For my part, the answer is that the picture is here because of a chain
of events:
1) "demon" is a colloquial name for system processes (mostly "servers"
like web servers, etc. but other important processes as well)
http://www.outpost9.com/reference/jargon/jargon_19.html#SEC26
2) the word itself is used in this way because it is a corruption of
"daemon" which is of Greek origin and means roughly "a spirit" or "a
soul" in some contexts.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/daemon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_%28classical_mythology%29
so it makes funny kind of sense to refer to the server processes of the
machine as its daemons.
The word "Demon" from Abrahamic religions is not the same "daemon" as
used here.
... thus, with tongue in cheek with regards to the religious portrait of
a medieval "Demon" comes "Beastie the demon":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beastie_%28mascot%29
Which is BTW deliberately drawn to be cute and non-threatening.
As a funny side-note, if instead of Greek the word was used from Latin,
that word for approximately the same thing would be "genius" (compare
English "genie"), but it would be harder and less recognizable to draw a
colloquial "genius" than to draw a colloquial "demon". :)
The answer to the question "why don't you change it to please religious
people" is that "we" (for various implications of the word) don't care
and there is no point to adapting to the religious worldviews.
The arrow of time
Ivan Voras' blog
About that demon...
There was a regular one-sided flamewar these days on the freebsd-questions@ list about the BSD mascot - Beastie the demon. The question is not the least new and it is asked regularily with approximately the same answers each time.
Posted on 2010-11-12T19:41 by ivoras
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#1 Re: About that demon...
Next time you can maybe use the comparision of the swastika (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika), which is a symbol for something good, but was used by the Nazis for something bad. Nobody is asking the Hinduism or Budshism religions to not use this symbol anymore, at the same time it is mostly forbidden by law (it depends how you use it) to use this symbol in Germany. In both cases there are valid reasons by all involved parties to handle it like it is handled, but in both cases it has to be seen in the context where it is used.
#2 Re: About that demon...
The fact that you have to even discuss about this says a lot.
#3 Re: About that demon...
Personally I'd like Beastie to be replaced with something that doesn't have religious reference. Not because I don't want to offend religious people, I'm shamefully capable of enjoying it, but because I don't like the existence of a religious connection. Can't say I feel very strongly about this, but I actually believe FreeBSD would be better off without Beastie because it would lead to less distraction form what FreeBSD mainly is; a great evolving computer tool. The possible upside is the only reason to peruse the idea of removing Beastie IMO.
#4 Re: About that demon...
That's why the official *logo* (not the mascot!) is an amorphous red baloon thingy which looks like an 80-ies cartoon floating robot drone: http://www.freebsd.org/logo.html
If you don't actually *choose* to see Beastie, it's actually very rarely displayed. You don't see it in the default configuration of the system, the Handbook, etc.
#5 Re: About that demon...
Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity, recognize all supernatural entities present in pagan religions as demons, so in fact Greek daemons are universally recognized as demons.
Now having a demon as a symbol of a product does not make it a sin to use it, just as wearing a cross can't make you a good person all by itself, but as AJ noted, there's no need to have any religious allusions in a serious product, so it seems we cling to the mascot more to piss people off than for any other reason.
Disclaimer: I'm a Christian.
#6 Re: About that demon...
This again? :) I kind of think it's fun.
I do think the question is perfectly valid. I mean, if you didn't know what the reference was, then wouldn't you wonder? I also think the answer is perfectly satisfactory. And, why would anyone ask people to abandon an innocent symbol to which they're sentimentally attached anyway? Furthermore, the new logo and the "demotion" of Beastie to mascot was an overall improvement -- even regardless of the questions/concerns.
I guess I think everything's just right. (What's wrong with me?! :p )