Help needed naming a website

Community Larp discussion
#1

Howdy,

I’ve been designing a website about LARP costuming, one that’s intended to be a resource for n00bs and experienced LARPers alike. It’s an attempt to make a world-class reference for people looking at making/putting together costumes, as well as finding resources and inspiration.

I’m at the point where I’m looking to purchase a domain and I need help with the actual name of the site. The problem I’m running into is making it not sound like a shop. There will most certainly be links to suppliers on there, but the main purpose is information, not commerce.

Sooo… I’d love your suggestions for a name/URL that has the right terms in it to get the point across. Some ideas I have so far:

larpkit.net
larpcostuming.net
diylarpcostume.net
larpkitguide.net
larpcostumeguide.net

… Any of these stand out? Do you have any other suggestions that come to mind?

(Note: If you’ve contributed how-to guides on Diatribe, I may be contacting you in the future to see if you’d like to contribute to this site as well, but that’ll be down the track … ).

#2

I like the sound of Larpkit or Larpkitguide.net, myself. No other suggestions springing to mind at the moment, but that may just be the Post-Chimera Lurgy. If I have any flashes of brilliance, I’ll let you know.

Edit: Also, this is a great idea!

#3

Thanks Dave :slight_smile:

I like having the word ‘guide’ in there, as that (in my mind) will help distinguish it from a store.

Is “kit” a universal word, do you think? It wasn’t one I was familiar with until I moved to NZ.

#4

As a n00b lol, larpkitguide stood out to me

#5

[quote=“amphigori”]Thanks Dave :slight_smile:

I like having the word ‘guide’ in there, as that (in my mind) will help distinguish it from a store.

Is “kit” a universal word, do you think? It wasn’t one I was familiar with until I moved to NZ.[/quote]Perhaps ‘gear’ instead of kit? Or is that equally unfamiliar in other countries? I agree that putting guide (or maybe guides, to emphasise the intended one-stop-reference nature of the site) is a good idea.

#6

Hmmm. larpgearguides.net …

Dunno how widely-used ‘gear’ is compared to ‘kit’. It seems to me that kit is used here and in the UK and in Europe - so if it’s just the US who isn’t familiar with that maybe it’s time they come to the party!

(Like, uh, with the metric system! :smiley: )

#7

i always thought ‘kit’ meant ‘a package providing everything’ so to me it would imply the site also would include roleplay and gm tips and all kinds of bits. i’dd stick to words associated with clothing specificly.

unless you’re also including props…

and weapons?

#8

How about “larpmode” ?

Its catchy and easy to remember. But you’d have to add an explanatory sentence like
"your guide to larp costuming with style!!!"

Or whatever you would like to put.

Anyway… Just a random thought.

#9

Props and weapons, likely (which means ‘kit’ would be a better word than ‘costume’ I guess).

#10

Hee hee :smiley:

When I read larpmode I thought “Larp Mode was yesterday, today I’m in Real Life Mode” (which isn’t nearly as fun as when I’m in in larp mode!

#11

larp chic…

because geek is chic

#12

I really like the name Larpkit over Larpkitguide. I think it works better as a sort of brand name’ as its easier to say and its shorter. I really don’t think that using the word kit will create much of an issue as people coming to the site mostly will know what it is about before they arrive and any advertising is likely to include more information than just the name and web address. Kit also works well because, as someone said before, it allows you to expand into things that aren’t quite costume (weapons, tools, knick knacks etc)

I also think this is a great idea Jackie :smiley:

#13

Really appreciate everyone’s feedback so far.

larpkit.net was my first choice - and then I started over-thinking it and got all muddled :smiley:

I suppose there’s no real harm in someone stumbling across the URL on it’s own, clicking on it thinking it’s a store, and finding out it’s not so much a store but a guide (that will have links to stores!)

The metadata of the page will be set up appropriately enough so when it’s displayed in search results it’ll be described as a guide.

And in a way the name describes exactly what the site is about: LARP kit.

But keep the comments and suggestions coming. And thanks again.

#14

I agree with TimeTraveller (and you afterwards) - larpkit.net is catchy and “guessable” and both of those things are important to having a memorable site name. Plus you can spread “Your Guide to All Things Larp” all over the site header and meta tags so it’ll come up on the search engines :slight_smile:

#15

Thanks! And thank you for making me all knowledgeable about .net vs .com vs .org! :slight_smile:

#16

Right-o! After sleeping on it, I’m really happy with larpkit.net so I’m going with that.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed feedback to the name. I’ll likely be in touch with people at a future date to see if you’d like to contribute to the site (but that’s a bit down the track). And if there’s anything you especially think you’d like to see on a site like this, drop me a PM!

Thanks again,

Jackie