[sf-perl] group logo

[Quinn Weaver]

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 11:58:21AM -0500, Andy Lester wrote:
>
> On May 21, 2009, at 11:55 AM, Quinn Weaver wrote:
>
>> However, the Perl Foundation hasn't really lived up to
>> this vision; it's very restrictive about giving out hi-res (and SVG)
>> onion images.  See http://www.perlfoundation.org/perl_trademark .
>
>
> As the former PR guy for TPF, I've never found that to be the case.  Did 
> you ask someone and get turned down?

No, I didn't.  (When I was president, I did ask for the large and SVG logos,
and I got them in a matter of days.)  Moreover, I should state that I like
TPF a lot. :)

I should be clear: the Perl Foundation has always adhered to its stated
policy:

    The Perl logo, the Perl Foundation logo, and the bare onion logo
    are available for use by Perl Mongers, PerlMonks, and Perl.org,
    which are part of TPF.

What I was trying to say (badly) is that I find this policy restrictive.  It's
not fatal; it's just a pain.  It's a bit like the difference between
downloading free source code instantly and having to ask for permission.

So in that sense the onion is "a symbol that was owned by the Perl Foundation
and truly free to use for the community."  It's just that it comes with some
restrictions, one of which is that the community is defined as Perl Mongers,
PerlMonks, and Perl.org, not anyone else, and specifically not "individual
members" ( http://www.perlfoundation.org/perl_trademark ).

I understand that this policy is intended to protect the logo from losing its
association with the Perl Foundation or being used in undesirable ways.
That's a legitimate point of view.

But the policy also means that the logo can't be used for a lot of things that
are Perl (Perl-powered web sites, Perl advocacy sites, Perl free software
projects, and, yes, commercial sites).  There's no widely recognized symbol
for Perl in those contexts.  There's a need that's not being served.

So it would be nice to have a logo that just means "Hey, this is Perl,"
that you can just download for free and use.

Again, there are two points of view, and both are legitimate.  It's a question
of how defensive you want to be about potential misuse--also a question of
TPF's branding.

So maybe the solution is to have two logos:  one for TPF, one distinctive one
for "whatever you want."  The logo that SF.pmers are developing could fill that
latter role.

I hope this makes sense now.  TPF aren't baddies; they just have a logo
policy that doesn't work for us.  That's because they have different goals.
SF.pm can make a logo with fewer restrictions that suits certain needs better.

Thanks,

--
Quinn Weaver Consulting, LLC
Full-stack web development
http://fairpath.com/
510-520-5217