[Mug-discuss] Re: Mug project

[Ciaran O'Riordan]

On Tue, Mar 18, 2003 at 12:31:13AM +0000, Nick Hill wrote:
> The What is GNU? GNU's Not Unix  may confuse the unititialised. The 
> monopoly aspects of Microsoft is something many people identify with, 
> but can lead people away from the freedom aspects of free software.
> 
> RMS likes to keep the issues of free software disentangled from the 
> Microsoft argument.

It's a tough scenario, how do you get people to think about
software freedom when they only recognise proprietary things.

I agree that "GNU's Not Unix" is just confusing to most, and
I agree that we shouldn't be designing a mug that has "Microsoft"
or "Windows" on it.


Here's some ideas:
Attack a Microsoft slogan, the most memorable one to me is
"Where do you want to go today?", if they still use it maybe
we could have a part of the mug say "Where will they let you go today?"
or something like that.


...or maybe a picture (black&white) of a gnu concentrating and some
windows smashing.
"No need for windows anymore"
"No windows between you and freedom"
...we'll need a better slogan but I like this idea since it doesn't
advertise MS Windows but people who do use MS Windows would get the
link.  (I got/robbed this idea from the cover of the "GNU Software
for MS Windows" book, published by FSF.)


A last idea is based on a phrase I can't remember properly:
"[GNU/]Linux: No windows, no gates,
 just a <forget> with an apache inside."

Any ideas you have about using actual glass windows or steel gates?

How about a man on a gnu with a lance charging at/through (and smashing)
a window.  There's a picture of a man on a gnu on the cover of the GNU
Emacs Manual, adding a lance would be easy.

For drawings, I think FSF have a contact or two that do them zero-cost.

I'll run up another draft on wednesday/thursday night.

Any of this giving you ideas?


Ciaran.