Excerpts from linuxchix: 21-Oct-99 Why I Find Those Screenshot.. by Neil
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> 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.
There are several areas to the themes.org site, including a screenshot
area and theme area (for E at least. other window managers may be
different.). The purpose of the site is to provide themes. It doesn't
really state what the purposes of each one is, but since there is a
"theme" section that is separate from the "screenshots" section, if I
were looking for a theme, I would go to the theme section.
(question: how can you be bothered by themes.org if you've never seen it?)
> 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.
Well, that seems to be what people use the screenshots section for. If
I wanted to convince people to use my theme, I'd put it in the theme
section (which includes a screenshot), if I wanted to say "look how k3wl
I am", I'd put it in the screenshot section (which doesn't usually
include a link to download the theme).
> 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.
You're starting to sound like the swedish chef ;)
> 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.
Hm. If LUA uses a file containing c code, does it imply that the
intended audience is coders? If LUA shows gimp, does imply that the
intended audience is gimp users? If LUA shows an mp3 player, does it
imply that the intended audience is mp3-listeners?
> now because the explicitly stated intended
> audience is all linux users,
s/linux/unix. X is not a Linux thing. Window managers are not a Linux thing.
Now, the explicitly stated intended audience for *themes.org* may be all
linux|unix|X users. However, I don't think any individual theme authors
explicitly state that the intended audience for their theme is all linux
users (themes.org doesn't do the themes/screenshots themselves.. users
upload them).
> this in turn implies that linux users are men.
Or implies that the target audience for the particular theme/screenshot
is men, or more accurately, people who want pictures of naked women on
their desktop, just as a theme featuring, say, The Xfiles is targeted
toward people who like The Xfiles.
> 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.
I understand where you're coming from, just trying to explain my point
of view...
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