# Is the Beastie Daemon an appropriate mascot?



## Fredd_y (Feb 13, 2011)

I am a Windows user looking for a new operating system to learn and FreeBSD looks interesting except the BSD Daemon makes it look really bad, to the point where most men would probably classify it as looking evil, which contrasts with the unofficial mantra of Google "don't be evil".

Initially I presumed this was a reference to the daemons which are equivalent to services which run on Unix variants including Linux, although when I looked up the definition of daemon I was surprised to discover that daemons are actually classified as good spirits:

"Daemons are good or benevolent 'supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes' (see Plato's Symposium), and differ from the Judeo-Christian usage of demon, a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans."

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)

Thus I am somewhat puzzled at use of a demon to represent a system which is founded on daemons - is there a simple explanation?


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## DutchDaemon (Feb 13, 2011)

I will allow this topic against my better judgement, because they tend to turn ugly quickly. As soon as this turns into a flame-fest, it's gone. Be informative. And fredd_y, your second paragraph already contains the explanation of what a daemon is, a helper. And Beastie (BSD) is merely the mascot, not the logo, and it is a daemon, not a demon.


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## mk (Feb 13, 2011)

2 such topics emerge in questions@ for the last 6 months or so, IMHO do not lock - delete.


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## Beastie (Feb 13, 2011)

^ But it's the first time I see one in here, if memory serves me right. IMHO it shouldn't be deleted. Maybe locked and *stickied* for future reference. :e

A must read: http://www.erenkrantz.com/Humor/BSDDaemon.shtml


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## wblock@ (Feb 13, 2011)

As a general rule, don't pick operating systems based on internal projections of good or evil on their cartoon mascots.

It seems a little evil to not care what women think about the mascot.  Google's "mantra" is advertising, doesn't seem to greatly affect what they do (see privacy issues and Usenet, for example), and doesn't apply to FreeBSD anyway, so that's irrelevant.


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## sossego (Feb 13, 2011)

Let's do a history lesson, shall we?

If you read the Hebrew tale of job, you may notice that ha-Satan is the original form. This story predates the majority of the tanach. The influence of Persian dualism affected the beliefs. 
Paraphrasing Hermes Trismegistus: "How can you say that there are two gods when there is only one?"
How can a god be against himself?
An old statue of Moses depicts him with horns.

The church needed to vilify pagan beliefs while using syncretism to absorb the positive aspects.

The prophet Elijah had a sense of humor. Paraphrasing, "Is your god on the toilet?" That's much closer than what is used in Western religious mythology. Add to this that only a piece of crap can be "lord of the flies."

The Hebrew belief- in general- is to not represent any aspect of God in any physical form. 
Most Mediterranean polytheistic cultures used gods to represent parts of the human psyche and of the natural world.


The concept of a "guardian angel" is stolen from a time when genius was a guardian spirit.


What of the story of the Benjamites? A man threw his daughters out to be raped. Without checking if they were alive, he cuts them up to pieces and then sends each to the different tribes. 

Now, are you telling me that this is more sane than using a picture of a mythological being?

You can also read up on the People's crusade. What did the people of Turkey do- besides being kind- to deserve death?



It's no more than a picture.


You may also want to read up on passion plays.



My personal beliefs are closer to Judeo-Christian mysticism but I am still able to look at my beliefs critically, accepting the fact that I may well be wrong.


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## oliverh (Feb 13, 2011)

Fredd_y said:
			
		

> I am a Windows user looking for a new operating system to learn and FreeBSD looks interesting except the BSD Daemon makes it look really bad, to the point where most men would probably classify it as looking evil, which contrasts with the unofficial mantra of Google "don't be evil".
> 
> Initially I presumed this was a reference to the daemons which are equivalent to services which run on Unix variants including Linux, although when I looked up the definition of daemon I was surprised to discover that daemons are actually classified as good spirits:
> 
> ...






> *Many people equate the word â€˜daemonâ€™ with the word â€˜demon,â€™ implying some kind of Satanic connection between Unix and the underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. â€˜Daemonâ€™ is actually a much older form of â€˜demonâ€™; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a personâ€™s character or personality. The ancient Greeksâ€™ concept of a â€˜personal daemonâ€™ was similar to the modern concept of a â€˜guardian angelâ€™ â€“ â€˜eudaemoniaâ€™ is the state of being helped or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, Unix systems seem to be infested with both daemons and demons.*




Evi Nemeth


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## ckester (Feb 13, 2011)

I hope most Christians are discerning enough to know that, if the BSD daemon worries them, they should inquire further and seek to learn whether the FreeBSD project does indeed serve Satanic ends.  I.e., is the mascot an indication of something sinister, or is it -- as almost everyone here will tell you -- simply a bit of innocent fun?

I have yet to see anything anywhere that gainsays my belief that FreeBSD is, on the whole, a force for good, not evil.  If you want to convince me that it is not, you'll have to do better than point to its use of a cute little cartoon devil.


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## DutchDaemon (Feb 13, 2011)

wblock said:
			
		

> As a general rule, don't pick operating systems based on internal projections of good or evil on their cartoon mascots.



That's basically the simplest reply, and the other remarks and links can serve as background information. I don't see how anything more useful could be added to this topic, so it's closed.


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