Standardizing Bitcoin Terminology

[etotheipi]

As I get deeper and deeper into Armory feature development, I find myself making names for things in Bitcoin which are really just dull descriptions of what they are.  Such as "watching-only wallets".  And "tx distribution proposal".  Things like "deterministic wallets" and "Hierarchical deterministic wallets" are great enginerd phrases, but I think fewer syllables and less-fancy words are needed.  If we can make them a little sexy, too, that would be great.  

Additionally, these things are not consistent between clients.  I just found out that Armory uses "Watching-only wallets" and Electrum uses "Deseeded wallets".   I really think the community would benefit from having a consistent terminology that can be learned once via a glossary put on the bitcoin.org webpage, and then new users have a way to learn what all these crazy concepts are about.  Also, some of these things are future concepts for which it wouldn't hurt to agree to it before any devs implement them.

So, I'm going to create a dynamic list of things here that I think need standardized names, and update it with the recommendations of subsequent posters.  I'm okay rebranding the concepts in Armory (I'll throw in a pop-up window on the next upgrade with a link to a glossary).  I hope that devs of other clients (Multibit, Electrum, Android apps, etc) will entertain the idea of changing their apps if these standardized names make sense.  


Top contenders are bolded.  Other options are listed to get neurons firing about other names.

(A)  

• Concept:  "Regular" wallets kept on an online computer, encrypted or not.  It may be acceptable to have a couple different names for this, given it's broadness.
• Candidates:  "Online Wallet", "Regular Wallet", "Hot wallet", "Full Wallet"

(B)  

• Concept: "Offline wallet" -- a wallet for which the private only exist on an internet-detached computer
• Candidates: "Offline Wallet" "Cold Wallet", "Detached Wallet", "Air-gapped wallet"

(C)  

• Concept: The concept of keeping your private keys offline (the previous term should probably be related to this)
• Candidates:  "Offline Storage", "Cold Storage", "Cryo", "Detached Storage"

(D1)  

• Concept:  "Watching-only wallets" -- a wallet containing no private key data, only public keys and/or addresses for watching balances
• Candidates:  "Observer wallet", "Receiving Wallet", "Deseeded wallet" (Electrum term), "One-way wallet", "Hollow wallet", "Skeleton Wallet"

(D2)  

• Concept:  "Full wallet" (when distinguishing from a "watch-only" wallet)
• Candidates:  "Full Wallet", "Private Wallet", "Complete Wallet"

(E1)  

• Concept:  "Deterministic wallets" -- this is just far too nerdy: it describes exactly what it is, but is a word that no foreigner would know (or even pronounce), and this is pretty much meaningless to new users who don't understand what is "deterministic" about the wallet or what is the alternative.
• Candidates:  "Chained wallet", "Calculated wallet",  "Permanent wallet", "Crystal wallet", "Pre-determined wallet","Single-branch wallet"

(E2)  

• Concept:  "Non-deterministic wallets" -- This is what Bitcoin-Qt uses right now, and should be deprecated.
• Candidates:  "Loose-Key Wallet", "Old-style wallet", "Random Wallet", "JBOK (Jay-Bock) wallet" (just a bunch of keys)

(F)  

• Concept:  "Hierarchical Deterministic wallets" -- same as above, but this one is even worse
• Candidates:  "Branched wallet"

(G)  

• Concept:  Linked wallets -- multiple wallets that represent a single entity via multi-signature transactions -- i.e. Computer has wallet A, smartphone has wallet B.  All receiving addresses are P2SH addresses.  These two wallets are:
• Candidates:  "2-way linked wallets", "Sister wallets", "Sibling wallets", "Multi-signature wallets", "Paired wallets", "Partial wallets"

(H)  

• Concept:  "Transaction Distribution Proposal" -- multi-signature transactions will require passing an unsigned/partially-signed transaction between parties to be signed.  This piece of data/file proposes how the funds from a multi-signature transaction should be distributed.  Parties may accept the proposal by signing it.
• Candidates:  "Transfer Order", "Distribution", "Proposal", "Distro", "Prop"

