This is an ignorant way to respond, although I can appreciate these terms have several meanings that can be difficult to follow.

Communist parties of the 20th century knew and openly stated that what they had built was a socialist system and communism was the endgame. The goal of 20th century socialists was to gradually progress to that point that scarcity is abolished and distribution follows the principle of need. At which point they might declare communism achieved, so long as other things have happened like completing the (gradual) dissolution of the state.

It is not an attempt to distance from a bad word - we/Marxists/Communists don't see it as a bad word.

And the 20th century movements & their states were "real communism" in that they were a genuine expression of the movement for communism, and furnish us with both positive and negative examples.