The theme issue: in search of a solution

[Martin Probst]

On Friday, 15. October 2004 12:00 Henrik Nilsen Omma wrote:
> Many people have made it very clear that they see real deployment issues
> with Ubuntu if it uses it's present artwork, whether they object to it
> personally or not. I think we have established the various viewpoints
> quite clearly now, but I wonder if we can start looking at possible
> solutions?
>
> It is also clear that the Ubuntu team invested a great deal of effort in
> this artwork, and most will agree that it is professionally done. They
> want to focus on real people and have arranged a photo-shoot and have
> had the graphics professionally prepared. They seem to be committed to
> it and happy with it as they have posted the GDM screen on their web
> page. That particular graphic is esp. symbolic since it directly
> explains the meaning of the logo.
>
> My guess is that most people object to the splash and wallpaper images,
> as they contain suggestions of nudity. Would it be possible to work out
> a partial solution that most people could be happy with?
partially, there are - maybe - a billion of people out there who - based on 
their believe (or religion) - are objective to even diplaying humans on a 
screen, consider moslems who are told not to do so. Not to speak of a naked 
young man's torso, that will prohibit this software to be installed in any 
public/official/bussiness place in countries with a major proportion of 
poeople with such a believe.

So I suggest that the default theme - for heavens sake - must be a pure 
ornamental one, leaving the one discussed here as a joice for every 
individual. The Ubuntu Logo itself is an ornamental abstraction of what you 
see on the login-screen, so why substitute this very elegant symbol with the 
original which it is supposed to reference to?

>
> An example:
>
> 1. Revert the splash screen to the original plain design with a simple logo
ack
> 2. Use the simple brown wallpaper with the logo (which I think is the
> default now)
ack
> 3. Tone down the GDM screen, while keeping the basic imagery of the people.
no, blease, just don't eve try to, it will not help finding a slution, the 
main abjectives ly in displaying humans *and* skin, btw: do you think the 
typical ubuntu-user is eager in comparing him/herself to three ever young and 
beautiful models ? Humans usually are defenitely *not* like them !
>
> I've made a mock-up of what such a GDM might look like here:
> http://www.theopencd.net/ubuntu/GDMx2.png
>
> I would think that the current GDM screen is basically harmless, but it
> does rather tend to jump out at you. I think that with these changes,
> there should be no problem deploying it in companies, schools, or
> libraries. What do others think?

regards Martin