[footfootfoot]

Here's my take on it.

Presumably the idea behind inviting the public to participate in naming was in part a way to make the public more involved or even invested in the ship, its projects, and science in general, rather than a paucity of imagination when it came to thinking up ship names.

Within a few hours the name Boaty McBoatface outstrips the leading contender ultimately winning by a factor of 11.
This tells me that anytime a ship named Boaty McBoatface does anything the press are going to report on it because, d'uh, Boaty McBoatface. People are going to stay interested and invested in B McB, in a way they never would even for Sir David Attenborough; Who the fuck is he? vs. Boaty McBoatface-hahahah that's hilarious, I want to have, like, a hundred of his dinghies.

You would have people tuning into science, the environment, and everything. Now you've got, "Fuck it, I'm going to go back to playing the first person shooter version of Tetris." ( <-- BTW totally my idea)

So, the irony of this is that now, all man made environmental disasters can be directly attributed to the wankers who voted down B McB. They've sown the seeds of ambivalence in the general public with their broken promises and hollow assurances. Why should we care what your stupid ship is doing? You never really cared what we thought anyway.

Asshats. The only way the press will ever cover anything that ship does is if it sinks.