Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 13:29:50 -0800 (PST) From: stheg olloydson <stheg_olloydson@yahoo.com> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Cc: kuriyama@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD logo design competition Message-ID: <20050209212950.50123.qmail@web53902.mail.yahoo.com>
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I was not asked my opinion about whether or not the logo needs changing. I would like to clarify the reason[s] for this. When you say, "The FreeBSD Project is pleased to announce...", the statement implies a majority of the "FreeBSD Project" made this decision. Who is the "FreeBSD Project"? According to the announcement, "The FreeBSD Project is a team of individuals from all corners of the globe who volunteer time and expertise to develop the FreeBSD operating system." When you say "team" do you mean only core? Are those few people the entire "Project"? You don't say that, so whether or not one is a member depends entirely if one volunteers to "develop" FreeBSD. The question is what does "develop" mean. Does one who donates money and/or hardware count? No. By your definition, the Project includes only those who supply "time and expertise" - only those that supply their personal service. What counts as "expertise"? Programming obviously, but what if a person produces only poor quality ports? What about documention? Clearly the person is supplying "time and expertise", but does that count as "developing" FreeBSD? If yes, then what about answering questions on the mailing lists? Would that also count? Now as to the "need" to change the logo, to quote the announcement, "This character sometimes treated with misinterpreted in the religious and cultural context." Over the years, the only complaints I have ever heard have come from America's Taliban. Leaving aside the question of whether or not the complainers are in a position to make any sort of IT decision, one must ask what is their motivation for complaining. They are simply trying to force their religious orthodoxy on others. These are the same people trying to eliminate the barrier between state and church to make the United States into a theocratic country. Therefore, these complaints can be categorized as coming from an irrational minority that should be ignored. A second point is made, "And this daemon character seems cute from somebody's point of view, but somebody may think which does not suit for the professional products to indicate that are using the FreeBSD inside." The point is better phrased as, "The FreeBSD Project has decided that the beastie logo is unprofessional." This being the case, why does the Project think that the best way to get a "professional" logo is follow pretty much the same procedure that led to the beastie logo? Wouldn't a company that specializes in logo design/image consulting be far more qualified to design and select a new logo? Consider how much better Linux is doing in the maketplace than FreeBSD with its professional penguin logo. I, for one, think that logo choice is too important to be left amatuer attempts. A third point that was not raised is what else can be done to make FreeBSD look more professional. All "official" communication should be vetted by and reported as coming from a native American-English speaker. For example, from the announcement, written by Jun Kuriyama, "And this daemon character seems cute from somebody's point of view, but somebody may think which does not suit for the professional products to indicate that are using the FreeBSD inside." The grammar is abominable. How can FreeBSD possibly be taken seriously as a professional product as long as it allows "official" communications to come from those that can barely communicate in American-English? Furthermore, Americans have time and again proven to be among the most xenophobic nationalities, especially toward other races and religions. Any communications should come from someone with an easy-to-pronounce northern European surname (but not French) and, if at all possible, a first name that sounds American. I realize that at first many will find my last point to be offensive, but I think it is just as important as changing the logo and should be given the same consideration. Best Regards, Stheg Olloydson P.S. Many cultures, such as the Japanese, think that "you get what you pay for", so having the name FreeBSD is no different from being named ShiteBSD. I am looking forward to the competition to rename the OS. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
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