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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Call for opinions: KDE 2.0 mascot!
From:       "Julian Regel" <julian () white-tower ! demon ! co ! uk>
Date:       1999-04-24 0:00:46
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Hi.

> Some of you already know it, a friend of mine was "secretly" working on a KDE
> 2.0 mascot for some time. The first "stable" ;-) version has been completed
> today and you can find 4 images here:
> 
> ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/icons/dragon1.jpg
> ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/icons/dragon2.jpg
> ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/icons/dragon3.jpg
> ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/icons/dragon4.jpg

Just had a look, and I think they look very professional. Wouldn't 
look out of place on a games console :-) One of the comments I heard 
recently was that KDE doesn't have much "personality" - this could go 
some way to resolving that problem.

> It's a cute (yet unnamed) dragon. The idea was to create a animated
> assistant for the KDE Help Center but the result is so amazing that many people
> told me it would be nice for a KDE 2.0 mascot in general.

IMHO, this requires very careful PR. The way it reads suggests 
something similar to the Windows Paperclip, which I think you'll 
agree is hated by most people. If KDE 2.0 is going to have something 
like that, then please think carefully how it will be "marketed", or 
at least turn it off by default.

> Please note that this is no replacement for the KDE logo! The KDE logo IMHO is
> perfect, it looks very professional. The goal of the mascot is to add a more
> human touch.

I agree that the KDE logo looks very professional, but so does the 
dragon. My only concern is that Linux will end up with too many 
mascots. There's already Tux, who has been adopted by all it seems, 
Wilbur the GIMP also springs to mind. I know KDE isn't 
Linux-specific, so my comment might be a bit out of place, but I 
don't want to see Linux get the reputation of being "full of toys". 
Remember that a lot of people hate the Suse lizard and that only sits 
on top of the window... (I actually like the lizard).

> Please let me know if you would like to see the dragon become the official KDE
> 2.0 mascot and please send in naming suggestion.

I would say "yes" to the former, the name "Sparky" springs to mind as 
being pretty non-offensive, bouncy, optimistic and fits the theme of 
a dragon (spark -> flame -> fire breathing dragon).

Hope this helps

 Julian
+----------------------------------------------+
| Julian Regel: julian@white-tower.demon.co.uk |
|     http://www.white-tower.demon.co.uk/      |
+----------------------------------------------+

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