(I)  

• Concept:   Pre-broadcast Tranasction ID:  the "transaction distribution proposal" above needs a way to be referenced, but you can't use its official "Transaction ID" because you don't know it until all signatures are acquired.  I'm thinking it would simply be the hash of the transaction without all the TxIn scripts blanked.
• Candidates:    ??, "Pre-broadcast ID", "Distribution/Distro ID", "Proposal/Prop ID", "Temporary ID"

(J)  

• Concept:  Multi-signature transactions -- any transaction spending coins that require multiple signatures  
• Candidates:  "Multi-sig tx", "Multi-party tx", "Joint transaction"

(K)  

• Concept:  Multi-signature encumbered coins -- any funds currently requiring multiple signatures  
• Candidates:  "Encumbered funds", "Joint funds"

(L)  

• Concept:  "bitcoin:" links/URLs
• Candidates:  "Bitcoin URLs", " \"bitcoin:\" links", "Clickable Addresses"
  

[casascius]

How about we work to rename non-deterministic wallets as "loose key collections" or "JBOK's" (just-a-bunch-of-keys) and give them the mouthful name as part of effort to deprecate them?  Then, at some point, just set the expectation that a "wallet" is something where backing it up once is just a normal feature, just like the way you expect italicized text to be a feature of a "word processor".

For the concept of observing, I would totally avoid using the term "wallet".  I'd almost call it a "watch file".

For what you're calling a "transaction distribution proposal", I would just call it a "transaction proposal".

[etotheipi]

How about we work to rename non-deterministic wallets as "loose key collections" or "JBOK's" (just-a-bunch-of-keys) and give them the mouthful name as part of effort to deprecate them?  Then, at some point, just set the expectation that a "wallet" is something where backing it up once is just a normal feature, just like the way you expect italicized text to be a feature of a "word processor".

I do agree with that.  At some point in the future, I hope that JBOK wallets will no longer exist (except in history, and maybe specific, specialized applications).  And then we don't need to differentiate them.  But maybe it still warrants having a "long name" for them, anyway.  Especially since they still need to be distinguished from HD wallets.  Maybe: "Single-branch wallet" 

[BCB]

+1 for this.

I think Tangible Cryptology had a good post requesting standardizing or at least clarifying some of the bitcoind api calls as well.

I strongly fee the the term for a bitcoin public key - "bitcoin address" is very misleading.  It belies the fact that you require a private key to control the bitcoin which has been the bane for more then a few newbies.



 

[casascius]

How about we work to rename non-deterministic wallets as "loose key collections" or "JBOK's" (just-a-bunch-of-keys) and give them the mouthful name as part of effort to deprecate them?  Then, at some point, just set the expectation that a "wallet" is something where backing it up once is just a normal feature, just like the way you expect italicized text to be a feature of a "word processor".

I do agree with that.  At some point in the future, I hope that JBOK wallets will no longer exist (except in history, and maybe specific, specialized applications).  And then we don't need to differentiate them.  But maybe it still warrants having a "long name" for them, anyway.  Especially since they still need to be distinguished from HD wallets.  Maybe: "Single-branch wallet" 

Are JBOK wallets branched at all?

Is the user distinction between branching necessary?  Perhaps ought the names simply be numbers instead?  For example, users know that *.mp3 and *.wma are both audio files, and they have clear technical distinctions and competing advantages beyond the user's need-to-know, but what the user does need to know is whether his player plays the same kind of files he has.  Meanwhile, the file extension has absolutely nothing to do with the specific technical merits of the file formats.  So I might suggest calling all of them "wallets" in a basic sense, and putting some careful thought into the file extension.

If hierarchical deterministic wallets were typically saved with a *.bcw (bitcoinwallet) extension, then he might come to learn he has a "bcw" wallet instead of a "dat" wallet, and he therefore enjoys XYZ features, the same way someone saving a "png" file knows he enjoys certain features not available in a "gif" file.

