Not Determined On Terminology

(I’m presenting a user interface design to my team.)

Developer: *pointing at imagery* “So, this is an overlayer?”

Me: “That’s an overlay, or a modal screen, indeed.”

Developer: “Ah, so, an overlayer.”

Me: “It’s overlay, not overlayer.”

Developer: “No, it’s overlayer.”

Me: “Overlayer sounds like a combination of overlay and layer to me. ‘Overlay’ is a word, and a ‘layer’ is a Photoshop term. Overlayer is not commonly used in this field. Just call it an overlay, or modal.”

Developer: “Whatever, it’s just an overlayer to me.”

Me: “Can we just stick to one word to avoid confusion? Overlay is the right word for it. Just use it.”

Developer: “It’s overlayer.”

Me: *facepalm*

(This provided for a lot of confusion in the following meetings with team members, managers, and even stakeholders. The same happened for ‘throbber’, which is a little-known, but short and simple word for ‘thingy that spins when you are waiting for something to load’ – the term they insisted on using…)