rogervellacott wrote:

>
> Let me spell it out then.
>
> 1. The image of the phoenix has been flogged to death as a symbol by
> hundreds of companies, products, organisations, publishers for
> years. This is what makes it feel old-fashioned and boring.

True.

> 2. The phoenix symbol was chosen because it signified a product
> rising from the ashes of Interbase. Its emphasis is therefore on the
> past. This history is only of interest to people who were using
> Interbase before Firebird existed. It is inward-looking because its
> message is for the community of existing developers, and not for new
> potential customers.

Also true.

> 3. Because of the emphasis on the troubled past, the negative
> aspects of the phoenix message are more powerful than its positive
> aspects. It may be very difficult for people who have been involved
> in the project for a long time to see this, especially if they have
> some romantic notion about the moral superiority of a group of
> independent developers over a commercial company. Perhaps these
> people want to sell the history first, and the product second.

Probably true.

> 4. Firebird seems to me to be a great name. It is easily
> remembered, it is powerful, it has energy. It can only work, however,
> if the phoenix connection is dropped.

It is meaningless without the association with phoenix.

> 5. Firebird would be greatly helped if, in addition to a good name,
> it had a powerful and memorable symbol. The word "Firebird" carries
> a meaning,

What meaning and particularly in relation to a database?

> so there is restricted freedom in choosing an image.
> ("Linux" has no meaning, so its fine to use a penguin, but if Linux
> was called "Walrus", the penguin would look very odd). If Firebird
> is not to be associated with the phoenix, then we are left either
> with some other interpretation of "fire", such as "bright red", or
> some abstract symbol, which is as literally meaningless as "Linux".

The problem is the name "Firebird". It was conceived of for the very
reasons
you presented above and is now meaningless except to those original
warriors
who needed the banner.

> 6. If a red bird is to be the symbol, then it will be infinitely
> more powerful if it is anthropomorphised. This requires a human-like
> expression, which in turn requires eyes and a mouth.

And the question remains: What DOES it symbolize?