[Carlton Banks]

I always thought "one way wallet" sounded better than "watching only wallet". Not only is it shorter on syllables, it's alliterative too (well, phonetically!)

[etotheipi]

I always thought "one way wallet" sounded better than "watching only wallet". Not only is it shorter on syllables, it's alliterative too (well, phonetically!)

I am a big fan of "observer" wallet, as Eliel proposed in IRC.  But you're right that it doesn't quite capture the fact that you can "do" something with that wallet (generate addresses, receive money).  I'll add "one-way wallet" to the list.  Though I bet there's an even better term for it, that explains which way it goes

[2112]

[Author unknown to me, I think this is an old USENET joke]

Yesterday, I helped my mother-in-law get set up on email for the first time. She got frustrated from time to time. Upon reflection, I decided that frustration was perfectly understandable. Imagine trying to learn to write a letter for the first time …
 
Me: Ok, to write a letter, the first thing you need is a piece of paper and a pen.
 
Tarzan: What are those?
 
Me: Paper is flat stuff that is made from tree pulp, sort of like a very small blackboard. Pens are sticks that write, sort of like chalk but smaller and in darker colors.
 
Tarzan: Is this paper?
 
Me: Ah, yes, that is paper, but you dont want to write a letter on that, thats my paycheck.
 
Tarzan: Why cant I use this?
 
Me: Well, thats a representation of money that I … uh, never mind. Just dont write on that. Look, heres a piece of paper that you can write on.
 
Tarzan: What about a pen?
 
Me: Pens are like little sticks. Do you see anything on this desk that
 looks
 like a little stick? Uh, no, thats a ruler. Rulers are for measuring things. Uh, no, thats a toothpick, its for cleaning teeth, I dont know why its on my desk. Look, heres a pen.
 
Tarzan: That doesnt look like a little stick! Its grey. Little sticks are brown.
 
Me: I meant little stick metaphorically. Just use this. Uh, you have to take the cap off first. Ok, now write Dear Mom on the paper. Wait, you want to rotate the paper so that the short side is at the top and the long side comes towards you.
 
Tarzan: Why?
 
Me: Well, thats just how its done. I suppose you could do it the other way, but it would look a little funny. Ok, now write Dear Mom on the – oh, no, at the top. Well, never mind, we can just throw this one away and start over. Thats right, Dear Mom at the top. Then the rest of the letter.
 
Tarzan: Ok, Ive finished the letter! Can we go hunting now?
 
Me: Well, you arent really done. I mean, you are done with the letter, but now you have to send it. You need to put the letter in an envelope next. An envelope is a piece of paper that is all folded up to hide and protect the letter. Uh, no, put my paycheck down, we dont want to fold it into an envelope.
 
Tarzan: Wouldnt that work?
 
Me: Well, yeah, it would *work*, but it isnt the best way to do it, and besides, I want to keep my paycheck. Look, just put your letter into this envelope here.
 
Tarzan: It wont fit.
 
Me: Yeah, you have to fold it first. Um, it will work better if you fold it into thirds. No, the other way. There you go, now put it in the envelope. Good. Now seal the envelope by licking the paper here and folding it over.
 
Tarzan: You *must* be joking!
 
Me: No, really, thats how you seal the envelope. Look, if you dont want to lick it, you could get a little sponge and dish of water and use the sponge to wet the envelope flap.
 
Tarzan: Ill just go dunk it in the creek then.
 
Me: NO! Sorry, I didnt mean to yell. Look, Ill show you, *I* will lick it for you. See? Easy.
 
Tarzan: Ok, now can we go hunting?
 
Me: No, not yet, we still need to address the mail so that the postman knows who should get the envelope. So on the envelope, write Lady Greystoke – nonono over here. Well, never mind, we can get a new envelope for it. Ill take it out of the old one for you. Ok, heres a new envelope for you, see if you can put it in – thats good – and seal it.
 
Tarzan: I cut my tongue!
 
Me: Ooops. It does take a little getting used to. Ok, now write Lady Greystoke right here. Good! Ok, now we need to look up her address in the address book. This is my address book, and youll have to make your own address book and fill it in with addresses.
 
Tarzan: How will I know what peoples addresses are?
 
Me: Youll just ask them for their address.
 
Tarzan: How can I ask them if I cant write to them?
 
Me: You have to ask them some other way, like when you see them in person.
 
Tarzan: Why cant I just get a big book with everybodys address in it?
 
Me: Well, there are five billion people in the world, so it would be an awfully big book, plus people move all the time, plus some people wouldnt want their address in the book. Look, trust me, it works. Youll get peoples addresses. Ok, so underneath her name, write her address. Uh, you put the street address on its own line, then the city and state and ZIP code.
 
Tarzan: Whats a ZIP code?
 
Me: Dont worry about it, just do it.
 
Tarzan: Hmmpf. It would be a lot easier if I could just put Mom. Ok, its
 addressed. NOW can we go hunting?
 
Me: Hold your horses. You need to put your return address in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope.
 
Tarzan: Whats my return address?
 
Me: Its how people can contact you. Your landlord should have given you a piece of paper with your address on it. Yeah, that looks right, now copy that to the upper left corner. Upper LEFT corner. Good. Ack! My desk! Put the cap back on!
 
Tarzan: Huh?
 
Me: Its very important that you put the cap back on the pen so that the ink from the pen doesnt get all over everything. Ok, now we have to put a stamp on the envelope, which is a way of paying for the delivery. You need a 32-cent stamp. Never mind why. You need to put it in the upper right hand corner, no, right-side up – so the 32 is right-side up. No, it wont stay by itself, you have to lick it.
 
Tarzan: Im not licking anything else, I cut my tongue last time.
 
Me: Oh, all right. Ill lick it for you this time. Tomorrow you can go buy a different kind of stamps that you dont have to lick.
 
Tarzan: How many different types of stamps are there?
 
Me: Well, theres stamps you lick and self-adhesive stamps, and different denominations of stamps, oh, and there are stamps from other countries but you cant use them.
 
Tarzan: Why not?
 
Me: Because our government doesnt recognize those stamps. And we cant use our stamps in other countries.
 
Tarzan: So do I have to use two different stamps if I send something to another country?
 
Me: No, theres an agreement with other countries that they will deliver mail with our stamps if they come from outside the country.
 
Tarzan: So why cant we use other countries stamps inside our country?
 
Me: They just wont, leave it be.
 
Tarzan: Ok, Im going hunting now.
 
Me: Just a minute, just a minute! How do you think the letter is going to get to your mother? Did you think it was just going to magically leap from the desk and get to her? We need to take it somewhere that the Post Office can find it.
 
Tarzan: How about under my pillow?
 
Me: Dont be smart with me, young man. We need to take it and either put it in the mailbox or take it down to the post office.
 
Tarzan: Isnt the mailbox where mail comes *in*?
 
Me: Yes, but the postman will take it out of the mailbox and take it down to the post office if it is already there.
 
Tarzan: Does that mean that if I dont take my incoming mail out of my mailbox by the time the mailman comes again, hell take all my mail away?
 
Me: No, it doesnt work like that. Look, it just works, ok? Just go put it in the mailbox, Im tired of arguing with you. Then go play in the jungle or whatever, just leave me alone.
 
Tarzan: *Sigh* Letter-writing is *hard*!

[jim618]

Also the need to be able to localise the names of wallets drives you to "Simple English" i.e. using simple, concrete words that can be bolted together. (Like German or scientific names where you just compound the distinguishing shorter words).

For instance "JBOK wallet" is practically impossible to localise - if you translate each word you'll get a completely different acronym in every language. A couple of terms like that and you will have acronym spaghetti.

For multibit I was planning to call "a wallet with a bunch of random keys' as "random key wallets".

What you (etotheipi) are calling "watching only wallets" I was going to simplify to "watch only wallets".


If you look at the taxonomy used in things like medicine and sciences generally the format tends to be either:

<major classifier> <minor classifier> <sub minor> etc

or the same thing ordered the other way round i.e.

<minor classifier> <major classifer> wallet

[etotheipi]

For instance "JBOK wallet" is practically impossible to localise - if you translate each word you'll get a completely different acronym in every language. A couple of terms like that and you will have acronym spaghetti.

Yeah, I wasn't entirely seroius about JBOK.  I put it up there to get gears turning about what the wallet actually is, and then people can come up with better stuff.  I was just amused by Casascius' suggestion.  Most of the others up there are serious.

Funny you mention localization, I was just looking into that for Armory.  I guess that's another good reason to use simple words -- likely to translate cleanly.

I really don't like "watch-only wallets."  That actually inspired this whole thread, because they're kind clunky and "watch-only" is more of a description than an adjective (or descriptive noun).  I'm really digging "Observer wallets". 

[DeathAndTaxes]

I always thought "one way wallet" sounded better than "watching only wallet". Not only is it shorter on syllables, it's alliterative too (well, phonetically!)

I am a big fan of "observer" wallet, as Eliel proposed in IRC.  But you're right that it doesn't quite capture the fact that you can "do" something with that wallet (generate addresses, receive money).  I'll add "one-way wallet" to the list.  Though I bet there's an even better term for it, that explains which way it goes

What about receiving wallet?

BTW I am glad this discussion is being had.  Unlikely it will all be decided in a day but Bitcoin needs its own vocabulary.  I was glad kjj agreed to modify names of RPC calls (no idea if it will ever be integrated into the mainline).

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=122345.0

As the Bitcoin "ecosystem" gets larger and more diverse, the rough edges need to get smoothed down to avoid it becoming a complicated cluster frak of jargon to the new outsider.

[Carlton Banks]

I always thought "one way wallet" sounded better than "watching only wallet". Not only is it shorter on syllables, it's alliterative too (well, phonetically!)

I am a big fan of "observer" wallet, as Eliel proposed in IRC.  But you're right that it doesn't quite capture the fact that you can "do" something with that wallet (generate addresses, receive money).  I'll add "one-way wallet" to the list.  Though I bet there's an even better term for it, that explains which way it goes

Hmmm, observer wallet works for me too, it takes care of the one-way aspect and the directionality. Maybe "one-way" is a more appropriate fallback description for those individuals with below average abstractive imaginations (computer programmers often forget that their abstract reasoning skills have to be significantly above average). Their next question is almost bound to be "which way?".

Maybe "observation wallet" would be even better, as using the verb form is a little more indicative, as any potential Tarzan may feel the need to ask "who's the observer here?". Or maybe I'm splitting hairs! The majority will decide what sticks in the end, so there's always that fail-safe (let's just hope the majority don't ever settle on something hideously clunky)

[knight22]

You should make polls for the candidates

[casascius]

For instance "JBOK wallet" is practically impossible to localise - if you translate each word you'll get a completely different acronym in every language. A couple of terms like that and you will have acronym spaghetti.

Yeah, I wasn't entirely seroius about JBOK.  I put it up there to get gears turning about what the wallet actually is, and then people can come up with better stuff.  I was just amused by Casascius' suggestion.  Most of the others up there are serious.

Funny you mention localization, I was just looking into that for Armory.  I guess that's another good reason to use simple words -- likely to translate cleanly.

While I don't have my heart set on it, I was more serious than not with this one: just like JBOD in the disk storage world, JBOK implies it's a sort of hack that lets you make maximum utilization of a hodgepodge of mismatched junk leftovers on the cheap, while considering reliability and fault-tolerance to be a low priority.  Just like JBOD, it also implies that you should only use this technology for things you can easily replace, don't mind losing, or will be protecting in some other way.

