A lot of major open source projects have mascots (Linux, Gnu, BSD, Gimp, Mozilla etc.)

Perhaps Maemo should have a mascot? Or should the mascot be for maemo.org as that's where the platform's development community is centred?

And whatever it's for, what should the mascot actually be?

Animals seem to be the most popular, so perhaps something along those lines? Or something else?

(Personally I would suggest a cat mascot as AFAIK that hasn't been used for any OSS but everyone is familiar with the creature.)

to get us started, i think whatever we come up with should be available in finger puppet format!

I remember discussing this subject a while back (forget where) and the idea wasn't very well liked. Maybe there's more interest now? In any case, I'm not too keen on it at this point (maemo.org is really about the people, not the product, after all). But, that's just my opinion... If others would like something like this, we can definitely discuss further. But, consider how something like this would be made, etc. -- it's definitely a factor.

Tim

PB Submission #1 hehe (original art from my daughter)

I need a penguin in a pimp costume

(Just FYI, I started this thread because I mentioned a maemo mascot over in the uniform thread as a joke and got three replies in a row saying it was genuinely a good idea.)

Personally I've always been dubious about the benefit of mascots, BUT... when you think about it they do exist on an awful lot of successful open source projects, and maybe they help to make the projects more noticeable, memorable and approachable.

Maemo isn't exactly the most memorable name in the world, but if we had a mascot (e.g. a cat) then people might find it easier to remember Maemo ("Yeah, it's that thing with the cat").

Also, mascots set a more friendly and co-operative tone than a corporate-style logo or a plain name.

Yeah, cat!

I know I'm new here, but the idea of a mascot it actually appealing^^ It's a great site, but for someone who doesn't know a lot about this kind of stuff, it can seem a little sterile and scary

Lol A little mascot of some kind would really cheer the place up

If linux can have a penguin (You got to love little Tux), why can't Maemo have one! Something original... like... a panda! rotfl

(Don't ask me why, it was the first thing that popped into my head)

The panda looks nice, though there might be a danger of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund / WorldWide Fund for nature) claiming they "own" the panda logo:

http://www.wwf.org/

http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/wwflogo.jpg

There's also a large Finnish sweet manufacturer called Panda with a panda logo:

http://www.panda.fi/

Kawaiiiiiii !
Your panda is extra cute !

A question : does people want a cute mascot or a more serious one ?

What about a tadpole ? It's small, quick, light ... and promised to a great evolution ...

Or a salamander, it's a beautifull animal ...

Rotfl Good point Although mine is waaaaaay cuter

Still got you're heart set on a cat, huh?