Updated Tumbleweed, Plasma app launcher shows Myrlyn highlighted as a new application. The icon is obviously AI generated, so at first I thought some unwanted piece of software just installed itself and it’s probably malicious. I’ve never had or even seen programs with AI-generated slop in place of icons, this seems like an oversight? How do the maintainers licence such an icon with all the “grey area” that surrounds the licencing of AI-generated content? Does anybody knows if the icon’s going to be changed now that Myrlyn is installed by default on Tumbleweed? Is openSUSE directly involved with the project?
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This topic seems too…
You will find answers to your questions at the project page at github.
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There are plenty of discussions here about myrlyn, and how the development of it is partially driven by the deprecation of YaST in Leap 16.
It’s not malicious; the developer has actually participated in discussions here in the forums.
As for the icon - I see no evidence that it’s AI-generated, and it seems to me that assuming it is rather than asking who the artist is could be seen as disrespectful to the person who created it.
Let’s start with the assumption that it isn’t, until it can be demonstrated that it was.
Here’s the exif data from the icon’s png file (I used the 72x72 image):
$ exiftool Myrlyn.png
ExifTool Version Number : 13.32
File Name : Myrlyn.png
Directory : .
File Size : 11 kB
File Modification Date/Time : 2025:07:09 02:35:59-07:00
File Access Date/Time : 2025:07:23 09:59:19-07:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2025:07:23 09:59:08-07:00
File Permissions : -rw-r--r--
File Type : PNG
File Type Extension : png
MIME Type : image/png
Image Width : 72
Image Height : 72
Bit Depth : 8
Color Type : RGB with Alpha
Compression : Deflate/Inflate
Filter : Adaptive
Interlace : Noninterlaced
Exif Byte Order : Little-endian (Intel, II)
Bits Per Sample : 8 8 8
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Software : GIMP 2.10.38
Color Space : sRGB
Profile Name : ICC profile
Profile CMM Type : Little CMS
Profile Version : 4.4.0
Profile Class : Display Device Profile
Color Space Data : RGB
Profile Connection Space : XYZ
Profile Date Time : 2025:01:11 17:02:40
Profile File Signature : acsp
Primary Platform : Apple Computer Inc.
CMM Flags : Not Embedded, Independent
Device Manufacturer :
Device Model :
Device Attributes : Reflective, Glossy, Positive, Color
Rendering Intent : Perceptual
Connection Space Illuminant : 0.9642 1 0.82491
Profile Creator : Little CMS
Profile ID : 0
Profile Description : GIMP built-in sRGB
Profile Copyright : Public Domain
Media White Point : 0.9642 1 0.82491
Chromatic Adaptation : 1.04788 0.02292 -0.05022 0.02959 0.99048 -0.01707 -0.00925 0.01508 0.75168
Red Matrix Column : 0.43604 0.22249 0.01392
Blue Matrix Column : 0.14305 0.06061 0.71393
Green Matrix Column : 0.38512 0.7169 0.09706
Red Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Green Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Blue Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Chromaticity Channels : 3
Chromaticity Colorant : Unknown
Chromaticity Channel 1 : 0.64 0.33002
Chromaticity Channel 2 : 0.3 0.60001
Chromaticity Channel 3 : 0.15001 0.06
Device Mfg Desc : GIMP
Device Model Desc : sRGB
XMP Toolkit : XMP Core 4.4.0-Exiv2
Document ID : gimp:docid:gimp:b2cebb32-5aac-49cf-a729-b44dddf584f6
Instance ID : xmp.iid:b9d92e19-3fad-4eab-b152-404d19e8590f
Original Document ID : xmp.did:5959999e-f7bd-4cd1-9a14-e9a902af2458
Format : image/png
Api : 2.0
Platform : Linux
Time Stamp : 1736615069312577
Version : 2.10.38
Creator Tool : GIMP 2.10
Metadata Date : 2025:01:11T18:04:29+01:00
History Action : saved
History Changed : /
History Instance ID : xmp.iid:9433ccb0-65bd-4847-b27b-6163a2ce829f
History Software Agent : Gimp 2.10 (Linux)
History When : 2025:01:11 18:04:29+01:00
Background Color : 255 255 255
Pixels Per Unit X : 2835
Pixels Per Unit Y : 2835
Pixel Units : meters
Modify Date : 2025:01:11 17:04:29
Image Size : 72x72
Megapixels : 0.005
Looks like it was created in Gimp 2.10.38.
