On 09/21/2015 03:46 PM, Bryan Richter wrote:
> I am writing a lengthier missive on this topic, but I wanted to
> briefly summarize my point of view. After much deliberation I have
> come to agree with most of Robert's points. Right now my top choice is
> "We support the digital commons".
>
> Well, ok, I'll make this one a little longer right now. There are a
> couple things I think we need to address explicitly that have gotten
> only passing mention so far: Who is the audience, and what is the
> context for the message?
>
> It seems quite clear that the audience is the general public, and I
> think it should be. That means FLO is out. Libre is out. Free is out.
> Open is meh. "The commons", on the other hand, is a well-established
> noun (late 14th century, according to etymonline.com) that means
> exactly what we want. "The digital commons" is the perfect narrowing
> of focus that reflects who we are. (Sorry, Robert, it definitely needs
> "the" to be proper English.) "Support" is the most concise word to
> describe our mission, a point I will expand on in my next email. It
> also has a delightful double meaning that is so en vogue for slogans:
> It evokes both a statement of solidarity ("We support workers'
> rights...") as well as hinting at what we actually do.
>
> Now, what is the context? I think the context is "a phrase we can put
> next to our logo, wherever we deign to put our logo". I can think of
> two concrete examples that demonstrate it: a t-shirt and a flyer.
> Let's start with the flyer:
>
>
> Help Free The Commons!
>
> We at Snowdrift.coop lorem ipsum
> dolor sit amet, consectetur
> adipiscing elit. Donec a diam
> lectus. Sed sit amet ipsum
> mauris. Maecenas congue ligula
> ac quam viverra nec consectetur
> ante hendrerit. Donec et mollis
> dolor. Praesent et diam eget
> libero egestas mattis sit amet
> vitae augue. Nam tincidunt congue
> enim, ut porta lorem lacinia
> consectetur.
>
> <S> Snowdrift.coop
> We support the digital commons
>
> Note the difference between the catchy header at the top, and the
> slogan, which is attached to our name. I think, in this example, this
> is definitely how we'd want things laid out. If we take the catchy
> phrase and make it the slogan, we have to reach for something else,
> something inferior, to use as the header!
>
> Similarly for a t-shirt, with both phrases occurring but in their
> appropriate positions:
>
>
> FRONT
>
> Help Free the Commons!
> <Mimi and Eunice do something clever on a field of snow>
>
>
> BACK
>
> <S> Snowdrift.coop
> We support the digital commons
>
>
> Now, try putting "Help free the commons" in the slogan's context. It
> just wouldn't work. To me, that makes it very clear which one is the
> slogan, and which one is something else. Basically, I think anywhere
> we think to put our logo is a place we could also put the phrase "We
> support the digital commons". That, coupled with the fact that it
> accurately and concisely describes the project, is what makes it a
> good slogan.
>
> As a final remark, I want to point out that nothing would stop us from
> having e.g. multiple buttons, each with different phrases. We can have
> more than one slogan or catchphrase. :) But if we're going to pick
> just one that will most commonly be paired with our name and logo, I
> think we should pick "We support the digital commons".
>
> Coming up, I want to talk about why we might want a *second* slogan,
> one that actually uses the terms "FLO" or "Free" or "Libre". I'll get
> to it later, in a couple days maybe.
>
Thanks Bryan!
To add to the running stuff and build on my points ("Digital Commons" is
unfortunately trademarked, not sure if that's fatal here, also it makes
it *harder* to play on the physical metaphor…), your suggestion (thanks
for going through it so well), could be modified to just:
"We support the commons"
or "support the commons" even.
However, I don't think either of those works as well as "we support the
digital commons" because they sound too vague and uninspiring.
I don't particular dislike "we support the commons" but my favorite now
remains "free the commons!" without any other qualifiers or "support" or
"help" bits. I can see business cards and shirts and more that just say
"Snowdrift.coop — free the commons!" essentially. And the header in your
example could be "support the digital commons!" or "help support the
digital commons!" or "Help support free/libre/open works!" I think those
work well as separate non-slogan headers…
--
Aaron Wolf Snowdrift.coop <https://snowdrift.coop>
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