Wikipedia mascot

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This is an archived version of this page, as edited by Stevertigo (talk | contribs) at 21:18, 3 March 2003. It may differ significantly from the current version.

Linux has the penguin. MySQL has the dolphin. O'Reilly has a whole zoo. Every successful open source / open content project seems to have a mascot - so why not Wikipedia? It could be used in the logo, printed on T-shirts or kept as a housepet. But what should it be? A fish, a bird, an insect, a mammal, a reptile, a virus? This page is for collecting ideas. At any time, feel free to express your support for a particular mascot by putting your name under it.

It would probably be nice if the mascot somehow represented the spirit of Wikipedia, e.g.:

  • social
  • massively cooperative
  • controversial
  • chaotic
  • growing
  • ambitious
  • infectious
  • curious

Suggested mascots

This is a race so it is ordered by the current top contender. Add votes to choices lower down so they can move up in the race.

Honey bees

http://www.honeyflowfarm.com/Images/Honey%20bee.gif

  • Rationale: Work cooperatively, have a Queen (Jimbo rules!), collect nectar (collect info), take that back to the hive, and turn that into honey (articles). Very positive symbol. Wikipedia resembles a humming hive of busy workers making something beautiful (honey=free quality information resource). Bees communicate well with each other, and there is some evidence that they work with a type of collective intelligence. The nectar collection also pollinates flowers so that they can reproduce. See en:Honeybee, [1], [2]
  • Support: Mahongue -- Yann -- Stephen Gilbert (but not the current picture) -- Elian -- Maveric149 (Go WikiBees!) -- Fantasy -- MarcS -- MyRedDice -- User:AstroNomer (though I don't like very much the particular honeybee now displayed, there should be a second "design" vote) -- Lorenzarius (The idea is very good, as the WikiBees can represent the natures of Wikipedia quite well: lots of hardworking bees gather honey(knowledge) and bring it back to the nest(Wikipedia) to service all the other bees. It would be better if there're more sketches.)

centipede

(the "Wikipede")

Concept by Jay Bowks on the wikipedia mailing list (recongnise the "W" shape): 

      ô¿ô
\  /\ \W/  
 \/  \/

File:Wikipede.jpg Elian's version of the Wikipede, (this is a first sketch and can be edited by anyone as required). w:Image:wikipedesketch1.pnghttp://www.wikipedia.org/upload/d/d4/Wikipedesketch1.png - Stevertigo's updated sketch

You haven't seen these things walk, have you? All those legs working together keeping the animal on course. ;-) --Maveric149
Ok, legs collaborate; I can go with that. But they're still creepy. :) Besides, I think of centipedes in the context of looking under a rock. -- Stephen Gilbert
And sysops are not also creepy and found under rocks? Trolls? Vandals? Wikipedia appears to be full of weedy species, for this reason the centipede is very appropriate.
Well, centipedes do away with roaches, right? You got to love that! :-) Jazmin

I kinda agree with Stephen and Mahongue.. rather see monkeys..-Stevertigo

The very fact that centipedes are controversial, creepy and the type of thing you find under a rock, IMO, would only add to the value of the mascot - esp if the mascot is disarmingly cute. This type of contrast, between expectation and realization, is perfect for a Wikipedia mascot (since most people have negative expectations when they hear about Wikipedia but when they see it, most of them drop their negativity). Honey bees would be more Disneyish. --mav
"Disneyish" is exactly why I've removed my support from Honey bees -- Ducker
OK, I'm updating the Wikipede sketch... -Stevertigo

leaf-cutter ants

monkey behind a typewriter

http://pl.wikipedia.org/upload/6/60/Wojpob.jpg

  • Rationale: "10,000 monkeys with 10,000 typewriters will never produce Shakespeare" [9]
  • Support: Maveric149 Chuck SMITH (this just too cool!)
  • Problems: Wil Wheaton Dot Net uses a slogan based on this (although not a logo).
    • I doubt Wil will care. -- Stephen Gilbert
    • He has actually already endorsed Wikpedia, see here.
      • Sure he has, I originally came to Wikipedia by following that very link! My objection was just on the grounds that it's his site that I think of when I think of monkeys and typewriters. But, of course, whatever we choose is likely to be somewhere else. 'Twas just that this one happens to be one of my favourite sites :) -- sannse 18:57 Feb 26, 2003 (UTC)
    • Wheaton is just using the old idea of an infinite number of monkeys working at an infinite number of typewriters banging out a copy of Hamlet. It's used many places. -- Stephen Gilbert

There used to be a monkey logo at Logo suggestions--humorous logos, however the images were stored offsite and have vanished.

That one, along with most of the others, are back. If anyone has copies of the missing ones, please upload them.

