Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:46:45 -0400 From: Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> To: Luciano Evaristo Guerche <guercheLE@hotmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD logo... Message-ID: <3E9C2965.5080504@potentialtech.com> In-Reply-To: <BAY1-DAV71D585c9HZT00005d43@hotmail.com> References: <BAY1-DAV71D585c9HZT00005d43@hotmail.com>
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Luciano Evaristo Guerche wrote: > I have heard FreeBSD is quite comparable to Linux and that is a very good free > OS. I would not use / adhere to it just because the logo it adopts. How can a > christian install an OS whose logo is a demon in his/her computer? There are a number of anecdotal stories about the use of the daemon (not demon) as the BSD logo. It's fascinating that folks would apply such significance to such a cute guy wearing such trendy sneakers. Do some searches and the first thing you'll find is that Chuck (the daemon) has not satanic or religious significance whatsoever. To shorten the history: the term "daemon" means "something that is always there" in the archiac sense. It was used to refer to a feeling, impulse or (in some cases) the belief that a spirit was watching over one. It had no bias toward good or evil. When the first Unix systems were developed, certain programs were called "daemons" because the definition worked: they were always there ... doing whateve their job was. Some time during the 70s, a cartoonist drew up a cartoon picture of the daemon as the BSD logo, and the image stuck. Similarly, the mainstream movie/telivision industry was giving the term "demon" (and it's image) a bad name by portraying it as evil and/or an emissary of satan. The modern view of what a daemon is (in addition to the confusion between the two terms: daemon and demon) was probably created mostly by the film industry. Look up the history of the "thumbs up" gesture, to get an idea of how this sort of thing happens ... or the history of the work "hacker" which is misunderstood by 99% of the US population due to the mass media's terror tactics. On a more practical note: Chuck (the daemon) has been a symbol of BSD for quite some time now. Personally, I find him cute and the historical significance comforting (find me another computer logo that's been around for 30 years). If you find him offensive, please do not compromise your religious beliefs just to use FreeBSD. You'll be much better off using Windows. A company that lies, cheats, and steals may sit much better with your religious beliefs than a community-oriented organization that happens to use a daemon as a logo. To answer your question _directly_ -> A Christian can install an OS that uses a daemon as a logo by understanding the true meaning of the logo, and by realizing that it has no bearing on his/her religion or beliefs. I don't know of any OS that uses a demon as a logo. -- Bill Moran Potential Technologies http://www.potentialtech.com
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