We need a new name for metas

[sharkicicles]

Now that Facebook is changing its name to Meta, I don't want my favorite type of puzzle to be confused with that company

[Meg]

Let’s ask Matt. I thought perhaps he had coined it, but no.

[whimsy]

I say: Sue the pants off Zuckerberg, Matt! Get a nice tidy sum for Ada and Big Brother's college funds!

[SReh26]

The gall! The audacity! (splutter, splutter) The temerity! The effrontery!

[Andrew Bradburn]

I'm not sure exactly how old the term 'meta' is, when used to mean the final answer to a puzzle or set of puzzles, but it goes back at least as far as the early MIT Mystery Hunts, the first of which was in 1981. So no, I don't think Matt coined it, and I highly doubt he would take credit for it. But it is unfortunate that Mr. Zuckerberg chose that word for his rebranding.

[SReh26]

I say we keep the name and ignore FB and all its iterations.

Or we can congratulate ourselves for being ahead even of big tech.

[MajordomoTom]

I say we ignore FB, as we all should have been doing all along.

Anyone here remember:
Geocities?
MySpace?
Altavista?
Ask Jeeves?
CompuServe?

FaceBook (or facepalm or any other derisive nickname) is the next one on the list, just you wait and just you see. It might take a bit longer, but it will eventually go into the internet rubbish bin with all of its brethren.

I avoid it, like the plague that it is.

[madhatter5]

I think "Crossword hunt" would sound cool as well

[SReh26]

Probably the term meta is in the public domain as it is a prefix that means basically next level. I’m not an intellectual property lawyer, but FB might not be able to trademark that name anyway, much less prevent us from using it. Conversely, assuming no one claimed IP rights to the term, we or Dow Jones may not be able to prevent FB from using it. Any IP lawyers in the house who can weigh in?