Is there a label that describes a person with whom I am sharing something [duplicate]

Question

If I shared something with someone and you wanted to describe me in that context using only one word, you might call me the "sharer" or "owner". What word could the person I'm sharing with be called? Is he or she simply the "recipient" or is there a better word?

I am looking for a word that fit well as a Java class property name (don't let that discourage you from answering if you're not a software person).

For the software minded, I am writing a web app that uses Dashboards as the primary UI. A user can have multiple dashboards and can share them with other users.

public class Dashboard {
    ...
    private String owner; // username of this dashboard's owner

    ... // rest of the class
}

public class DashboardShare {
    private List<String> sharedWith; // <== I want to rename this property
    private Dashboard dashboard;

    ... // rest of the class
}

Thanks in advance!

David

Answer 1

Since you've created a class member called "owner" which shares something with another class, then I would simply use the word "sharer". My reasoning is that sharer can either be one who gives or one who receives, and given that you don't use the word "sharer" for the class or member giving, then calling the receiver the sharer isn't ambiguous at all. In your system you would have the "owner", and it would allow access to the sharer. Any sharer would be a member or object that would have access shared to it by the owner.

Another possibility is:
accessor

If the "owner" grants permissions, makes available variables, members, data etc, then:

private List<String> sharedWith;

would have access to what the owner allows, so I'd be tempted to call it "accessor".

Also, another possibility is partner, as partners usually share. There is also the publisher-subscriber pattern for handling messages. The publisher creates messages, and a subscriber receives the published messages that it has subscribed to. But subscriber may not be what you're looking for.

Also finally, you can name variables whatever you want, so you shouldn't feel that restricted to a real word. Make up a word. When a word doesn't exist make up a compound word or a nonce word. Do it like the Germans do when they combine words into one: Pressekonferenz (press conference).

The only caution against that I'd give is if your code needs to be readily understood by other programmers.

Answer 2

If that which you shared has value or benefit: beneficiary

1. One that receives a benefit

As in:

I shared snippets of my software code last evening with a special beneficiary hoping he/she will use it to the benefit of the project.