GNU Privacy Guard

[BeeP]

At 03:52 PM 2/20/98 +1100, Anand Kumria wrote:
>GNU (it is an acronym, hence the capitalisation) does have a special
>meaning. But not just in the Linux world, in the Unix world too. If you
>aren't interested, or haven't taken the time to find out that meaning that
>is your problem (<URL:http://www.gnu.org/> is a good place to start).

So let me see if I've got this straight: in order to understand the name of
a product, for example:

GNU Privacy Guard

I need to go to some URL and educate myself? And otherwise I have a
problem? And that is what you think of as marketing? What are you, a
college professor?

And by the way, the URL you sent indicates that GNU stands for "GNU's Not
Unix". Do you think  that's an informative acronym? Do you think GNU is a
good marketing acronym? Even if one is marketing to people other than
Unix/Linux geeks? If not, why did you waste the bits to send the URL to the
list? Did you think I wouldn't bother to look?

>> *In the Linux world, a popular graphics programs is called G.I.M.P. I
>> haven't a clue what the IVLA means. The article praising it to the heavens
>> in Linux Journal never explained the name. Since it's the engineer-named
>> world of Linux it could be something as information-free as "Gimp Is My
>> Product." My point? In the U.S., "gimp" is an EXTREMELY insulting word for
>> a disabled person. What kind of marketing is that?
>
>Are we still stuck in the parochial US marketing state of mind (where
>everyone really wishes they could be one of the good 'ole boys)? 

I am from West Virginia, where people actually refer to each other as "good
ole' boys." And I don't have a clue what you are ranting about in this last
paragraph. I left West Virginia as soon as I found out we were allowed to
leave.

>GIMP is
>an acronym (see <URL:http://www.gimp.org/> for details), and over here a
>"gimp" is a trimming of silk normally used with curtains. What kind of
>marketing is it to cater for the `namby-pamby' US based users? 

Smart marketing.

Wherever "over here" is, what does the word "wog" mean? Here in the U.S.
not one in 10 knows what a "wog" is. But no marketeer in his right mind
would use the word "wog" in an American product name. It would just be
stupid marketing. Like calling one's software Gimp.

>The problem is that, for you, "gimp" has negative connotations, oh well,
>too bad, so sad. 

Frankly I use the word all the time, along with 22 other politically
incorrect words. But not when I make up product names. Anyway, it's not me
to whom the Gimp people are trying to market their product. Too bad, so sad.

>If your connotations were widespread throughout the
>world, then there probably would have been an outcry, the fact that there
>wasn't indicates your connotations aren't.

An outcry? What sort of outcry? To whom? And by whom? Is there a "Linux
outcry department"? How about a "Linux complaint department"? That would
really be cool, because I have a LOT of complaints.

>And you argue that `Good', `Great' contains more "useful data" than say
>`GNU'.

Yes. The words both refer to Pretty Good Privacy in ways that make great
marketing sense. GNU makes sense only if one is targeting the 1 in 1000
(10,000? 100,000? 1,000,000?) who knows what it means.

Sincerely,
Bill Powell