Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 16:03:09 +0200 (CEST) From: Svein Halvor Halvorsen <svein-freebsd-questions@theloosingend.net> To: "sparxz@excite.com" <sparxz@excite.com> Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Linux move to FreeBSD Message-ID: <20050703154938.C24613@maren.thelosingend.net> In-Reply-To: <20050702233548.0116B3CDB@xprdmailfe4.nwk.excite.com> References: <20050702233548.0116B3CDB@xprdmailfe4.nwk.excite.com>
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* sparxz@excite.com [2005-07-02 19:35 -0400] > FreeBSD looks like a good stating place for me, but one think about > FreeBSD makes me uncomfortable is the symbol/emblem that the OS uses. > That is a "devil" ! This has been covered many times before, and you could search the archives for more in-depth answers than I'll give here. The "devil" is supposed to be a daemon (not to be confused with the more modern term "demon"), a pun on on the fact that most server-programs in the unix world are called daemons. This is based on an old greek word which meant something close to "servant". Somewhere in history this came to mean "evil servant" or "devil" in some religions. The FreeBSD use of the mascot is non-religious, however, and people generally doesn't think much about it. It is no more "evil" than the command "chmod 666 file" is. However, there has been some concern about it, and from time to time someone are asking this question. Sometimes people state that they will not use FreeBSD unless the mascot is dropped. Espescially the use of the mascot in the boot-up screen has caused some controvercy. There is an ongoing contest for a new FreeBSD logo, but alot of people in the FreeBSD community seem to like the little mascot, and are sceptical about a new logo. The contest submissions are not publically available, so I have no idea whether this attempt to replace the daemon will be successful. And even if FreeBSD would get a new logo, I'm sure alot of people would still use him as a mascot. The creature's name is "Beastie" (BSD) The image is copyrighted Marshall Kirk McKusick. Regards, SVein Halvor
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