Please don't change Beastie to another crap logo such as NetBSD!!!

[Napper]

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 07:53:17 -0600
Greg Barniskis <nalists at scls.lib.wi.us> wrote:

> Bart Silverstrim wrote:
> 
> > Out of curiosity, is Beastie so terrible, a logo, that a business would 
> > be stupid enough to base their server decisions based on it?  Would you 
> > care if a business were that dumb...would you actually *want* them using 
> > it?
> 
> The problem (from my point of view) really has a lot more to do with 
> having to communicate about an OS after it is selected, rather than 
> the act of selection (which is rightly based on technical merit). I 
> need to communicate about ongoing server operations with boards of 
> trustees, with my immediate customers, and indirectly with their 
> customers. I can't use Beastie in these discussions because I can't 
> afford the time to explain the multiple "inside jokes" re: 
> daemon/demon, the tennis shoes, etc., over and over and over again, 
> and I really, really can't afford to lose a debate about FreeBSD's 
> "appropriateness".
> 
> While the amusing subtleties embodied in the Beatie emblem are 
> indeed endearing to the IT community, they are a serious *drag* when 
> communicating to the less clueful.
> 
> > Windows' logo isn't even a logo.  It's a flag of a window pane falling 
> > apart in the breeze.  I associate windows with broken glass.  These 
> > things don't seem to hinder Windows from getting massive market share.
> 
> My board of directors never looked at the Windows logo and said 
> "What the f#$% is that!?". Argue all you like about the fact that 
> people need to be more open and clueful, and how precious Beatie's 
> legacy is (I agree it is), the bottom line is that some rather 
> important people aren't very clueful, and many of them can't ever be 
> expected to be clueful, and I don't have time to educate dozens of 
> people every time I want to compare our organization's use of 
> various OS flavors.
> 
> So, I limit myself to indicating "FreeBSD" by text only, and I know 
> that the impact of that on the decision makers is somewhat lower 
> than if I had a stylin' graphic suitable for use in official 
> communications like uptime graphs, scope of use, service 
> dependencies, project activities, etc.
> 
> OK, so now maybe I expect some flamage about bein' chicken, not 
> standing up for what's right, etc. Well, horse hockey. I have a duty 
> to my employer not to waste everyone's time with the deamon/demon 
> discussion (over and over and over again). It would be one thing if 
> we could do it once and get it over with, but that is clearly not 
> the case.

I think that exactly the need Core is trying to address along 
with addressing the mechanics of logo (not mascot) reproduction.

Its been my experience that the corporate suits get the
perception of "teenage hacker" from the cartoonish mascots.  Truth
or not, perception is what matters and we do need something a
bit more mature and professional.

Whether or not I like the mascot is beside the point entirely.
I want to see FreeBSD grow and penetrate new market areas.  I
fully expect things to change to accomodate this and support
Core's decisions.  I hope others can get past their emotional
reactions and approach this from a practical standpoint.

There's been far too much discussion and speculation about all
this.  Just wait for the official announcement.  The draft of
the contest announcement did not necessarily indicate what will
be in the final document.

Nap


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