I don't think it's decided by the creator anymore then by the words making up the acronym either.

I mean, they got to name it... How it sounds is part of that...

Most just say it like it would sound, the creators pronunciation clearly lost.

How long have people been talking about how to pronounce gif?

I don't think there are any winners or losers here.

From that link:

The word acronym typically applies when the resulting thing can be read as a word; for example, radar comes from "radio detection and ranging" and scuba comes from "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." The word initialism only applies when the resulting thing is read as an abbreviation; for example DIY, which comes from "do it yourself," is pronounced by saying the names of the letters.

it's pronounced jod right

Right, typically, not exclusively.

What about this fucking radio station in Germany?:

KD - Kompact Disc
Brought to you by KDE

Yes, but how would Jod pronounce PNG?

Here’s an idea: bring back Idea Channel

Pee en jee

I mean, they got to name it... How it sounds is part of that

How it sounds is a lot more related to basic prononciation rules then the arbitrary whims of the inventor.

In this case, he chose to name it GIF which is, believe it or not, pronounced gif in the English language. If he wanted to have it sound like jif, he should have named it JIF.

Not to say that we don't sometimes disregard the rules for certain words. Ultimately a words meaning and prononciation is collectively decided through usage. I think collectively, we have chosen to ignore the creators lack of basic linguistic skills and prononce the word how it's written.

If you read my name, and I pointed out that your pronunciation was wrong, would you tell me my pronunciation is incorrect due to pronunciation rules rather than how my parents named me?

Edit: and I'll just note, a soft g is very well defined, and is usually behind an e, i, or y, while a hard g is typically behind an a, o, or u, but let's focus on the whole "who gets to choose how a name is pronounced" bit for a moment.

I always felt like this was a weird argument. Language is always in flux. It's why the definition of "literally" now includes a definition that it's a synonym of "figuratively" since people used it that was so much.

If enough people think gif should be pronounced like "god", then it should. If the "jif" pronunciation has enough people who use it, then that's valid, too. Hell, if a bunch of people started legitimately saying it should be a homonym with the word "plankton," even that'd be valid.

Words are about conveying meaning; the same meaning is intended with both pronunciations, and understood by the people hearing it. There's nothing to argue about.

The U in scuba stands for underwater yet people pronounce it scOOba

The E in hepa stands for efficiency yet its pronounced HEPA with a short E

The A in nato stands for Atlantic and the O stands for organization

The first A in ASAP is for as

The Os in POTUS, SCOTUS and FLOTUS all come from of and the Us comes from United

Acronyms don’t need to sound like the word they are from

I think I get the gist of this.

Would that by any chance have cast a young Steve Buscemi?

Sounds great, to be honest (Frasers shitty default face and one eyebrow was always off-putting)

let's focus on the whole "who gets to choose how a name is pronounced"

A words meaning and prononciation is collectively decided through usage.

So the creator, the way a soft vs hard g is used in the English language, etc, none of that matters.

Noted, enjoy your day.

Girl, gift, gig, giggle, giddy, gizzard, gibbon, girth, girdle.

It's not uncommon.

But yes, what matters most is how people prononce it. Even if this goes against what the creator wants.

The main dictionary websites wouldn't have the hard g prononciation if the creators will was the defining factor.

That’s just incorrect. Multiple studies have shown that how you think a word is pronounced is based on other words you know, not what the actual pronunciation is. When I first saw the word gif, I pronounced it with a soft g. Turns out that’s the correct pronunciation (because it’s a product name, not a random word) but if I had happen to have heard a hard g word more recently then I probably would have thought it was pronounced the wrong way.

In this case, he chose to name it GIF which is, believe it or not, pronounced gif in the English language. If he wanted to have it sound like jif, he should have named it JIF.

Incorrect. There are ZERO rules that decide whether a word starts with a hard g or a soft g.