Rust Foundation wants to ban changing logo colors and bringing weapons to conferences
Warning: Everything below is not a belated April Fool’s joke, but is actually happening.
Rust Foundation, which is responsible for the development of the Rust language published draft of their new rules for using Rust as a trademark. Among the many points of what they want to ban, there are such:
If in doubt about compliance with the new policy, developers are encouraged to use the abbreviation RS instead of Rust to indicate that the project is based on Rust, compatible with Rust, and related to Rust. For example, crate packages are recommended to be named “rs-name” instead of “rust-name”.
Selling merchandise – Without express approval, the use of the Rust name and logo is prohibited to sell or advertise merchandise for profit. For example, selling stickers with the Rust logo for personal gain is prohibited.
Showing Support for a Project – Showing support on a personal site or blog using the Rust name and logo is only allowed if all the requirements specified in the new policy are met.
The Rust name is allowed in the titles of articles, books, and tutorials, as long as it is explicitly stated that the Rust project and the Rust Foundation are not involved in the creation and review of the content.
The use of the Rust name and logo is prohibited as a means of personalization on corporate social media.
The use of the Rust logo is prohibited in any modification of the logo itself other than ‘scaling’; in the future, the organization will independently publish new versions of the logo, taking into account current social movements (such as LGBTQIA + Pride Month, Black Lives Matter, etc.)
‘Ferris’ (crab, project mascot) is not owned by the organization and the organization has no right to restrict the use of this trademark.
At conferences and events related to the Rust language and other products of the organization, the carrying of firearms must be prohibited, local health restrictions must be respected, and clear codes of conduct (robust CoC) must be used.
These and other suggestions have already caused a lot of outrage in the Rust user community. A fork has already been created called crablang under the motto “All your favorite memory-safe features are now 100% less bureaucratic!”. You can also write “Yes, are you all there, are you crazy?” to the feedback form Rust Foundation.
