The only worthwhile logo-related comments so far....

[Chris Zumbrunn]

On Feb 18, 2005, at 10:12 AM, aksis wrote:

> Something I was contemplating is that through out history there have 
> been many
> "gatekeeper" systems that have been implemented to keep the masses at 
> bay.
>
> In history they have usually been some type of icon/gargoyle that 
> invoked fear
> in people. For those who could conquer fear, they could pass the gate. 
> The
> people who passed the gate were of a higher level of consciousness. 
> They were
> the ones not governed by fear, the people who were willing to take 
> risks and
> experiment etc... These are some important qualities for *any* kind of
> development environment. When the time came, after the groups creation 
> had
> been developed and was ready for the masses, the "gatekeeper" was 
> removed or
> de-mystified and the masses could now have access to what they would 
> have
> destroyed or broken due to lack of understanding or out of fear.
>
> I see that beastie could be serveing this purpose. I also see that if 
> FreeBSD,
> as an OS, is intending to be released to the mases then it would be 
> wise to
> get rid of a mascot that, for the majority of the world, is associated 
> with
> evil and/or dis-service.  [snip]
>
> If, however, FreeBSD is: still in its infancy stage; is not intended 
> for the
> masses; is not yet ready for the masses, then such a gatekeeper system 
> would
> be wise to keep in place. It keeps the ignorant/fearful masses at bay. 
> If the
> masses are allowed in too soon, they will trip on/over the small 
> unfinished
> details. [snip]

Interesting perspective. Reading this made me question if I'm correct 
to advocate a redesigned and fresher look for freebsd.org. The current 
look with its default serif font, underlined links and current logo 
does serve the same kind of gatekeeper functionality - not just the BSD 
daemon. But this isn't a black and white issue - rather it is a 
question of fine tuning and lowering the gate to the level that is 
right for the FreeBSD project at the current time.

> If the goal of making FreeBSD a widely used OS or even the #1 OS, then 
> it
> isn't a question of if the mascot should be changed, but when, and to 
> what.

Except that there is no reason why individual 
corporations/groups/organisations can't take the role of marketing 
FreeBSD to these general markets under their brands and with their 
specific added value and services. FreeBSD.org could keep the 
gatekeeper in place and concentrate on development while other 
organisations would operate out there in the "real world" and deal with 
the masses.

/czv