More Butterfly Thoughts from Tim Cole

David let loose the InDesign butterflies in his posting on the InDesign CS3 butterfly Easter egg. Now Adobe guru Tim Cole has published what may be the definitive answers to some of the questions raised by David in his Adobe blog, InDesign BackChannel.

Butterfly Easter Egg

Here are some of Tim’s hilarious responses to the original posting:

On the purpose of the Easter egg:

“The purpose of this InDesign CS3 easter-egg is to commemorate the passing of the InDesign butterfly icon in favor of the periodic table style minimalism of the CS3 product line.We didn’t want to let the butterly era pass without comment, and thought it worth commemorating in an informal, tongue-in-cheek way.”

On cruelty to insects (or aliens):

“It is also important to note that no actual butterflies or aliens were/are injured in the development and/or use of this easter-egg. These are digital representations of butterflies and aliens (and alien spacecraft), not actual butterflies or aliens (or alien spacecraft). Therefore any concerns expressed about cruelty to insects (or aliens), cultural predispositions to violence, etc., are indications that those expressing them are conflating digital and non-digital realities, and need to get more of a life beyond the boundaries of their computer screens.”

On the “meanness” or “unfunniness” of nailing down butterflies—symbols of colors, diversity, freedom and creativity:

“Well, you’re right about the symbolism…that’s why the butterfly was chosen as the original symbol for InDesign.

“But if you’re really worried about the well-being of your digital butterflies, you’ll find that not only can you release your pinned butterflies by clicking on them again, you’ll also see that closing and opening the easter-egg again liberates them all, and you can let them fly free on your display for hours on end. In fact, you’ll be comforted to know that even when the easter-egg window is closed, they’re still flying in a free and self-actualizing way inside your display…you just can’t see them. Seriously…even in a flat panel.”

For more fun, see Tim’s posting.