> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ibbe.services/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# the three tests & banned patterns

> Every name must pass three tests. Permanently banned naming patterns.

## The Three Tests

Before any name is approved, it passes three tests. All three. Every time.

**Test One: The Brass Plate Test** Could this word appear on a brass plate outside a
300-year-old building and feel like it belongs there? If yes, it is a candidate. If it reads like
a startup product name from 2019, discard it.

**Test Two: The Single Word Test** Is it one word? Two words maximum if one of them is
IBBE. Compound inventions (ResearchHub, LearnPath, SkillForge with camel case) are
permanently banned.

**Test Three: The Explanation Test** If you have to explain what the name means before the
person can respect it, the name has failed. A good name creates curiosity. A great name
creates immediate recognition. A name that requires a paragraph of context is a
description wearing a mask.

## What Is Permanently Banned

These patterns produce names that belong to a different institution, a weaker one.

**Compound tech names with camel case:** SkillPath, LearnForge, ResearchHub,
MentorLink. These are the names of SaaS tools, not of an institution that intends to outlast
a century.

**Adjectives posing as names:** Excellence, Premier, Elite, Advanced, Enhanced. These are
modifiers. They are not names. They collapse under their own emptiness.

**Acronyms invented backward:** Taking a desired acronym and forcing words into it. This is
transparent and it embarrasses the organization.

**Words that require a glossary:** Anything drawn from niche academic jargon, Latin phrases
no one uses, or technical terminology that excludes before it invites.

**Trend words:** Anything that would have felt fresh in 2015 and now feels tired. Catalyst,
Launchpad, Nexus, Ignite. These words have been used by too many organizations to
carry meaning for IBBE.