I agree strongly with the symbols evocked higher, but this would be so fun I cannont resist to be pro Jul

Owl

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Xrx140YOBNwC:www.callawaygardens.com/tosee/bop/images/great-horned-owl.jpg

  • Rationale: An old symbol for knowledge and searching for facts. An owl head could easily be integrated in the logotype. Maybe boring but respected and traditional. The eyebrows could form a W shape too.
  • Support Dan Koehl -- Elian
  • Problems: Encyclopedia.com uses a cartoon owl as its logo. Also, owls work alone.

Platypus

http://www.julbox.net/platypus.gif (please backup somewhere else) source : http://www.funet.fi/pub/Linux/doc/logos/

  • Rationale: It most resembles "an animal designed by committee"
  • Support: GUllman, sannse (great reason!) it has been one of early proposition for linux :) Jul
  • Problems: The en:Darwin kernel uses a Donald Duck look-alike platypus named Hexley.

meerkat

    • Stevertigo - I like this animal... Kinda racconish, with a lot of weasel in it :) so i did some

      sketches


slime mold

Termites

  • Rationale : Termites are co-operative animals. In some ways we are like them in our work on the House of Intellectual Property. They are so maligned that there is little chance that anyone has chosen them as a mascot before.
  • Support : anthere (that make a lot of sense) -- Ducker
  • Problems: Termites are known as destroyers, not builders. -- Stephen Gilbert
    • I recently found this impressive termite home[13] which seems to prove the opposite ;-) --Elian
      • Oh sure, termites are tremendous builders, but that's not commonly associated with them. I simply said they're known as destroyers. People tend to think of termites infesting buildings rather than building impressive structures. I like to think that Wikipedia is fighting repressive notions of "intellectual properity" by building something better, not by undermining what already exists. -- Stephen Gilbert

Woman

  • Rationale: 1. Wikipedia's dictator is supposed to be a man, but are we really sure ?  ;) 2. Wikipedia is evolving, using the help of many people across the world. 3. Wikipedia is a womb, ready to receive seeds, helps them meet and mix, provides them an environment to grow and flourish, to finally offer the world a new miracle. 4. Use one of those pictures of beautiful pregnant naked Gaia. 3. Wikipedia was named WikipediA not WikipediO, did not that ever occurred to you ?
  • Support: The Earth itself
  • Problems: Some will be troubled by nudity. Or by pregnancy. Or by plump body; we'd have to figure out a way to draw this tactfully; Men (and women) could disagree with such a matriarchal figure in a rather masculine community. Gaia is likely to be black or close to black, and probably not white; etc...
  • Pictures here 1 and 2
This may bring up some concerns similar to Should Wikipedia Use Profanity. -[[w:User:Geoffrey]
You mean a naked man is okay, but a naked woman is profanity ?
Uh...um...give him a cloth around his middle if necessary, but most evolution images have the leg closer to you stepping forward. I think the Woman description implies a woman facing the front, not facing a side as the evolving man would be. -w:User:Geoffrey
Speaking as a lesbian, I think naked females are beautiful.---Stevertigo

Man

  • Rationale: 1. Wikipedia's created by man. ;) 2. Wikipedia is evolving, using the help of many people across the world. Use one of those pictures of hominids walking across the page and evolving into man. 3. Evolution is controversial, like Wikipedia. All this doesn't satisfy is chaotic and infectious. - We can call him Homo vikipædia (after the Latin Wikipedia's title).
  • Support: Geoffrey
  • Problems: Not very creative in some sense; animals not humans are expected to be mascots; creationists will have problems (unless we also make it look like Adam); we'd have to figure out a way to draw this tactfully; it'd be a male human and would cause problems with women's-rights; it'd likely be white or close to white, and probably not black; etc.
This may bring up some concerns similar to Should Wikipedia Use Profanity.

Mice

  • Rationale: There are mice everywhere there are Wikipedians.
  • Support: Aoineko

Wikisaurus

  • Rationale: Some kind of Dinosaur thing, fictional creature based on ancient historic creatures, also no one else uses a Wikisaurus.
  • Support:
  • Problems: This would be a much better mascot for Wiktionary since the thing that really sets that project apart is that it is a multilingual "Thesaurus" in addition to being a dictionary.

Frog

  • Rationale: Some People like frogs. :-s
  • Support
  • Note : Oh yes ? Thanks a lot...

dove and 5 Ws

Dove being Clich? symbolizing peace etc, 5 Ws standing for Wiki in the 5 populated continents (depending on the reckoning). PS drawing very very crude.

  • Support

no word

Neither the linux's penguin nor the sqls's dolphin have a word. Adding a word... it's no more a mascot. And internationalization ? User:Alvaro from the french wikipedia

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