i've been trying to figure out how to explain why i find those screenshots
offensive, mostly just for my own edification, to understand better why it
offends me.
i've come up with an explanation that i'm happy with, and i hope that it
might help some of those who still don't "get it" to understand too... i
have no idea whether in fact it will, and i also have no idea whether my
reasons for being offended are at all the same reasons as ingrid's,
vinnie's, ae's, etc.
but anyway, to me the point is this. it comes down who is the intended
audience for viewing the screenshots -- and in particular, the explicitly
stated versus the implicitly stated intended audience.
the explicitly stated intended audience is, as i understand it, linux
users. i've never actually looked at themes.org, except for the few urls
posted to this list, but i believe the purpose of the site (or the
screenshots area of the site, if there's more to the site than that) is for
users to view some possible themes they could use, and also to see what
each one looks like before downloading it and trying it out. in
particular, note that the purpose is *not* for LinuxUserA to show the world
what apps/images/etc ze sometimes has on zir screen, it is for LinuxUserB
to see what zir own screen *could* look like. so it makes sense for
LinuxUserA to include in the screen shot some common apps, which LinuxUserB
might likely use, such as gimp or netscape or emacs... and of course, if
LinuxUserA is showing said apps, then ze must by necessity have *some* file
open, in order to show what the app looks like.
but here's where the implied intended audience comes in. if LinuxUserA
chooses as the sample file in gimp an image that is clearly designed for
men to enjoy, then the screenshot tends to imply that the intended audience
for that screenshot is male. now because the explicitly stated intended
audience is all linux users, this in turn implies that linux users are men.
which often makes women feel unwelcome. now, you may think that they
*shouldn't* be made to feel unwelcome by this kind of thing, but the fact
is that many of them do. you also may not care whether or not they feel
welcome, but i for one do. and that's why i find it inappropriate and
offensive to include such images in that context.
and in case this isn't clear, note that i don't care whether or not
LinuxUserA likes to look at girly pics -- to be honest, i myself like to
look at them too. but when i (or at least if i were to) look at
screenshots on themes.org, i'm not going there to see what LinuxUserA does
or looks at, i'm going there to see what i can make my linux desktop look
like.
furthermore, the suggestion that those screenshots belong in the "adult"
section completely misses the point. those themes were probably filed in
the correct section, it's just that the particular image of "monica" or
whatever did not belong in the screenshot of that theme.
and also, note that i have no problem with there being an "adult" section
of themes. the point of the different section is to acknowledge that among
linux users there will be people who are interested in some themes more
than others, and by giving a section an appropriate label, the viewer can
find the ones that ze wants to find.
okay, well, those are my thoughts on the matter... ymmv etc...
...derF\lieN
Neil "Fred" Picciotto --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- http://www.derf.net/
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
