The woman's email 1
Hello. I would like to express concern in regards to your "Urban Icons"
as well as your "Error" icon for Mozilla Thunderbird. I was quite taken aback when I found that you made these icons appear menacing and inferior to your all of your other icons. For instance, showing "filtered" language on the front of a hoodie suggests that it shows something obscene and negative which is a stereotype and not at all accurate. I was also disturbed that you accentuated the bust of the female versions of these "Urban icons" in a manner that makes them appear promiscuous: another stereotype. On the other hand, I am quite impressed by the apparent talent for icon making that your group has.
As a potential customer, I think that it would be in your best interest to honor all people, not just for moral reasons, but because they are, too, potential customers. I have enjoyed viewing all of your icons save these. So, please stop insulting our intelligence and amend these icons. I would also suggest a name change from "Urban icons" to "Icons of Color", or something to that effect (I think that this would beget more acceptance from the African American and Hispanic communities).
Or, even better yet, you could integrate the people of color into your normal set. This benefits everyone because it demonstrates diversity, political correctness and it will save you bandwidth and disk space.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to this complaint. I surely hope that you consider it.
Cordially,
XXXX |
My reply 1...
Hi,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I‘ve been away over Christmas & then came back to a mountain of work & emails to reply to.
For the Urban PPL XP icons the pixelated filter is meant show that it's hiding swearing.
The line to show a bust on the women is also supposed to be there. What are you saying, that women don't have breasts? Why would women having breasts be promiscuous? All women have breasts. Does that make all women promiscuous?
The Urban PPL are just that, urban. Not normal XP people icons.
I have plenty of ‘normal' people icons that I license to companies, but the Urban PPL icons are also very popular with companies licensing my icons.
The icons are aimed a people with a sense of humour.
Don't tell me what icons to make. I make the icons & give them away for free for personal use. If you don't like them don't use them. Simple as that.
Change the name of the icons to ‘Icons of Colour'? Ten of the people in Urban PPL XP are white.
If you dislike the Urban PPL icon so much I'm sure you'll be horrified to know that the Urban PLL 2 icon sets is the making.
As for the Error icon for Thunderbird, I don't recall making an Error icon. Can you show this to me?
Regards,
XXXX
FOOOD's Icons
The woman's reply 1
I'm sorry if I seem overly argumentative, but these are normal people, that just happen to live in an urban setting. You behave as though they are not normal people and they are specimens of sorts.
To clarify, I'm not telling you what kind of icons to make. I am simply suggesting that you be politically correct and try to see the huge ramifications of what you are doing.
You said that these filtering is used to hide swearing.
However, since you are making the icons, swearing obviously wouldn't be on them in the first place. This suggests that you are implying that there would be swearing, which you do not know for a fact.
Considering your ignorance concerning urban life, I am going to assume that you did not come from that kind of setting.
Also, I am not saying that women do not have busts. However, if you compare your "Urban ppl" icons to your "normal" ones, you will find that the "normal" ones do not have visible busts. If you're going to make them realistic, as you claim, make it "realistic" across the board.
Also, your urban icons are not exactly "white" in the Caucasian sense. Those that are not African American (which the majority of them are) are Latino/Latina, therefore you are targeting specific groups. For your information, Latino/Latinas are oftentimes considered people of color as they are not white in the Caucasian sense, as aforementioned.
Please, do not allow your suburban (or possibly even rural) ignorance to deplete the credibility of your business.
Also, the "error" icon to which I am referring is to be found
here: http://www.spuler.us/icandyjr/js_console.png .
Basically, if you are going to have icons of color (yes, the Latino/Latina ones are not white in the "normal" sense), do yourself and humanity a favor and integrate them. You are insulting the intelligence of the IT community by making such offensive icon collections.
You may not think that it's offensive, but that is probably because you have lived in a small, homogeneous community in which there were no minorities and the only glimpse of them that you experienced regularly was on television.
I urge you to expand your provincial thinking so as to incorporate more reality into your collections. Obviously, you have no legal binding or obligation to do this. However, for the sake for integrity, I implore you to consider it.
XXXX |
My reply 1...
Hi again,
You seem to be taking this very seriously. Something that the icons aren't meant to be. As I said in my first email these icons are aimed at people with a sense of humour. Maybe you don't fall into this bracket.
“You behave as though they are not normal people and they are specimens of sorts” |
They aren't real people. They're just cartoony icons.
“I am simply suggesting that you be politically correct and try to see the huge ramifications of what you are doing.” |
Why is showing something like it really is being politically incorrect? I make icons of what I see around me. And where I live young people wear clothes like these (including wearing hats & tops with swear words on them).
Politically correct? No. Real life? Yes.
“However, since you are making the icons, swearing obviously wouldn't be on them in the first place. This suggests that you are implying that there would be swearing, which you do not know for a fact.” |
What the hell are you talking about?
I made the icons. I put the swear words on the clothes/hats & then pixelated the text. I could have chosen not to have put swear words on the icons… but I didn't.
I chose to put swearing, cleavage etc. on the icons. I could have chosen to leave of the pixelated effect & show the actual swearwords.
(Hmmm… an idea for the future maybe? )
“Also, I am not saying that women do not have busts. However, if you compare your "Urban ppl" icons to your "normal" ones, you will find that the "normal" ones do not have visible busts. If you're going to make them realistic, as you claim, make it "realistic" across the board.” |
My normal ones? I have some (what I call normal) people icons that I don't release for free, I just license them to companies. Some of them wear suits & higher neck clothes. But others do have a slight cleavage like the Urban PPL icons.
“Also, your urban icons are not exactly "white" in the Caucasian sense.” |
Yes, they are. I made the icons & I say they are white.
Here's Microsoft's own icon along with mine. The skin colour isn't exactly the same, but they aren't miles apart either. Is Microsoft's icon Latino?
“Those that are not African American (which the majority of them are) are Latino/Latina” |
No they're not. See my answer above.
“Considering your ignorance concerning urban life, I am going to assume that you did not come from that kind of setting.”
“Please, do not allow your suburban (or possibly even rural) ignorance to deplete the credibility of your business.”
“You may not think that it's offensive, but that is probably because you have lived in a small, homogeneous community in which there were no minorities and the only glimpse of them that you experienced regularly was on television.” |
This is hilarious!
You know nothing about me or where I live, but have assumed I live in a field & haven't actually met an ‘ethnic' person in the flesh before?
This email has made my day. I didn't realise being patronised so much could be so funny!
“I urge you to expand your provincial thinking so as to incorporate more reality into your collections.” |
This is the reality. Maybe not where you live, but where I live it is.
The world is a very large place.
Contrary to what you have assumed I grew up in a multicultural society. I've grown up with a lot of black, Asian (Pakistani, Bangladeshi) Chinese, Italian & Arabian friends (although there aren't many Hispanics here where I live).
As I also said before, Urban PPL 2 is well under way. With more cleavage, pixelated swear words & I'll probably throw in a few protruding nipples in as well.
I receive a lot of emails from people asking me to ‘do them' (make an icon of them), make some Chinese looking people, Asian looking people etc.
Maybe I'll oblige.
“As a potential customer, I think that it would be in your best interest to honor all people, not just for moral reasons, but because they are, too, potential customers. I have enjoyed viewing all of your icons save these. So, please stop insulting our intelligence and amend these icons." |
I'm not interested in your business. Being self employed I have the good fortune to be able choose who I do or don't work for.
And the same goes for other businesses. If they don't like my icons they don't have to licence them or employ me to make new icons for them.
(But I'm happy to say business is extremely busy).
Regards,
|