There’s a discussion in the Outreach group about changing our branding, and there appears to be consensus for dropping the initial capital from Diaspora in logos and official communications.
However, although this is a small change (one letter), it is a major change in terms of how we present ourselves, so I thought we should have a proper vote on it with as many people as possible participating.
The asterisk remains a key part of our branding.
So the proposal is that we change the logo to diaspora* in Roboto bold, and that in official communications, we style the name diaspora* (lower case, with the asterisk).
In longer prose documents, such as wiki articles, it will still be fine to use Diaspora (capital, no asterisk) as the diaspora* style can get intrusive if used a lot in a page.
It will still be fine to use a logo which is just an asterisk, as various pods do, and to use other artwork (e.g. a hand-drawn logo) in certain cases.
Note: This discussion was imported from Loomio. Click here to view the original discussion.
As stated in the discussion content, drop the use of Diaspora or Diaspora* in branding (official text communications and logos) and switch to diaspora* (lower case).
There are other elements to the branding proposal, but let’s vote just on this one for now.
Outcome: I think we can consider this passed, with some reservations. This only affects ‘official’ communications from the Foundation, and individuals, including podmins, need not be constrained by it - they can style their pods as they like.
Votes:
Yes: 15
Abstain: 9
No: 7
Block: 0
Note: This proposal was imported from Loomio. Vote details, some comments and metadata were not imported. Click here to view the proposal with all details on Loomio.
What about the shortened “D*”? “d*” doesn’t work in my opinion.
@maltedik - D* is not part of the official branding. It’s only a shorthand used when people chat to each other. Obviously when you chat to someone you can use what you like!
This proposal is only about changing the branding in the official logo and official communications, for example the project site. People’s informal communications with each other won’t be affected, of course.
Hi @davidmorley , I notice that you voted against this proposal, but interestingly your merchandise already uses the lower-case diaspora* branding: http://www.cafepress.com/diasporg
@goob correct, the logo has always been lowercase that I have seen and the images at cafepress were based off the original logo. But I think a capital in a name is good.
Hi, someone told me that the name “diaspora” (either D or d is a name he associate with negative impact (could means forced migration of a whole population eg because of war as in some african countries, refers to a specific diaspora in history…). So I wonder if there has been any discussion about finding and changing to a new name with more “positive aspects” after the project has been given to community ?
ah ah just plain water (well with coffee or tea !). As to the meanings of “diaspora” here is some info : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora, but as i am french I can only speak for the french side meanings.
I knew my proposition would be an “heretic” one ! However changing name has been done by other projets such as xbmc (now kodi)… So, to me my question is not so foolish as it may seem
Yes, other projects have been renamed, but this has only brought confusion, and remember, Diaspora* is no longer just a project is a reality, a reality that needs to solve some problems, and the name already known to the audience, it not seems be a problem, why are we going to become a problem?
Perhaps we change forever the meaning of the word Diaspora,
Edit: But yes, diaspora may at first seem negative to some people. The word is neutral in its roots though, and I personally think we should continue to make it our own. That said, a living discussion about a projects name and associations is always healthy, so no need for what-did-you-drink-today replies imo
is a name he associate with negative impact (could means forced migration of a whole population eg because of war as in some african countries, refers to a specific diaspora in history…). So I wonder if there has been any discussion about finding and changing to a new name with more “positive aspects” after the project has been given to community ?
just plain water (well with coffee or tea !). As to the meanings of “diaspora” here is some info : 