The daemon is not a religious symbol, but...

[Marc Fonvieille]

On Sun, Aug 22, 2004 at 07:07:54PM +0000, Murray Stokely wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 22, 2004 at 08:25:40PM +0200, Marc Fonvieille wrote:
> > Maybe if someone could clean, rewrite in better english my words above,
> > it'd be a start of "explaination."
> 
> It wouldn't be a start; we've been trying to explain this in our
> website and documentation for years.  This quote is on our website:
> 
>   "Many people equate the word ``daemon'' with the word ``demon,''
>    implying some kind of Satanic connection between UNIX and the
>    underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. ``Daemon'' is
>    actually a much older form of ``demon''; daemons have no particular
>    bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a
>    person's character or personality. The ancient Greeks' concept of a
>    ``personal daemon'' was similar to the modern concept of a
>    ``guardian angel'' --- ``eudaemonia'' is the state of being helped
>    or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, UNIX systems seem to be
>    infested with both daemons and demons."
> 

It's perfect.

> There will always be new users who install FreeBSD, see beastie in the
> new boot loader, and mail us to complain before ever looking through
> the website or FAQ to read our explanations.
> 

If these users really think before... they would realize that an
operating system can't be evil, the only evil part is the user :))

> > But I don't think we should document that... it's my opinion...
> > If people are not able to do the difference between a logo/drawing
> > without any religious signification and religion, it's their problem.
> 
> It's our problem if they keep nagging us. =) I like the way OpenBSD
> just went in the direction of a new mascot with less negative
> conotations and a cooler more modern design to boot.  It's a lot
> easier to do that sort of thing when you split off from another
> project though.
> 

I like the fish or the cat.  I disliked the policeman :)

But to talk about our mascot, beastie comes from Unix roots (daemon
processes), we know the real origin as stated in the text you quoted.
I don't see why we should change the mascot just for some people not
able (or who don't want) to understand things.

Look at http://www.freebsd.org/art.html it's difficult to see anything
really scary or threatening.

Marc