ago, but I still can't help but think that that's in rather poor taste.

        1. keithpeter Silver badge

          Re: Hindenburg

          (radio) journalists? Taste? Best of luck with that

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Hindenburg

          Maybe they thought it a good idea because not was it before they were born, but quite probably before their parents were born. It's "just" history. For those of us a bit older, it still feels wrong, maybe because we are closer to it time/generations.

          After all, there are increasingly large numbers of people in the UK celebrating the terrorist uprising in the colonies back in the 1770's :-)

        3. Soruk

          Re: Hindenburg

          They even attempt to justify the name...

          https://hindenburg.com/about#/why-hindenburg

  22. Irony Deficient

    back to the etymological roots

    Since “audacity” comes from Latin audeo (which is unrelated to “audio”, which came from Latin audio), perhaps Audemus (“we are prepared, we dare/have courage, we act boldly, we venture/risk”, even “we are eager for battle”)?

    1. Sam_B.

      Re: back to the etymological roots

      Nice: a well constructed fork of the original name both close enough to imply the link but different enough not to be mistaken. Also still has the hint of Audio and an added one for Music.

      1. Irony Deficient

        Re: back to the etymological roots

        You’re giving far too much credit to the suggestion of a bog-standard Latin word. (Audeo means “I am prepared, I dare/have courage, &c.”; audemus is simply the plural form of audeo.)

        Since AUDACITY® is a registered trademark in the USA (if not elsewhere) that is now owned by Muse Group, and given that Muse Group filed for a US trademark on the Audacity headphones logo a few months ago, perhaps a moose mascot/logo would be suitably punning for a product named Audemus.

  23. jake Silver badge

    Call it Modesty.

    The collective noun of Modesty users could be an annoyance.

    As for the 4chan lusers, clean up their mess without commenting or otherwise acknowledging that they are shitting all over the place. All they are looking for is a reaction, don't give them one and they will go away. Or, in the word of the Profit "If you feed the trolls, you get to keep them."

    1. Irony Deficient

      The collective noun of Modesty users

      Surely “a blush of Modesty users”?

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: The collective noun of Modesty users

        The Modesty I had in mind didn't have time for much blushing.

  24. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    I propose Cheeky.

    For what it's worth.

  25. WizardOfVegtablesAndPeace

    I think the fork should be called...."MONKEY FIST!"

    Its the best name you have never thought of.

    1. W.S.Gosset
      Pint

      Monkey Fist

      Speak for yourself -- they're mates of mine! And yes, they bring the knot to the gigs.

      https://www.amazon.com/Boardroom-Monkeys-Fist/dp/B00LQ8I3M2

      Oh, look, listenable tracks: try Arfur Chewn

      Or Mina's Wedding

      1. WizardOfVegtablesAndPeace

        Re: Monkey Fist

        Splendid!

        Should be more monkeys in the world.

        MONKEY POWERRRRRRRRR!

      2. ICL1900-G3

        Re: Monkey Fist

        Thanks, they're really good.

        1. W.S.Gosset
          Windows

          OT: re ICL

          ...just saw your username...

          You might enjoy a massive memory-fest from these 2 books: ICL Anthology I & II:

          http://bitsandbytes.shedlandz.co.uk/hc_books.htm/ Also the Fujitsu newsletters there have some good stories, eg the chap measuring voltage by hand -- as in placing his hand across bus bars.

          (Actually ANYone will like those books. Lots of little stories and insights. Great for dipping in&out of. I particularly like Charles Dickens's grandson's magnificent management style.)

          Plus some obscure bitching re sneaky tricks here on this site.

          PS: "they're really good" -- yes, they are, aren't they? Even better live. And did you twig that the wind instrument is a penny whistle? :D

    2. David Woodhead

      I think the fork should be called...."MONKEY FIST!"

      I seriously recommend that you don't type this into a search engine.

      That is all.

      1. Grinning Bandicoot

        What a red flag! My monkey curiosity immediately started and soon I will die if I don't capitulate!

  26. Martin Summers Silver badge

    Auspicious

    "conducive to success; favourable"

  27. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

    Icbina

    "I can't believe it's not Audacity".

  28. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    The way to sucess

    Judging by all the suggestions here in the comments, this is bound to be a success because what all projects need are good names and logos.

    Or, it might be that the project with the best UX succeeds… And that's going to take quite a bit more work.

