Sorry I was unclear. Because some contra callers say “mad robin” and some contra callers say “double mad robin,” meaning the same thing, and if you’ve learned it as “mad robin” and a new-to-you caller says “double mad robin,” you’ll think it’s a different figure.
I don't think the distinction is necessary is it? "mad robin with your neighbour" is clearly distinct from "1s in the middle mad robin" so why add double mad robin? It'd be like calling most petronella's double petronellas because they have four people moving but the original petronella is for 1s only.
Bob
It’s perhaps worth saying during the teaching “also called a double mad robin,” since dancers will sometimes hear that (from callers who know ECD). I’ve seen confusion on moderately experienced contra dancers’ faces (and feet) at the term “double mad robin” (thinking you go around twice, or that it involves more than 4 people) because they’ve only ever seen the figure with 4 people moving and they’ve only ever heard it called “mad robin.”
(In the English country dance “Mad Robin,” only two people are moving in the eponymous figure.)