Subject: Re: Permission to use the NetBSD logo
To: Herb Peyerl , Richard Rauch <rauch@rice.edu>
From: sudog <sudog@sudog.com>
List: netbsd-advocacy
Date: 03/13/2002 09:01:37
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 16:41, Herb Peyerl wrote:

> "political correctness" is always the wrong reason to do something.  If
> your goal is to offend 0 people, then you might as well just stay in bed.

Well, perhaps a better logo then would be a swastika. After all, with that 
line of reasoning, it really doesn't matter which symbol ends up on the 
front page because keeping offense to a minimum is no longer an issue. 
Okay that's a bit over the top.. 

There's offense, and then there's propriety--appropriate imagery goes a 
long way to keeping warm and fuzzy feelings in the users. Not that I care 
much about someone who's offended by a plush-toy..  but I digress.

I happen to agree (now that I know about it) that basing an image on one 
associated with conquering a nation isn't particularly Good.

Why not use a giant mushroom cloud and the word "Nagasaki" with an arrow 
pointing to the base? The current image is a level of abstraction beyond 
that, sure, but with the war still pretty fresh even a generation later, 
reminding them that we were the ones who horribly mangled their relatives 
doesn't seem very "nice" to me--political correctness or no.

> I'm happy that I've been able to offend a couple of linux-leenies with
> the logo/image for my company: http://www.realweasel.com . I like the 
> logo. If you're offended by it, I don't want you as a customer.

That's esoteric and humourous. That logo has few and indirect historical 
connotations, and has no business offending people. A sense of humour is a 
requirement for system admin--if they don't have it, I don't blame you for 
excluding those people from your customer base. Quite frankly I think it's 
a superb way of weeding out "potentials" without an offensive dialogue.

>  >  * Inasmuch as I am any judge, the imagery suggests the BSD tradition.
>  >    (Cartoony daemons with forks.)
> 
> I like the above. What I find amusing is that almost none of those ideas
> were present when the logo was drawn in the pub over a few guiness...

Cartoony daemons with forks is nice... Personally I'd prefer something 
more along the lines of Tijai's most incredible:

Badass Daemon!!
http://www.magnamana.com/imagecontest/Realsoft3Dsite/2001annualrunnerup1.htm

Cute and cuddly just doesn't do it for me. I want a badass on my desktop!!

Somehow I doubt many would agree with me.

Tijai, if you're reading this via referrer logging: Thanks for letting us 
see your work. You kick ass.

-sudog