Re: Petition about the Firefox trademark problem

[Sjoerd Hiemstra <shiems146@kpnplanet.nl>]

Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org> wrote:
> Hans du Plooy <koffiejunkielistlurker@koffiejunkie.za.net> writes:
> > I don't understand why opensource proponents always have to resort
> > to some sort of derogatory name for something.  Calling someone a
> > weasel has never been a compliment, and "ice" never has any positive
> > connotations either.
> 
> It's not some arbitrary combination of words, it's a reference to a
> famous cartoon by Matt Groenig, which has the following caption:
> 
>    Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra.  Suddenly it flips
>    over, pinning you underneath.  At night the ice weasels come. 
>    --Nietzsche
> 
> > It's rally childish.
> 
> It's not the typical bland name you'd get from a large corporation,
> but that's OK.  Debian is not a large corporation, and does not share
> their cultural blinders.

I must say I'm sticking with Mozilla just because I resent the name
'Seamonkey'. To me it is childish indeed, and I'm afraid it will never
make its way into corporate life.
Then again, don't understand why the OP calls himself 'koffiejunkie-
listlurker'.  ??
But perhaps I have become a grumpy old man, at age 56....?

BTW, I remember someone who was not interested in the Red Hat distro
"because I don't like that stupid red hat". I now know that 'red hat'
has more meanings and symbolism than just a red colored hat (Google for
'red hat' without the word 'linux'), and I suspect that there are many
such things that non-native English speakers don't know about.