this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
92 points (95.1% liked)

Today I Learned

24521 readers
327 users here now

What did you learn today? Share it with us!

We learn something new every day. This is a community dedicated to informing each other and helping to spread knowledge.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with TIL. Linking to a source of info is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to spark discussion.

** Posts must be about an actual fact that you have learned, but it doesn't matter if you learned it today. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.**



Rule 2- Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-TIL posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-TIL posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 14 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 46 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

He did the art but the idea behind it was Melinda Gates. She wanted to make computers approachable to people who had never used a computer. Microsoft Bob was the result and Clippy was the remnant of Bob.

That's why I have a small problem with Rossman using Clippy. Rossman's idea is good but Clippy represents helping people use a computer for the very first time. There was no anti consumer late stage capitalism in Clippy. It popped up in a corner so if you had never used a computer it would catch your attention. You didn't have to use it. You could turn it off permanently with a single click.

If the Linux man command had a logo, it would be like co opting that logo to represent anti consumer practices. The man command is there to help when you don't know what to do.

[–] tuxed@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago

I think that was the reason he gave for using clippy?

"Clippy didn't spy on you, he just wanted to help", as a contrast to copilot etc.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)


A cartoon drawing (by pmjv) of Clippy with a sly expression with text that reads "if I knew how to steal and sell your data in '97 I would've done it".

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I think you encapsulated one big reason why despite him being logical about most things, he constantly rubs me the wrong way.

[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Well you're not supposed to rub clippy on yourself in the first place.

[–] rossome@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's clear to me clippy was chosen solely due to it's pop cultural appeal and has since been successfully co-opted as the new face of the movement.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 31 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

In the 2010s and 2020s, however, he reassessed his design as he began receiving fan mail and recognition for designing a pop culture icon, with a wave of nostalgia driving even Clippy-based erotica.

I know about rule 34. But wow.

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 6 days ago

It was really Melinda Gates. Clippy was as spinoff of Microsoft Bob, which was a pet project of hers. It was a really bad idea for a UI, but since she was the wife of the CEO, they did everything to try to make something out of it. Kept its loose entrails going for decades.

[–] dotslashme@infosec.pub 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Kevan Atteberry (born 1955 or 1956)

TIL the internet doesn't even know when he's born.

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Man of Mystery

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Just remember that the "clippy as your avatar" movement isn't about good companies vs bad ones, it's about software that offers help but doesn't force itself down your throat (the way AI is).

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 days ago
[–] anubis119@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

You either die a villain, or live long enough to see yourself become the hero.

[–] desmosthenes@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago