I've been using these terms a lot lately, for obvious reasons (see
http://highfrontier.com/). And I keep waffling on which one to use:

- space colony
- space habitat
- space settlement

Wearing my logical hat, I tend to favor "habitat" as it remains accurate
long after these are no longer part of the frontier. But somehow it
doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, especially when I speak to
people not already in the space settlement community. To them, the
meaning of "space habitat" is not obvious -- I think it evokes
"Habitrail," which is a pretty fair description of the current state of
offworld living.

So that leaves "colony" and "settlement." Both evoke frontierism a bit.
The former also evokes colonialism, which isn't a positive thing to
many people (although the *reason* it's not a positive thing is the
displacement of native people, which doesn't apply in space). Colony
also raises the question, "colony of what country?" That's an issue I'm
planning to ignore entirely, instead imagining that colonies are built
by corporations and then self-governed by the residents.

That leaves "settlement" as the most logical choice... though I'm not
sure that has the best ring either.

So I'm looking for more input. In the context of presenting the idea to
people who have maybe never heard of it before, what's the best term to
(1) quickly give them the right idea, and (2) give them a positive
feeling about it?

Thanks,
- Joe

I had settled on "space settlement" by the time I created my website.

Regards,
Mike Combs

From: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 12:19 PM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] habitat vs. colony vs. settlement

I've been using these terms a lot lately, for obvious reasons (see
http://highfrontier.com/). And I keep waffling on which one to use:

- space colony
- space habitat
- space settlement

Wearing my logical hat, I tend to favor "habitat" as it remains accurate
long after these are no longer part of the frontier. But somehow it
doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, especially when I speak to
people not already in the space settlement community. To them, the
meaning of "space habitat" is not obvious -- I think it evokes
"Habitrail," which is a pretty fair description of the current state of
offworld living.

So that leaves "colony" and "settlement." Both evoke frontierism a bit.
The former also evokes colonialism, which isn't a positive thing to
many people (although the *reason* it's not a positive thing is the
displacement of native people, which doesn't apply in space). Colony
also raises the question, "colony of what country?" That's an issue I'm
planning to ignore entirely, instead imagining that colonies are built
by corporations and then self-governed by the residents.

That leaves "settlement" as the most logical choice... though I'm not
sure that has the best ring either.

So I'm looking for more input. In the context of presenting the idea to
people who have maybe never heard of it before, what's the best term to
(1) quickly give them the right idea, and (2) give them a positive
feeling about it?

Thanks,
- Joe

I had settled on "space settlement" by the time I created my website.

Regards,
Mike Combs

From:
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com]
Sent:
Wednesday, June 04, 2014 12:19 PM
To:
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject:
[spacesettlers] habitat vs. colony vs. settlement

I've been using these terms a lot lately, for obvious reasons (see
http://highfrontier.com/). And I keep waffling on which one to use:
- space colony
- space habitat
- space settlement
Wearing my logical hat, I tend to favor "habitat" as it remains accurate
long after these are no longer part of the frontier. But somehow it
doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, especially when I speak to
people not already in the space settlement community. To them, the
meaning of "space habitat" is not obvious -- I think it evokes
"Habitrail," which is a pretty fair description of the current state of
offworld living.
So that leaves "colony" and "settlement." Both evoke frontierism a bit.
The former also evokes colonialism, which isn't a positive thing to
many people (although the *reason* it's not a positive thing is the
displacement of native people, which doesn't apply in space). Colony
also raises the question, "colony of what country?" That's an issue I'm
planning to ignore entirely, instead imagining that colonies are built
by corporations and then self-governed by the residents.
That leaves "settlement" as the most logical choice... though I'm not
sure that has the best ring either.
So I'm looking for more input. In the context of presenting the idea to
people who have maybe never heard of it before, what's the best term to
(1) quickly give them the right idea, and (2) give them a positive
feeling about it?
Thanks,
- Joe

How about "Space City?"

On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 10:18 AM, Joe Strout joe@strout.net [spacesettlers] <
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
> I've been using these terms a lot lately, for obvious reasons (see
> http://highfrontier.com/). And I keep waffling on which one to use:
>
> - space colony
> - space habitat
> - space settlement
>
> Wearing my logical hat, I tend to favor "habitat" as it remains accurate
> long after these are no longer part of the frontier. But somehow it
> doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, especially when I speak to
> people not already in the space settlement community. To them, the
> meaning of "space habitat" is not obvious -- I think it evokes
> "Habitrail," which is a pretty fair description of the current state of
> offworld living.
>
> So that leaves "colony" and "settlement." Both evoke frontierism a bit.
> The former also evokes colonialism, which isn't a positive thing to
> many people (although the *reason* it's not a positive thing is the
> displacement of native people, which doesn't apply in space). Colony
> also raises the question, "colony of what country?" That's an issue I'm
> planning to ignore entirely, instead imagining that colonies are built
> by corporations and then self-governed by the residents.
>
> That leaves "settlement" as the most logical choice... though I'm not
> sure that has the best ring either.
>
> So I'm looking for more input. In the context of presenting the idea to
> people who have maybe never heard of it before, what's the best term to
> (1) quickly give them the right idea, and (2) give them a positive
> feeling about it?
>
> Thanks,
> - Joe
>

--

Christopher Davidson
cdmitridavidson@...

On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 10:18 AM, Joe Strout
joe@...
[spacesettlers]
<
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
>

I've been using these terms a lot lately, for obvious reasons (see
http://highfrontier.com/
). And I keep waffling on which one to use:
- space colony
- space habitat
- space settlement
Wearing my logical hat, I tend to favor "habitat" as it remains accurate
long after these are no longer part of the frontier. But somehow it
doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, especially when I speak to
people not already in the space settlement community. To them, the
meaning of "space habitat" is not obvious -- I think it evokes
"Habitrail," which is a pretty fair description of the current state of
offworld living.
So that leaves "colony" and "settlement." Both evoke frontierism a bit.
The former also evokes colonialism, which isn't a positive thing to
many people (although the *reason* it's not a positive thing is the
displacement of native people, which doesn't apply in space). Colony
also raises the question, "colony of what country?" That's an issue I'm
planning to ignore entirely, instead imagining that colonies are built
by corporations and then self-governed by the residents.
That leaves "settlement" as the most logical choice... though I'm not
sure that has the best ring either.
So I'm looking for more input. In the context of presenting the idea to
people who have maybe never heard of it before, what's the best term to
(1) quickly give them the right idea, and (2) give them a positive
feeling about it?
Thanks,
- Joe
Christopher Davidson
cdmitridavidson@...

I think for most folks who don't self identify as a "space enthusiast"
settling space seems both unpleasant (cold, sterile, and cramped) and
impossibly far away. I'd love it if ordinary folks when they heard the
term thought to themselves "that's the sort of place I could make a home."
So call that the "homey-ness" index for the term. High homey-ness evokes
pleasant and accessible.

I like settlement as well, it feels "homey" to me.

Brandon

On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 1:30 PM, bhn1700@... [spacesettlers] <
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
> I think settlement is pretty solid, considering the vastness of space,
> we'll be pretty much always 'settleing' it once we get started.
> Brooks
>

I like settlement as well, it feels "homey" to me.
Brandon
On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 1:30 PM,
bhn1700@...
[spacesettlers]
<
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
>

I think settlement is pretty solid, considering the vastness of space, we'll be pretty much always 'settleing' it once we get started.
Brooks