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Yep, this was even explained by Stefan (not hard to find in the Github project). The first draft for the icon came from ChatGPT, but Stefan overworked them with GIMP.
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Thanks for sharing that - I managed to miss that discussion. 
Not an unusual workflow, either - to start with an idea, generate a draft with AI, and then use that as the basis for a usable image.
What an odd post with no follow up. Some might suspect a troll post.
Myrlyn is well-known for anyone familiar with the future tools of openSUSE … it’s the new “YaST Software Management” tool.
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Myrlyn is well-known for anyone familiar with the future tools of openSUSE … it’s the new “YaST Software Management” tool.
@myswtest apperently not, I as a user wasn’t familiar with the future tools of openSUSE. Hence my misunderstanding. If it didn’t appear in Plasma kickoff with an icon like that, I’d have probably continued to know nothing about Myrlyn. Can you not sympathize with anybody getting suspicious at AI images? To me, their presence screams low-effort, it screams malicious intent. I won’t ever understand how a user-facing software project with an AI-generated icon (and no apparent plans to change it, if it was a placeholder) could ever be trustworthy.
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original image generated by chatGPT:
current preject icon:
fully AI-generated icon with background removed. It’s obvious too. Nothing was really “overworked”.
issue in question:
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Not a fan of AI slop in the distro tbh
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Well, maybe you can contribute something better?
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To me it says “the developer isn’t an artist, and opted for something that is commonly available so he could focus on the underlying code”.
Perhaps you can contribute a better, non-generated image?
Personally, I’d far rather a developer spend time on code than trying to draw something if they’re not an artist.
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Unfortunatley there are always some ppl which never contributed anything to the opensource community but always complain.
I personally like the Myrlyn icon as it is recognizable (the intention of Stefan). It stands out of the crowd of static, super simple and boring app icons.
Using the term “AI slop” in combination with this app icon is not only insulting towards the dev, but also shows that the users do not really know what this term means. But yeah, it’s a new buzz word.
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So where’s the Admins??
“malicious intent” ??
Meaning:
“Malicious intent” refers to the deliberate and purposeful desire to cause harm, damage, or injury to someone or something.
This post should have been removed since its original posting.
@myswtest If you believe a post violates our community guidelines or could be harmful, the best course of action is to flag it for review. Our moderation team actively monitors flagged content and will take appropriate steps if needed.
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I do “contribute something better” by paying a monthly subscription to support open source projects: perhaps we could use this money to hire an artist instead of putting them out of work churning out crap? I don’t appreciate this accusation – made twice – that I do not contribute made out of complete ignorance. How dare you?
No, I used the term quite correctly. Pay your artists. Don’t insult them and us with this rubbish.
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There you go. Since you demanded I, a non-artist, contribute an alternative instead of hiring someone who actually does this kind of thing for a living, I drew you a wizard. Use it for your icon if you insist.
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@cakeisamadeupdrug I suggest you peruse both the openSUSE Forum Terms and Conditions and also the openSUSE Code of Conduct, both of which you agreed to by creating an account with the openSUSE Project.
https://forums.opensuse.org/faq
https://en.opensuse.org/Code_of_Conduct
Edit: Submit your icon to the upstream project would be the best way…
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If you have something to say, say it. There is nothing in CoC about supporting AI putting artists out of work, and there’s nothing in there about not defending yourself from baseless and unkind accusations.
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Your attitude and personal attacks/threats will not be tolerated here, plain and simple.
Failure to follow Forum Staff directives will result in further Staff action.
Literally have no idea what you are referring to.
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