If the whole point of choosing a somewhat pejorative term is to convey a sense of deprecation, clean localization isn't quite a must, as long as it's translated into something equally bulky and ridiculous sounding... assuming translation is necessary at all (French people still listen to "MP3" files despite "Motion Picture Group Layer 3" translating to something else with different initials in French, and without regard for MP3 files not being a "motion picture")

[etotheipi]

You should make polls for the candidates

A poll would be impossible here because of the endless things to vote on.  However, what I've done is bolded my personal preference, and will update as new consensus is reached.

Please help with the more-advanced names.  I can't even think of good names besides "Distribution".  Though names that are descriptive with good abbreviations ("distro") are always good.  But prefer something not too generic. 

[grondilu]

Finding a name for E1 is quite challenging if "deterministic wallet" is too nerdy.

What about a rather poetic image?   I have two in mind:

1.   "Crystal wallet".  Because it can grow from a small seed (just like crystals)

2.   "Phoenix wallet".  Because if you lose it, it's not a big deal since you can recreate it from its ashes (well, kind of)

PS.  I have a big preference for "Crystal wallet", which sounds very cool and is a good metaphor imho.

[Transisto]

Finding a name for E1 is quite challenging if "deterministic wallet" is too nerdy.

What about a rather poetic image?   I have two in mind:

1.   "Crystal wallet".  Because it can grow from a small seed (just like crystals)

2.   "Phoenix wallet".  Because if you lose it, it's not a big deal since you can recreate it from its ashes (well, kind of)

PS.  I have a big preference for "Crystal wallet", which sounds very cool and is a good metaphor imho.

Poetry for a technical term ? No sorry.

Maybe Procedural ? I don't think deterministic is too technical.

Anyway it's not the wallet that's E1 it's the generation of addresses in said wallet.
So Sequentially generated wallet?

[Carlton Banks]

Finding a name for E1 is quite challenging if "deterministic wallet" is too nerdy.

What about a rather poetic image?   I have two in mind:

1.   "Crystal wallet".  Because it can grow from a small seed (just like crystals)

2.   "Phoenix wallet".  Because if you lose it, it's not a big deal since you can recreate it from its ashes (well, kind of)

PS.  I have a big preference for "Crystal wallet", which sounds very cool and is a good metaphor imho.

Poetry for a technical term ? No sorry.

Maybe Procedural ? I don't think deterministic is too technical.

Anyway it's not the wallet that's E1 it's the generation of addresses in said wallet.
So Sequentially generated wallet?

I prefer "pre-determined". It's an identical concept to deterministic, but I expect it would confuse fewer people. Obvious follow up question for the uninitiated would be "What aspect is pre-determined?". I can't see as many people being confused or put off by the expression.

Another way of looking at it could be to not to distinguish between deterministic wallets and regular wallets, and instead refer to wallets that possess the qualities of either "Calculated addresses" or "Random addresses". 

[grondilu]

I prefer "pre-determined". It's an identical concept to deterministic, but I expect it would confuse fewer people. Obvious follow up question for the uninitiated would be "What aspect is pre-determined?". I can't see as many people being confused or put off by the expression.

"pre-determined" sounds terrible.  People would immediately think that there is someone, somewhere, who can recreate a copy of any such wallet.

I don't think deterministic is too technical.

I actually agree.  Deterministic should be fine imho.  But if we really want something less technical,  I like the crystal metaphor.


What about "reproducible"?

[justusranvier]

I prefer "pre-determined". It's an identical concept to deterministic, but I expect it would confuse fewer people. Obvious follow up question for the uninitiated would be "What aspect is pre-determined?". I can't see as many people being confused or put off by the expression.

"pre-determined" sounds terrible.  People would immediately think that there is someone, somewhere, who can recreate a copy of any such wallet.

I don't think deterministic is too technical.

I actually agree.  Deterministic should be fine imho.  But if we really want something less technical,  I like the crystal metaphor.


What about "reproducible"?

"Permanent"

Deterministic wallets are permanent in the sense that you only need to back them up once.