<p>Sure ! bitcoin need a mascot !</p>
<p>+1 for the alpaca, good idea</p>
<p>a spider could also be a good idea, typically some kind of collaborative spiders ( most spiders work alone but there are also some small ones who work together to build gigantic webs )</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:30:54.163Z
Hmm, not so sure about a spider - arachnaphobia is quite common and could get confused with Halloween
Gary
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:28:57.217Z
2011-10-21T09:28:57.217Z
2020-06-16T11:10:03.350Z
neofutur
<p>As the first thing that one can associate with the word "Bitcoin" is a coin, one should probably go in that direction. Since coins are not very animate in themselves and anthropomorphizing them would probably look silly, probably something that has a strong correlation with a coin is the way to go. One can think of materials - gold and silver, specific faces from the coins (which is too local to consider), and people dealing with coins and money - bankers, tax-collectors, those figures don't really have any good connotations in general. There is one more group of people that are associated with coins - pirates, which whereas can have negative connotations (digital piracy), are also considered positive in some manners (Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.). So I think we should be considering some pirate with a chest full of Bitcoins.</p>

<p>Alternatively, there are also other more fantasy creatures people associate with coins or precious metals - leprechauns, dwarves, and the like. Whereas those don't have much negative connotations, their positive connotations aren't very prevalent either, so I would stick with pirates.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:42:41.137Z
Pirates seem to be getting a bad name in the press these days: music downloads, Somalia. But then they are also associated with liberty and freedom from authority. As a mascot, I think it might be too charged - or I might be reading too much into it.
Gary
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T12:58:04.697Z
Oh boy, please no pirates! Pirates are not positive in any way whatsoever.
Sean Chapman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T12:59:51.620Z
"Join Bitcoin and have your coins stolen by pirates with big chests of Bitcoin!" comes to mind... maybe that's just me also though..
Sean Chapman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T15:28:03.097Z
How about "do what you want, 'cos a pirate is free?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbq_1Wy70rE
ThePiachu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:26:47.397Z
2011-10-21T09:26:47.397Z
ThePiachu
<p>Allie the Apaca !
<a href="http://www.livanti-alpacas.com/images/photos/alpaca_horizon.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.livanti-alpacas.com/images/photos/alpaca_horizon.jpg</a></p>

<p>A lot of the early bitcoin coverage mentioned the fact that you buy alpaca socks so I think the alpaca should be the bitcoin mascot. Obvious names are Al and Allie. I think Allie is cuter. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:45:00.730Z
... and a Bitcoin badge... could be on to something here
Gary
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T09:25:50.577Z
2011-10-21T09:25:50.577Z
user204
<p>Many questions on this forum center on the idea of getting Bitcoin to go mainstream. One mechanism that the Linux team employed for their distros was the idea of a mascot - the Linux penguin, Tux (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tux" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tux</a>).</p>

<p>So should Bitcoin have an equivalent? And if you think so, what would you suggest and why? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T14:00:54.337Z
I think that this question is not very appropriate for our Q&A format. There is not on real answer to this. A discussion forum would be a better place to gather ideas.
nmat
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T15:28:53.470Z
If you start a forum thread on that, please paste a link here;).
ThePiachu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T17:24:19.647Z
Created a forum thread for this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=49289.0
ThePiachu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-21T18:47:49.120Z
And it's a good thing I'm not a moderator there, because that thread is a duplicate of [this one](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=24680.0) ;)
David Perry
<marketing>
Should there be a Bitcoin equivalent of Tux?
Gary
# Should there be a Bitcoin equivalent of Tux?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-10-21)

Many questions on this forum center on the idea of getting Bitcoin to go mainstream. One mechanism that the Linux team employed for their distros was the idea of a mascot - the Linux penguin, Tux (see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tux>).

So should Bitcoin have an equivalent? And if you think so, what would you suggest and why?

**Tags:** marketing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think that this question is not very appropriate for our Q&A format. There is not on real answer to this. A discussion forum would be a better place to gather ideas.  
> **username_2**: If you start a forum thread on that, please paste a link here;).  
> **username_2**: Created a forum thread for this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=49289.0  
> **username_3**: And it's a good thing I'm not a moderator there, because that thread is a duplicate of [this one](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=24680.0) ;)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2011-10-21. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Allie the Apaca !
<http://www.livanti-alpacas.com/images/photos/alpaca_horizon.jpg>

A lot of the early bitcoin coverage mentioned the fact that you buy alpaca socks so I think the alpaca should be the bitcoin mascot. Obvious names are Al and Allie. I think Allie is cuter.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: ... and a Bitcoin badge... could be on to something here  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2011-10-21. Score: 0

Sure ! bitcoin need a mascot !

+1 for the alpaca, good idea

a spider could also be a good idea, typically some kind of collaborative spiders ( most spiders work alone but there are also some small ones who work together to build gigantic webs )

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Hmm, not so sure about a spider - arachnaphobia is quite common and could get confused with Halloween  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2011-10-21. Score: 0

As the first thing that one can associate with the word "Bitcoin" is a coin, one should probably go in that direction. Since coins are not very animate in themselves and anthropomorphizing them would probably look silly, probably something that has a strong correlation with a coin is the way to go. One can think of materials - gold and silver, specific faces from the coins (which is too local to consider), and people dealing with coins and money - bankers, tax-collectors, those figures don't really have any good connotations in general. There is one more group of people that are associated with coins - pirates, which whereas can have negative connotations (digital piracy), are also considered positive in some manners (Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.). So I think we should be considering some pirate with a chest full of Bitcoins.

Alternatively, there are also other more fantasy creatures people associate with coins or precious metals - leprechauns, dwarves, and the like. Whereas those don't have much negative connotations, their positive connotations aren't very prevalent either, so I would stick with pirates.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Pirates seem to be getting a bad name in the press these days: music downloads, Somalia. But then they are also associated with liberty and freedom from authority. As a mascot, I think it might be too charged - or I might be reading too much into it.  
> **username_5**: Oh boy, please no pirates! Pirates are not positive in any way whatsoever.  
> **username_5**: "Join Bitcoin and have your coins stolen by pirates with big chests of Bitcoin!" comes to mind... maybe that's just me also though..  
> **username_2**: How about "do what you want, 'cos a pirate is free?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbq_1Wy70rE  

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