I miss ResEdit and the option of using a quasi-developer utility to swap out icons and other assets from the "resource fork" of any Mac app. As a consumer, I loved how everything was externalized in a common format.
Stop using app icons for political activism
61–70 of 265 posts
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not entitled to say we own our own computers and don't want your political advertising on them.
The reality is that while you own your computer, you generally don't own the proprietary software on it, you _license_ it. That license entitles you to remarkably little beyond using the software as the software vendor permits.
Here's what comes up on my (Fedora, obviously) machine when I run VIM with no filename specified:
VIM - Vi IMproved
version 8.2.5052
by Bram Moolenaar et al.
Modified by
Vim is open source and freely distributable
Help poor children in Uganda!
type :help iccf for information
type :q to exit
type :help or for on-line help
type :help version8 for version info
According to their git history, VIM has carried uganda.txt since at least 2004.No technical measures exist to stop you from removing this call for donations, but it's more work to patch it out then it is to just ignore it. This makes FOSS software a pretty good vehicle for political activism. Not just the fact that organizing a hostile fork to remove a message like this one is too much trouble and makes you look like a jerk, but also because political activism is a good way to motivate people to write and release software for free in the first place, making up for how difficult it is to really monetize FOSS software.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
What the hell is a Juneteenth?
It's African American's name for the day slavery effectively ended and as of last year(?) a federal holiday.
Slavery was still practiced in Kentucky and Delaware until the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#64How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
It's political advertising and, like many, I don't want any ads in my apps. Normalizing political ads in apps is a two edged sword because, even if yours are righteous, there are plenty of unsavory political movements I don't want to see ads for and they would be just as "justified" as yours because they too sincerely believe their cause is righteous (even though we would disagree).
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#65How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
What’s the activism angle exactly for? Do you think people on the fence about some issue will be swayed one way or the other?
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#66How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
The app might be "yours", but once you gave it to another person to install it on their phone, you should not abuse their hospitality. You don't rerrange furniture in a home you're visiting if you have good manners.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#67How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
Not picking on you specifically, because this attitude is extremely common among software developers these days, but I think this mentality of treating software running on users' machines as "yours" rather than "theirs" is at the core of a lot of problems with the modern software industry.
Software should serve the interests of its users, not its developers. The advent of ubiquitous internet connectivity, automatic updates, and business models based around selling ads rather than selling software have changed this dynamic somewhat and I think that's really unfortunate.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#68How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
> If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine. I may be old fashined, but I remember it being considered a problem for the seller if a potential customer does not like offered product.
It should always be OK to fire your customers.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#69How about no? If it's my app, I'll use my logo. I consider the logo an integral part of the application's identity and I should control its identity. I promise I'll do my best to make it easily and readily recognizable, regardless of it using national colors, a rainbow or shades of white, pink and blue. If you don't like it, it's your problem, not mine.
> If it's my app Not picking on you specifically, because this attitude is extremely common among software developers these days, but I think this mentality of treating software running on users' machines as "yours" rather than "theirs" is at the core of a lot of problems with the modern software industry. Software should serve the interests of its users, not its developers. The advent of ubiquitous internet connecti…
It is my belief the software is serving the betterment of society if it offends the people who don't approve my activism ;-)
More important than serving the individual users is serving society as a whole.
Re: Stop using app icons for political activism
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
So your saying everyone should be able to demand a custom app icon that fits their design preferences, presumably for free?
No, they’re saying consumers are able to stop using your app if you inject politics into it, and some percentage will. No right or wrong involved, this means less money for you.
My morals are not for sale.