Re: roadmap status update/update request

[Alan Cox <alan lxorguk ukuu org uk>]

On Maw, 2005-03-08 at 18:13, Rob Adams wrote:
> notably the "Java Desktop Environment" (I mean, honestly, what the hell
> is that?), but Red Hat's desktop is also a major offender.  Perhaps if
> we asked nicely.

How about a [insert long string of obscenities] trademark policy that is
sane.

> The thing I would also like very much to see if a standard "foot" menu
> used by the distros.  Turning it into a hat is a major usability problem
> for people moving from gnome installation to gnome installation.

The gnome foundation shot itself in the feet, no more it systematically
hacked its own feet off with a butter knife and somehow managed to
ignore all the people saying "gee doesnt that hurt" because of the
trademark mess

> The GPL gives anyone to right to remove the gnome branding of course,
> but it still annoys me very much when companies take a free software
> project, rebrand it, then ship it.  Often the only trace of the original

They are pretty much forced to, ask the foundation to sort their mess
out.

> brand is hidden in about dialogs, and sometimes not even then.  Changing
> the splashscreen is one thing (though including a gnome logo in distro
> splashscreens isn't a lot to ask),

It is. It needs a legal opinion, a trademark agreement that nobody sane
would consider signing and other hassle. Its *easier* to draw a new one.
Hell its easier to to draw the new one even if you edit the xpm file in
vi

There is huge pressure to create vendor-brand but the foundation
trademark fiasco caused most of what you are complaining about.