One of the great debates of our industry, "How do we pronounce GIF?" has been raging since the format's initial release in 1987. But soon we may move past this all-to-common argument because a new working group has been formed to settle the debate once and for all. The group was founded last week by Roberta Sirje, who says she was inspired to create the working group after losing a co-worker during a very heated argument (not dead, but dead to her).
"Is it pronounced GIF? Or GIF? And some people, few and wrong as they are, say GIF. We will not rest until our industry has shed itself from such petty squabbles. We should be spending our time on the important debates that bring real value to our industry, like variable names and which keyboard layout is more productive", she said in the group's formation announcement. "Our goal is to develop the recommendation, and from there we will create an ISO standard."
The group has chosen members from different companies based who work in the consumer space. It also includes members who are in non-I.T. roles, like marketing. Companies like Apple, Google, and Netflix were chosen due to their significant work in the consumer space. No one from Microsoft was asked to join.
The group says they hope to have their first recommendation by Q3 2026, at which point they will ask for public comment. We are told they will, "...actually listen to all feedback," which would be a first for the industry.