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What is the name of an animal used as a logo by the GNU Project (gnu.org)?

And why was this animal chosen to represent the project?

jasonwryan
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Fan
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not (or too far from) about unix/linux. – Archemar Apr 19 '16 at 07:06
  • The title of this SE is Unix & Linux... Also read http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html for more details about Linux often being GNU/Linux – Lambert Apr 19 '16 at 07:33
  • I've asked this question here http://stackoverflow.com, here http://superuser.com, and now here http://unix.stackexchange.com. All of them want to be closed. In the first two places, is OK it was out of topic. But here in Unix & Linux? GNU is Not Unix, but GNU is Unix-like. What about Linux? You may also want to close this: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/3423/what-is-the-font-used-for-gnu-documentation http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/13288/is-gnu-pdf-library-in-active-development http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/90883/is-it-possible-to-run-pure-gnu And others. – Fan Apr 19 '16 at 07:33
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    The question shows little effort, but it *is* on topic here... – jasonwryan Apr 19 '16 at 07:34
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    I'm voting to keep this question open because the site should be called UNIX and GNU/Linux (and then ducks behind chair). – roaima Apr 19 '16 at 07:40
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    Honestly, Fan, I don't believe this is a good-faith question. "What animal is in this picture with the word GNU next to it, which is clearly a depiction of a gnu, and which is used as the logo of a project with an absurd acronym for a name?". It is on-topic, it should just be downvoted to oblivion. – Michael Homer Apr 19 '16 at 07:43
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    (Initially I thought this was just someone who [hadn't heard of a gnu](https://audioboom.com/boos/3812989-who-knew-the-gnu), but [the comment on techraf's answer](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/277453/what-is-the-name-of-an-animal-used-as-a-logo-by-the-gnu-project#comment482111_277455) really sealed it in the other direction for me). – Michael Homer Apr 19 '16 at 07:45

2 Answers2

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The common name of the animal in GNU Project's logo is gnu and it is a species of antelope (also called wildebeest).

The acronym GNU (Gnu's Not Unix) was introduced in 1983 in a text email by Richard Stallman.

It can be assumed that the acronym GNU precedes the logo and its spelling became an inspiration for the design.

The original logo (called A GNU Head) was drawn by (or is attributed to) Etienne Suvasa and redrawn in 2001 by Peter Gerwinski:

A GNU Head

Glorfindel
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techraf
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  • Note that the pronunciations of the animal gnu and the GNU project differ. [Source](https://www.gnu.org/gnu/pronunciation.html). – Matthias Braun Apr 19 '16 at 09:14
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    So how do you pronounce the name of the animal? – Useless Apr 19 '16 at 09:18
  • @Nasha Of course not. In previous forums my question is out of topic, and finally I found the right place for my question here. I've been looking everywhere, including on gnu.org, but I didn't find the answer there, or maybe I missed something. Are you willing to help me? – Fan Apr 19 '16 at 09:23
  • @Fan [this page](https://www.gnu.org/graphics/agnuhead.html) mentions "The head of a GNU was the default art for pages on this web site including GNU's home page". Is that official enough for you? That's the official page of the GNU project, clearly stating that their logo is the head of a GNU. – terdon Apr 19 '16 at 09:29
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    @Useless the animal gnu is pronounced like "new". The g is silent unlike in the GNU project. – Matthias Braun Apr 19 '16 at 09:33
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For Free and/or Open software logos are often based on animals. GNU stands for GNU is Not Unix and the match with the animal is quickly made.

See http://www.gnu.org/ and http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu.html for more information.

Lambert
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