The name was intended to be similar to software app store on other distributions
(formerly known as gnome-software and ubuntu-software)
When this feature was first added to pamac GUI it was turned on by default. But it caused a problem for users looking for AUR packages
Software mode was turned off a few months later
As this is a binary switch any user can turn it on and see how it functions
@cscs name did not seem to be a problem when it was first added to pamac