Ciaran McCreesh posted <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, excerpted below, on Sat, 29 Jan 2005 22:10:45 +0000:
> On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:48:17 -0600 Grant Goodyear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > | http://dev.gentoo.org/~g2boojum/bylaws.html > | > | Your thoughts? > > IX: Why a seal? I'd've thought that a corporate penguin or gender-confused > cow would be more appropriate. I can't tell if this is is a serious question or sarcasm, and don't know your background so don't know if you are a native English speaker (which I would assume would understand and that this would then be a joke) or not. In case it's serious.. Not the animal, the synonym of "stamp". Quoting Websters 1913 (as from KDict, seal as used here would be definition #4, but one can trace the history from the earlier meanings, so I've left them in): Seal \Seal\, n. [OE. seel, OF. seel, F. sceau, fr. L. sigillum a little figure or image, a seal, dim. of signum a mark, sign, figure, or image. See Sign, n., and cf. Sigil.] 1. An engraved or inscribed stamp, used for marking an impression in wax or other soft substance, to be attached to a document, or otherwise used by way of authentication or security. 2. Wax, wafer, or other tenacious substance, set to an instrument, and impressed or stamped with a seal; as, to give a deed under hand and seal. Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond Thou but offend;st thy lungs to speak so loud. --Shak. 3. That which seals or fastens; esp., the wax or wafer placed on a letter or other closed paper, etc., to fasten it. 4. That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; that which authenticates; that which secures; assurance. ``under the seal of silence.'' --Milton. Like a red seal is the setting sun On the good and the evil men have done. --Lonfellow. </quote> So... the Gentoo Foundation's corporate seal (stamp) could indeed be of a penguin or a gender confused cow... or perhaps more appropriate for a corporate seal, the "Happy G" logo (altho I've always had difficulty seeing that as a "g", at least by itself, but whatever... it's cool and uniquely Gentoo, anyway, which is the idea for a logo), probably with some fancy imprint of the term "Gentoo Foundation", possibly along with some motto "Open source freedom for the user", or some such, accenting the Gentoo Philosophy, as linked from the main gentoo.org page. -- Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin -- [email protected] mailing list
