Community response of new ubuntu artwork

[John Harvey]

Marius i have read every post on this to the mailing lists and a lot of
the commentary on IRC and it may have everyone talking but its not good
talk.  It has a lot of people upset and dissapointed and thats not a
good thing.

I come from Australia where skin color and nationality mean a lot less
than they do in other countries, we tend to be pretty down to earth
about it and most people dont see things like skin color as an issue.
This has nothing to do with skin color or the ages of the people on
image it has to do with their appearance.  It does not look professional
and it hampers our ability to promote the product to all people and all
cultures.

using these images on the default install will damage Ubuntu.  This is
not a guess its simple fact.  I think we as a community need to be
mindful of that fact, its a nice idea and a nice concept and with some
changes may work very well but right not semi clad homogonous BYT
(beautiful young things) are not a good idea.  My wife said it best when
she commented to me that the desktop picture looks like nothing more
than the aftermath or the start of a threesome and she is not a geek but
an average every day user working on corporate.

She also pointed out she WOULD be questioned seriously if that image was
on her work desktop - its not acceptable in her work environment nor
mine nor any other i have worked in in 10 years in IT.  That should be
food for thought.

I like the images, they dont offend me personally.  But I am just one
person and when i read the amount of negative comment i think it should
ring big alarm bells.  Leaving this as is will not be a good thing nor
send a good message.  

ubuntu is the best linux distro out there, its not bloated like Mandrake
or Suse, its built on the power of Debian and its stable and useable and
all around excellent.  Damaging ANY prospective user base in the
interests of somehow making a liberal stand is not a good idea at this
stage.  Ubuntu rocks.  Lets keep it that way


On Sun, 2004-10-17 at 08:04 +0200, Marius Bock wrote:
> I have to agree with Will on this and as a fellow countryman of Mark 
> Shuttleworth who lives in a country where one's skin color was once a big 
> dividing line between people.  However that has now changed and we all live for 
> the most part in harmony with one another and Ubuntu (not the Linux but the 
> Xhosa word) has a lot to do with this.
> 
> In the end it is not Mark and his team that is going to make Ubuntu (the Linux) 
> succeed but us as human beings that is using it on a daily basis.  If we do not 
> move the frontiers and experiment how are we going to move ahead?
> 
> Yes we might not all agree with the Artwork but hey it got us as a community 
> talking and as far as I am concerned, there is always progress when a community 
> still talks.
> 
> I am sure some middle way can be found that will please the majority of us.
> 
> To Mark and his team -- keep up the good work and I will do my bit to spread the 
> word in my part of the world -- and that include showing the controversial 
> Artwork from time to time.
> 
> Marius Bock -- marius at henriska.co.za
> Cell:   083 412 3358
> Tel:    (021) 913-0141
> Fax:    (021) 913-0678
> Web:    http://www.henriska.co.za/
> 
> 
> Ubuntu Forums Post wrote:
> > The fact that there is controversy indicates how few differences there are in this aspect of other Linux distributions. While the rest of the world has satisfied themselves with blue, with penguins, butterflies, lizards, and the like, Mr. Shuttleworth and his colleagues have closen a powerful tool with which to bring humanity into the computing picture, both literally and metaphorically.
> > 
> > If one doesn't like murder, don't commit it; if one doesn't like abortion, don't get one; if one doesn't like a computer's desktop photograph, chose a different one. One will find that one is still in the same world, on the same planet and, with the exception of Mr. Shuttleworth and a few others, no one I know has exceeded those limitations.
> > 
> > But, because of the bravery of people such as Mr. Shuttleworth, who show us extrordiary things can be done, perhaps some day we'll even be able to change to a different celestial body than the one to which we are currently shackled.
> > 
> > The Sistine Chapel, Hindu dioramas, Egytian ruins, and many old public government buildings in many countries are adorned with the vagaries of the human form. Christ is portrayed as a scantly-clad figure on the cross.
> > 
> > Our challenge is not to decide what humans looks like, but how to coexist with all the marvelous varieties we see. We may be, after all, the only eyes that the Universe has produced to look back upon itself. Yet we find it difficult to look at each other.
> > 
> > Computers are made for complex communication and complex communication is a uniquely human gift.
> > 
> > Wisely used, complex communication can change the outcome of the Twenty-first Century.
> > 
> > To argue small things in not a step in the right direction.
> > 
> > Toward peace,
> > Wil
> > 
> 
-- 
John Harvey
http://www.monkeyc.net
email : linux at monkeyc.net

Using ubuntu linux - http://www.ubuntulinux.org