Bumper sticker, please.
And a smaller, 2" sticker that would be perfect for affixing to laptops.
You could even rip off the Notre Dame logo and have a dude in a dunce hat ineptly engaging in fisticuffs.
Enjoy,
Steven
Ooh, like the oval locations ones (OBX, etc.), with a simple SDMB.
Count me baffled by this;
‘things that are not trademarked (like the logo)’.
Is it just me, or isn’t that the very basis for all branding? Whatever happened to common-freaking-sense.
Just when you thought policy couldn’t get any odder, it’s never dull around here that’s for sure.
Honestly though, I’m not interested in a ‘Stray Tope -iss taken lawn gher tan weeth ought!’ t shirt, thanks anyway.
In my opinion if you’re not willing to share the logo or trademarks bits with us than I’m not willing to share my money with you.
This was entirely proposed as an easy way to make you money. And yet, once again, you’ve found away to shoot yourselves in the foot. Well done, keep up the good job!
I’m sure you’re right, of course, who wants to see their logo or masthead all over everywhere, everyone talking about it. Yuck, thanks for saving us from that!
Clearly it’s now the hamsters that are dictating corporate policy. And, if it’s not, maybe it’s time they got a shot, they could surely improve on the comedy routine that’s being played out here.
Wait, the Straight Dope has a logo? You mean the horrendously squished together header on the homepage, using Impact no less, with a gross vintage 1998 gradient overlay? Is the trademark on how squished together the letters are, or could anyone get a shirt with The Straight Dope printed with Impact?
I’d buy and use Straight Dope toilet paper. You could print “Straight Dope-- Fighting incontinence since 1973” on it.
(just a joke, people. just a joke.)
Hey, to judge from a lot of the opinions expressed here, TPTB could really clean up by producing and marketing toilet paper with Slug Signorino’s art on it.
Not me, but I definitely see a market for it.
Cheers,
bcg
Well, the letters are pretty straight, you know, and you’d probably find that correspondence like, totally meaningful if you were on dope, so I guess it kind of works…
I suggest a naked calendar featuring the mods and the administrators.
Can we find 12 hot mods with hot bods?
Yep. +1
I’ve designed and had printed several t-shirts/sweaters via Uberprints.com, and I find them much better to work with than Cafe Press, design-wise. You might want to check them out before you commit to something.
Back in about March 2004, when the Board was having financial troubles and Ed appealed to the community for understanding and support (I think the main instructions were ‘don’t overtax the server’ and ‘please buy merchandise’), I tried to buy one of the “Stupidity, I Smack Thy Face” shirts. For some reason it never got charged to my credit card and never showed up, and by the time that became apparent (the next card cycle, 6-8 weeks for delivery, etc), I gave up on it and moved on. Now I’m sad to see that they’re closing out that design… this thread reminded me how I never got my t-shirt, and now that I’m not a starving student I was about to go buy one again. Twice disappointed, I guess (my size is no longer available).
Of the suggestions so far, I’m a fan of the proposed design which features “The Straight Dope – Fighting Ignorance Since 1973” on the front, and “Cite?” on the back (probably also including the URL someplace).
I think in-jokes which feature specific posters (“Hi, Opal!”) are probably not a great plan, but original art themed on board topics or memes might be. I’m imagining a rich, mural-type image with several subscenes –
- one that has genius-looking characters in togas or tweed jackets gesturing like they’re debating in a garden (Great Debates)
- a “Eureka!” sort of scene where people are pointing to a book or an object or some authoritative source of new knowledge, surrounded by the tools of ignorance-fighting (say, a frying pan among them) (General Questions)
- a group of people holding teacups – some chatting, some comforting each other (MPSIMS)
- etc.
Above this collection of intertwined vignettes that sum up how we see ourselves, the title “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” – semi-ironic, just like the title of the forum. And on the back: “Fighting Ignorance Since 1973” above “www.straightdope.com”
In such a scene (and obviously this is a suggestion for original art by a generous and talented Doper – not me, I can’t draw), you can hide all the in-jokes you want. A Death Ray, a frying pan, a blazing golden retriever, a goat or a sheep, whatever you like, as long as it doesn’t open old wounds or take a shot at a poster. You could even have a mortarboarded turkey in there someplace, as long as that doesn’t pose any copyright problems. And the various figures in the scenes shouldn’t be identifiable – like the figures for “Justice” and “Truth” outside a courthouse, they should be personifications of ideals, not images inspired by individual posters. And like the posters on the board, their character and identity is apparent from their context and actions, not their faces (which we don’t normally see).
Anybody willing to expand on that sort of idea?
PS
I’d totally still buy a Stupidity I Smack Thy Face if they bring it back. “Iconic classic” and all that.
I’m not enamored with any of the proposed designs for the front of a shirt, but I love the “Cite?” on the back.
Hah! I’d buy a few of those.
With the right artwork I would love to see something like this.
To each his/her own. De gustibus non est disputandum, and all that.
For me, I’ve simply not been a member here long enough (I’ve just celebrated my month anniversary) to steep in the SDMB culture and absorb some of the SDMB memes. So I’m not interested in any merchandise with any of the in jokes. I’m really still a fan of The Straight Dope at heart, and that’s what I’d want my t-shirt/coffee mug to reflect. Maybe the longer I’m here the more the in jokes will resonate, but that’s gonna take a while.
Damn straight. Especially since I can’t get a new one, and the one I have ain’t gonna last forever.
Cheers,
bcg
I like the Death Ray idea. Perhaps the blaster could be shooting at Ignorance somehow. Ignorance and stupidly withering under the assault of the deadly rays of the Straight Dope.
Take a look at my public profile picture. I’m not wearing a stitch, and I’ve been told I look pretty cute in that picture.
First suggestion in the thread, and I quite like it.
I’ve always thought a coffee mug would be cool, one specific to the Message Board that would enable members to recognize each other.
They should actually make and sell a Moderator mug to the masses.