The GIF turned 30 long ago — the format was born at CompuServe in 1987, and we still argue about how to say it.

1987

Its creator, Steve Wilhite, always insisted it should be pronounced 'jif,' like the peanut butter brand — CompuServe staff even joked 'choosy developers choose GIF' as a nod to Jif's old ad slogan. Wilhite made his case publicly one more time in 2013, while accepting a lifetime achievement Webby Award, and the resulting online argument generated tens of thousands of posts. The hard-G camp never conceded, and the debate still flares up regularly today.