Dan Q

Long ago, you could move to a new area, scan for local WiFi networks, and fully expect to see a wonderful diversity of different network names. Some named for their locations, sure, but others named for people, or fandoms, or just "fun" ones.

Has this art form died? Most residential SSIDs nowadays seem to just be the default one that comes with the basic router supplied by the ISP. Most commercial ones are just the name of the business. Sometimes you'll spot a phone configured for tethering but even that's usually just "Alice's iPhone" or similar.

I can't remember the last time I saw a "Chicken Crossed the Road to Steal Our Wifi" or a "Russian Hackers" or a "Routy McRouterface" or a "All Your Bandwidth Belong to Us" (okay, that last one's a bit dated). Has the art form died?

#note #wifi #networking #nostalgia #fun

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2026/04/10/the-lost-art-of-the-amusing-wifi-hotspot-name/

Apr 10 at 8:31amWeb
Show threadDr. Daniel Hernandez-Velazquez1d ago
@dan not died, but well reduced indeed.
To me it is a combination of most user base not willing/proficient enough to faff around in the settings (and setting up all iot things with the new ssid) and the isp providers making it hard to do so (even though most will tell the user to at least change the default password).