Hello,

There are some concerns I want to talk about with Spyke in its current state. But before I begin, I want to express that I’m not trying to hate on the app. This is meant to be constructive criticism, not an attack.

The first issue I’d like to address is also a very simple one. There’s an inconsistency in the app between referring to clans as “clan” or “klan.” This is an easy fix, because I’m not sure what the devs were thinking using “klan.” When spelled that way, it’s distinctively a shorthand for the KKK. When googled, all results for “klan” will be for the KKK. Period. I tested it before writing this. You don’t need that kind of association, especially when starting out. Ideally you want people to be able to google “meme clan” and get some results for your app. If they Google “meme klan” I’ll let you guess what’ll come up instead. I understand using unique spellings can set your product apart, (Mortal Kombat is a prime example, switching most “c”s in the game with “k”s) but of all things to spell differently, “clan” to “klan” is not the one to go for. Luckily, again, half the time in the app it’s already spelled “clan” so this shouldn’t be a big difference.

On the topic of names, I would probably repeat two common concerns that’ve been voiced. Namely, using “Reddit Alternative” in the app name is definitely not a good idea. It’s on very shaky legal grounds, and even if you feel you could win that court case, I’m not sure if a legal battle with a multi-billion dollar company is conducive to a start-up. As has been expressed elsewhere, a good example to keep in mind is Reddit forcing RiF to change its name in the App Store. There’s already a precedent that demonstrates Reddit can and will likely come after you for this. It’s not worth whatever extra foot traffic you may or may not be able to get by including that within your official name. Just advertise yourself as a Reddit alternative without putting it in your app name. You’ll likely get the same foot traffic without the legal ambiguity.

Additionally, and most importantly, “spyke” isn’t a very original name. When I search “spyke”, despite the fact you’ve already appeared in a news article on the Reddit drama recently, I don’t get any results for your app. I get Spyke from platoon, Spyke from x-men, SPYKE professional motorcyclist appearal, Spyke games, SPYKE LLC, random DeviantArt results for “spyke,” and much much more without ever seeing any results for Spyke social. It’s a name that’s already way too oversaturated. It’s completely unsearchable. You definitely need a unique name. If I search “Lemmy” I get it immediately, and you have to acknowledge that that’s the competition. When searching for a Reddit alternative, I looked up “Spyke”, got nothing. I looked up “Spyke app” and only got results for Skype. I excluded “Skype” from my search and got results for Spyke games. Then I searched “Lemmy” and got results for their Reddit alternative immediately. If Lemmy’s beta wasn’t already full when I did that, I would’ve likely never went back to actively search for your app, putting in more effort than you should expect potential users to be willing to do. This is my experience, and it’s likely not a unique one. This is important. This kind of issue will absolutely kill your product, especially when it’s got competition like “Lemmy” that does have a unique, easily searchable name.

My feedback in this instance will only focus on names. I understand features take longer to develop, and you’re likely already working on quite a few of those. These however, ideally, should be easy fixes.

One last thing, Jesus Christ dude, don’t use ChatGPT as a legal advisor. It’s a basic chat tool. It’s technical knowledge, or ability to produce technical knowledge on any subject is severely deficient. It can and will make up shit when asked technical questions. It does this for history, math, physics, and yes, law. Because it’s meant to chat with, and in a casual chat it doesn’t matter if it makes shit up. But if you’re using it for legal advice, or any other technical knowledge, you’re completely screwed. If you need legal advice, get an actual lawyer. If you can’t afford one, then don’t do anything legally questionable like using “Reddit” in your app’s name.