"Boaty McBoatface" sounds slightly less silly to me than a science minister saying "So you want a name that fits the gravity and the importance of the subjects that this boat is going to be doing science into.”

If I was scientist, I would be honored to serve aboard the RRS Boaty McBoatface.

a) I like the name. The boat should have that name. The people serving on the boat will likely call it by that name anyway.
b) Gravity and decorum are important, I agree. So they screwed up the minute they turned the naming of the vessel into a free for all. If they were going to let the internet vote on a name, they should have seen this coming. (see also Microsoft's twitter AI project). Should have given the internet options to vote for, with no write-in.
c) Restricting naming rights of one scientific vessel isn't going to restore a spirit of public decorum or gravitas for higher learning, because broader cultural trends have butchered that already. That "Boaty McBoatface" is so popular... is simply society working out the implications of a lack of decorum in other areas of life. In other words, the name is not only a fitting expression of contemporary culture's decorum, but it is also what it deserves to have as its express legacy. Years from now, historians will look back at on this period and lolololololololololololololololol

The worst part is they lost a great chance to get exactly what they wanted-more public interest in science. I'll admit this was silly, but the media would have loved to cover Boaty on it's voyage and in the process people may have learned something. Now people just think scientists are curmudgeons.

I remember trekkies wanted to name one of the space shuttles "Enterprise." Now we need a campaign to name a future spacegoing vessel Spacey McSpaceface.

People are intent on proving that democracy is a bad idea.

Was the name Scrotie McBoogerballs not an option.

In 100 years, people are going to look back at internet trolling as a historically significant social movement and point to the naming of this scientific research boat as evidence.

[11] The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

[12] And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

[13] And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

[14] Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

[15] And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

[16] A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

[17] And thou shalt bestow upon it a name; and it shall be called Arky McArkface.

With the official naming of the RSS David Atenborough, I have lost all faith in the democratic process.

The one and only time Democracy ever did something good; and the bloody child-eating fun-killing Tories overrule it.

@ Litter Picker - one of the Space Shuttles (the prototype, in fact) was called "Enterprise".

If I end up somehow working on that vessel, it is the RSS Boaty McBoatface and nobody can tell me that the douchebag from Jurassic Park is more important than Boaty McBoatface.

They called its sub Boaty McBoatface

I think we should just call David Attenborough Boaty McBoatface from now on.

It was Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park, bo. David is his brother; and is famous for presenting a hell of a lot of nature documentaries on the BBC.

#itwasajoke

I don't believe you

David Attenborough has a knighthood. He should properly be called Sir Boaty McBoatface, if you don't mind.

I've watched enough Richard Attenborough documentaries to know which of them is which.

It's really very simple; David Attenborough is Jonathan Dimbleby, and Richard Attenborough is the other one.

Wait, who is Boaty McBoatface?

He's that British nature documentary commentator that we all know and love.

I was totally messing around but I just who he is.
Did not know I had heard of him!

Just realised*

It's fair to say that if he'd died a year ago his name would have dominated the public vote. It is a good choice, and one that won't attract any serious objections. It's great that the noble name of Boaty lives on in the submersible though :)

Is NERC trying to say that Sir David has a face like a boat?

Was David somewhere up in the top voting results or did they just discard that vote entirely?

RSS David Attenborough - 11,023 votes
RSS Sir David Attenborough - 680 votes
RSS Boaty McBoatface - 124,109 votes
https://nameourship.nerc.ac.uk/entries.html

Am I correct that David Attenborough is #4?
Their website is wonky on my mobile, hence I ask. You'd think scientists can do some research on how to make a decent website or how to find someone who can..

Anyways, my point was that they can possibly get away with calling it a compromise then, rather than making it seem like they completely ignored the voting results.

In other news, I laughed at RSS Usain Boat.

The top five suggestions are:
1) RRS Boaty McBoatface – 124,109
2) RRS Poppy-Mai – 34,371
3) RRS Henry Worsley – 15,231
4) RRS It’s bloody cold here – 10,679
5) RRS David Attenborough – 10,284
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/17/boaty-mcboatface-wins-poll-to-name-polar-research-vessel

How much total votes? It doesn't seem like a lot of people gave a shit anyway.

You don't think 200,000 or so people is very many? For a poll to choose the name of a boat?

oh boaty, what are we gonna do with you.

I think we should re-name Kestas "Webby McDipface" and Zultar "Bossy McOwnerface"

Al Swearengen Mcbigotface

@Jamie: Not considering it was mentioned around the world. It seemed kinda hyped.

@ steephie22 Dunno how many total votes, as the NERC website appears to have been designed by a committee of arsehats.
There were 7,034 total entries. I guess that RSS Harry Styles and RSS One Direction will have been front-runners. I don't think many people in the UK had heard of the poll until James Hand started campaigning for RSS Boaty McBoatface, at which point 27,000 votes for Boaty caused the website to crash. It seems reasonable to assume that the vast majority of entries would have got one vote, with RSS Usain Boat and similar picking up a few hundred. Stephen Colbert endorsed Team Boaty McBoatface on The Late Show, but otherwise, most of the world will have been uninterested or completely oblivious. I think NERC would have wanted it that way.
To put Boaty's triumph in some sort of perspective, David Cameron won the 2015 election in Witney, Oxfordshire, with 35,201 votes.

*RRS*
Whatever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rESCTewREo
Enjoy. :-)