Whale = Boeing 747
That has been the case for over 30 years.
An A380 should not be referred to as a whale, it's just confusing things and demeaning to a great airplane.
In regards to augmenting crew, I've never found them to be a distraction. Rather, a useful couple of guys who help with the workload during high workload times and who share ideas with the operating crew.
Typhoonpilot