I need a term for the LAN (Ethernet plus WiFi) other than “network” for a new quick browse list. I want to include all the threads on selecting a router, reducing Wi-Fi interference, VLANs, Etc., because I think there’s some really good forum threads on that stuff now and they’re really hard to find. Also we’re starting to get Samsung connect questions that have to do with the router piece, not the IOT piece. So I want to put all these on a quick browse list. But I’m not feeling well and I just am blanking out on what to call it. I don’t want to call it “networking issues” because that will confuse it with the zigbee and zwave networks.
Do you think “LAN” is good enough? Most people just use that for IP networks, right?
@slagle@vlad is there a preferred smartthings terminology for this now that the Samsung Connect Has been released?
I don’t want anyone to have to write a paragraph explaining the distinction every time they want to reference that list.
Kind of gets to the Ethernet+WiFi you mentioned and wouldn’t be confused for other types of networks. Not as clean-sounding as a single term would be, though.
I’m concerned people who don’t know network terms, like the typical Samsung Connect buyer, will get confused by the use of the term “network” included in that one. I think I’d rather just use “IP.” They won’t know what that means, but they’ll know that they don’t know, if that makes sense. So they can ask.
I’m concerned about the number of posts we have on topics like “heal the network” which are referring to the mesh network. I want to make sure that the Wi-Fi/Internet topics are seen as separate.
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
5
To encourage unambiguous terminology, when I reply to a question, I try to expand the term used.
eg. If the OP writes “network repair”, I use the words “Z-Wave network repair” and/or “ZigBee network repair heal”.
So rather than making up a new ambiguous term, we should use just the minimum available “words” that are accurate and unambiguous.
In this context, the applicable terms are roughly…
That’s fine, but I need something less than 16 characters to use for the quick browse list. Like I said, it can’t be a whole paragraph every time if we’re just referring to the list.
(BTW, there is no “zigbee mesh repair.” The repair utility is specific to zwave. For zigbee, it’s a “network heal.”)
No matter what you come up with for terminology it will never reach 100% of the people understanding it. Use the old 80 / 20 rule. Classifying and consolidating things that reaches and is understood by 80% would be as perfect as you get.
That’s a tough one, I think LAN is too technical for a layperson to understand. When we have network issues at home my wife always refers to the LAN as WiFi or “router”… Personal preference would be “Home Networking” but that has its downsides as well
3 Likes
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
15
Hence my suggestion to call it “LAN/WiFi” (but if “/” not allowed, use the word “or” or “and”)…
“WiFi” is interesting. It wouldn’t be 100 percent accurate, since a lot of times we are talking about ethernet instead, but it might help keep people from telling newfolk that their Samsung connect questions “don’t have anything to do with SmartThings.” And it’s simple, which has its advantages as well.
This is awesome. Sort of like having a meeting to decide what we’ll discuss in the meeting.
Not making fun. Just made me smile. I bet this turns in to some 1,000 post-long thread, hehe.
And just so I’m offering something more than smart-ass comments, I would go with “Router Network.” I feel most would get that.
4 Likes
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
19
My vote is for accuracy. We can always add a “Glossary FAQ”, and, in the meantime, folks can Google the term. If an inaccurate term is used then Google becomes useless and that’s not fair to readers.
Ethernet + WiFi = Internet Protocol Local Area Network … “IP LAN” for short; or add “and WiFi” in there for redundancy (but not inaccuracy). Best of all worlds.
A lot of the people who will be directed to this will not have found a glossary or the wiki or even much of the stuff in the forum to begin with. Some of them are people who have a Samsung connect and are just trying to figure out if they can set up a static IP address. Very early steps. I really want something which is obvious without needing footnotes or glossary entries, something that will jump out at them when they see the tag.
I like “router network” for that reason: it’s not inaccurate, but it has the advantage of being somewhat familiar even to people without much technical background. I’m also OK with “WiFi-and-LAN” for similar reasons.
But I think I like “router network” a little better just because as soon as you put “Wi-Fi” into it we’re going to get all the questions from people who have bought a Wi-Fi pocketsocket and want to know how to connect it to smartthings. And those don’t belong on this particular list.
One of my biggest problems, and I know this doesn’t affect most people, just the way my brain works, is someone who comes in and posts a brand new question and sticks a bunch of tags on it that don’t belong there. Like “devicetype” ( which is for code submissions) and “switch.“. That then messes up the archives for other people in the future.
I think if we use something like “router_network” for the new list then people are less likely to misuse that tag, Which is important if the quick browse lists are going to remain useful over time.
I understand there’s a potential small issue for people who have worked with zigbee before because, you know, “router”—But I think anybody who is using zigbee for home automation is already familiar with both uses of the term. It won’t surprise them any to see “router“ restricted to the IP context. Especially if it’s combined with “network.“
Short, specific, and should communicate well to people who do know the network terms.
