this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2025

23 points (100.0% liked)

Chat

8605 readers

2 users here now

Relaxed section for discussion and debate that doesn't fit anywhere else. Whether it's advice, how your week is going, a link that's at the back of your mind, or something like that, it can likely go here.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

AskBeehaw

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

alyaza@beehaw.org

remington@beehaw.org

Revisiting Beehaw merchandise (beehaw.org)

submitted 11 months ago by remington@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In the past, Beeple had inquired about having Beehaw merchandise. At that time, they thought it would be a good way to raise funds to keep the site going.

Now that our finances are OK I’d like to revisit this idea for the following reasons:

Pure fun and enjoyment.
A way to get attention and draw people to Beehaw.

My brother has been in the professional textile space for 15 years. I asked him what he’d recommend as a merchandise platform and he immediately responded: Printify

If someone wanted to take this on, then they would want to coordinate things with the admin team here at Beehaw.

What are your thoughts?

top 22 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Who has the rights to the Discord bee with a cowboy hat? That could easily be vectorized.

[–] remington@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No one has the rights to that one. It was donated and we were told we could do anything with it.

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Seems like a simple solution, then. I much prefer that one anyway. Not a lot of "haw" without the hat.

[–] Penguincoder@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

License for the emoji blobbees are CC BY-NC-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Of note

NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes .

I like the idea of the main hex logo on a hat or shirt and some tagline like

Non toxic social media

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Wouldn't setting up shop as the arm of a nonprofit solve this?

[–] Penguincoder@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

A lot more paperwork and requirements go into forming and maintaining a non profit. But in general; yes a non profit org is also non commercial. Not always the case though.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Beware that CC NC licenses are a minefield:

NonCommercial turns on the use, not the identity of the reuser.

https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/NonCommercial_interpretation

The BY-NC-SA is especially thorny. In this particular case, it could be equally argued that:

✅ The non-profit is not profitting
⚠️ The printing service IS profitting
⚠️ The non-profit has NO right to allow the printing service to profit (-SA)

Given how fluid the NC interpretation can be, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. Combined with current copyright law, it's not only about whether the creator decides to sue, but also whether their heirs/estate decide to sue... for 70 years after the creator's death!

[–] remington@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago

Very good point and thank you for bringing it to our attention!

[–] Zoop@beehaw.org 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I think it would be really cool to see some solid Beehaw merch out there! I loved the previous cute little cowboy bee with the cowboy hat, but I don't know if that's an option. I love a cutsie lil round bumbly bee with a cowboy hat!!! The shirt in your post is also very cute! Bee cool! 🐝💕

But... To be clear, there's no way in hell I'd ever be able to afford any merch, since my health issues and disabilities keep me from being able to work and earn money, so don't give my opinions much attention 😆

[–] rozwud@beehaw.org 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It would be cool to be able buy merch with the option to donate the same merch (or cost of merch for other needs depending on request) to another person in the community.

[–] BurningRiver@beehaw.org 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah this is where I’m at too. I’d definitely be willing to pay for some swag to get sent to other community members who otherwise may not be able to afford it, but I also would like it to be anonymous.

[–] remington@beehaw.org 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for the feedback and take care.

[–] Zoop@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Thanks, I appreciate that a lot! 💖

[–] scintilla@beehaw.org 7 points 10 months ago

I'm always a sticker peraon but the math behind selling stickers is stupid from what I've heard content creators say.

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I spent the past several minutes looking over Printify. Seems dead simple, and as someone with a graphics-arts background who needs work, I'd be willing to take this on.

Apparently, we could do Beehaw-branded supplements in case shirts, hats and mugs prove insufficient.

[–] remington@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago

I had no idea they had supplements! LOL

If you'd like to take this on, then please keep in mind that some things may need to be passed through the admin channel first.

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I love the idea and I think it meets the goals you are aiming for! Any ol design would be neat, but if I'm being picky, I think I prefer the artstyle of our beemojis. Those are also pretty hi-res, so I could see a t-shirt design that just straight-up copies those over to a t-shirt print.

[–] remington@beehaw.org 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, the Blobbee emojis cannot be used for commercial purposes.

However, someone creative could easily come up with ideas based on them.

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Okay secondary idea: weren't the community icons created FOR Beehaw? I think a shirt that puts the various sub icons together into a full honeycomb structure would also be sick.

[–] remington@beehaw.org 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

...weren’t the community icons created FOR Beehaw?

Yes. We paid for those. However, we cannot use those for commercial purposes.

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 4 points 11 months ago

okay, interesting. thanks for the info!

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 3 points 11 months ago

ahhh gotcha, i did not realize those were not explicitly created for Beehaw.