Is Microsoft’s use of the Tulalip name for a secret, internal social networking effort insensitive to the Native American tribe? That’s the question on the minds of some in Snohomish County where the Tulalips live.

Here’s the back story: Last week, Microsoft inadvertently released a Web site touting a new social sharing service called Socl.com, which happened to be operating under the code-name Tulalip. Microsoft quickly pulled down the site, noting that the site had never been meant to be published to the Web.

Now, The Herald in Everett reports today that the Tulalips are in discussions with Microsoft about the use of the code-name. One high-ranking member of the tribe, Rep. John McCoy, suggested that Microsoft may have infringed on the Tulalip name.

Of course, it is a code-name and Microsoft says that it was never meant for public consumption.

With more than 3,600 members, the Tulalip tribe was formally organized in 1936, according to a history on the tribe’s Web site. It is perhaps best known for a massive casino that borders Interstate 5.

As one GeekWire reader noted last week, it is unlikely that Tulalip would ever land on a public-facing product from Microsoft.

“No one outside of Seattle can pronounce it and some MSFT people would claim that it is politically sensitive,” the reader wrote.

Microsoft has a long history of choosing code-names for products, and often times they are associated with geographic areas in the region. So, in the wake of the dust-up over the Tulalip name, can you match these Microsoft code-names with the actual product:

Whidbey.

Whistler.

Roslyn.

Longhorn.

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