    1. ThomH

      Re: The way to sucess

      Audacity already has a pretty great total user experience: the user doesn't have to supply any cash to get hold of it, and then finds quite a lot of content about how to use it effectively.

      Though the UI could use some work.

  29. WizardOfVegtablesAndPeace

    YACUDATI

    "YAH-COO-DAH-TEE"

  30. Me.I.Am

    NoDacity

    ForkDacity

    FreeDacity

    1. ThomH

      Prophets of Da City.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    0rdassET

  32. 7teven 4ect

    Audinkums

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What's with the stupid names?

    "Audio Editor" and be done with it.

    1. Irony Deficient

      Re: What’s with the stupid names?

      There’s already an audio editor that’s named Audio Editor (JavaScript required; scroll down to the “Other Products” section of the page).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What’s with the stupid names?

        Audio Editor #2 ?:-)

  34. 89724102172714182892114I7551670349743096734346773478647892349863592355648544996312855148587659264921

    The Audicator

    ...it's BACK!

  35. The Central Scrutinizer

    The Open Source Sound Engineer and Recorder, or TOSSER.

    Reverb maybe?

  36. Blackjack Silver badge

    Are the names "Auda" or "Aouda" taken?

    That's the name of a woman in Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne that was saved from getting killed when her husband died.

  37. godanov

    pluck anyone who forks audacity it is theft pure and simple, if you are to stupid to write your own software then tough

    1. jake Silver badge

      Rather childish troll attempt, or just unclear on the concept? Hard to say.

  38. W.S.Gosset

    Audassacoffee.

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Now, here's what I want to know: By tracking my locations around town, can Audacity infer that I've been buying weed and that I'm currently smoking a joint while listening to the music? More importantly, will it call the cops?

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Aperdatchery

    ; )

    I like it

  41. arachnoid2

    ReSounder

    AudioFile

  42. Chronos
    Devil

    !Audacity

    Following the current trend of sticking punctuation in names (Cee'd, Up! for cars) with the added bonus of only true escapists will be able to install it.

    Or we could just call it what most people have been calling it for years: Thatsoundeditorthingywithroundbuttons-youknowtheone-yeahthat'sit.deb

    1. Soruk

      Re: !Audacity

      That would be the RISC OS port.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: !Audacity

        @"That would be the RISC OS port." and suggestive of alternative name "pling"

  43. ForthIsNotDead
    Coat

    I vote for...

    TuningFORK

  44. waldo kitty
    Boffin

    perhaps NTAT?

    NTAT == No Telemetry Audio Tool

  45. Richtea

    Call it 'Eleven'

    As in 'Turn it up to Eleven'

  46. Monty Cantsin

    Audacean People's Front

  47. staringatclouds

    How about something like "Harmony" as it's an antonym of "Audacity"

  48. Son 1

    I vote for

    INTREPIDITY

  49. C. Fuhrman

    Not Dacity

    or NaughtDacity?

  50. DrReD

    Soundacity

    Soundscape

  51. DrReD

    Soundacity

    Soundacity sounds as well as Audacity.

  52. DrReD

    Soundscape

    Soundscape is even better and can become: Soundscape Studio, 2S Studio, etc.

  53. drankinatty

    This is why we can't have nice things.

    "This is why we can't have nice things".sums it up nicely. When the corrupting green-eyed monster greed is turned to an open source project, a majority fail miserably. Anybody remember Mandrake Linux? Kudos to the currently named "tenacity team" for a job well done with the fork and removal of the collection and tracking code that has no business in a FOSS project. Regardless of whether Muse intended the compilation of the tracking code to be optional, the binaries were built with it enabled. It is a bit disengenuous to say "the tracking and data collection is optional" when disabling it requires building the entire project from source -- something only a small fraction of people can do. The F-bomb was rightfully dropped in this case.

  54. martinusher Silver badge

    Not a new problem

    This isn't the first time people have issued adware infested applications -- early versions just enabled annoying pop-ups, though, rather than the intrusive 'analytics' that they now want to collect.

    What I can't figure out is how Audacity users would form a distinct enough class of people to warrant collecting marketing information about. I guess the Internet marketing business is probably 95% froth caused by a mass of believers who all support each others' efforts less one unbeliever causes the edifice to collapse so every bit of data is precious, no matter how useless it actually is.

  55. pamidic

    Name

    What about 'Cityaudio'? Cheecky enough?

  56. AlexdG

    AudioEditor

    AudioTricks

    AudioMaster

  57. Col_Panek

    Chutzpah?

    or maybe ... balls?

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