Never has three letters ever caused so much pain and hatred towards fellow internet fanatics. One of the most debated wars in Internet history. The Great GIF Debate is something that continually causes controversy within the Geek community. This debate is a modern day war. Many good MacBook Pros, hipster glasses, and Casio Watches have been bruised and broken in this great schism. Just like how Star Wars fans debated who truly shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, this full out battle holds the same hatred for either side.
Now for those who do not know what’s going on because you’ve been living under a rock or happen to not own a 9Gag or Tumblr account, here’s some background information on the subject. GIF or Graphics Interchange Format, created in 1987 by Steve Wilhite for the software company CompuServe. This revolutionary animated 8 bits per pixel composed of 256 colours paved the way for sarcastic hipsters and awkward depressed teens who have pent up issues to have a platform where they can create the memes and hilarity that we know today.
Modern Examples on the Usage of .GIFS
As the importance of GIFs grew along with the popularity of simple animation photographs, a boom of language debate was created. Just like the pronunciations of the words schedule and potato, .GIF had its own problem. Is the word GIF pronounced with a hard G as in graphics or with a soft G as in jiffy?
The G vs J question created a schism within the Geek community. At the G camp, many have advocated that if it truly is pronounced “JIF” then would that create the pronunciation of graphic as jraphic? This created a tension questioning the phonics of the English Language. At the J camp, many countered with; if GIF were pronounced with a G then how would you pronounce giraffe?
Oxford English Dictionary issued their neutrality in the issue. Stating that they would recognise both pronunciations to be correct, yet this was not enough for the die hard zealots who wished fora victor. In 2012, Oxford Dictionary made GIF the Oxford Dictionaries USA Word of the Year 2012.
Rarely would The President create such a political scandal, but during the launch of The Whitehouse Tumblr account, the government has stated the support of the pronunciation of GIF with a hard G. Hopefully this wouldn’t hurt the President’s political career.
The bitter war between three letters has seen a rise of those who advocated for the Hard G…until the 2013 Webby Awards.
This revelation from the Father of the GIF has sparked controversy; a massive vindication for those who felt self conscious pronouncing it JIF, a massive loss for GIF zealots. A popular peanut butter brand in America, Jif, is ecstatic over the victory as it gave the company a great marketing opportunity to the Geek community.
Whatever the pronunciation maybe, both sides still fiercely defend their pronunciations of GIF. (Unless you’re one of those who state the letters as in LOL to avoid any conflict.) Personally, it’s GIF with a hard G, and if you tell me otherwise, you can pry my hard G from my cold dead fingers.