- cross-posted to:
- fediverse@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- fediverse@lemmy.ml
We propose the symbol ⁂ to represent the fediverse.
…
⁂ is called an asterism. In astronomy, it refers to groups of stars in the sky, akin to constellations. We suggest that it’s a very fitting symbol for the fediverse, a galaxy of interconnected spaces which is decentralised and has an astronomically-themed name. It represents several stars coming together, connecting but each their own, without a centre.
…
@ is the symbol for e-mail. # is the symbol for hashtags. ☮ is the symbol for peace. ♻ is the symbol for recycling. ⁂ can be the symbol for the fediverse. ⁂ is standardised as Unicode U+2042, making it ready to copy and insert anywhere.
Git Repository: fediverse-symbol/fediverse-symbol
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Three dots like this is also an ACAB symbol.
Did someone just slap this together by copying and pasting an asterisk three times? I know we’re an open source, nerdy community but could we hire a graphic designer?
Of note: ActivityPub (the protocol) has its own logo, seen in https://activitypub.rocks/ and other places. The protocol and the community are absolutely separate things, so this is really good.
I’ve never really linked the rainbow star icon, just because I don’t really like rainbows (IMO the ace flag is the prettiest but I might be biased). I’m also still not convinced that Meta’s icon is even supposed to represent the fediverse, as opposed to just a Threads feature that lets it connect to the fediverse. So overall I’m a fan of this proposal, although it does bug me that it uses 6-pointed stars in the font on the webpage and 5-pointed stars in most other typefaces. The 5-pointed stars create some nice negative space.
However, its design is a little too complex to be used at small sizes, as you would in text or in a button.
What are the criteria? Because ⁂ just looks like three blurry dots to me. It’s not making things worse, but it’s not exactly making them better either.
First thought: e pluribus anus
A fellow greendale alum. Streets ahead!
Stealing an icon already designated for something else? As is tradition
Having a unicode icon that can be copy pasted anywhere is nifty, but yeah I’m really not a fan of choosing this one.
Why do we need to have a unicode character that refers to the fediverse?
Are we trying to replace our alphabetical language with a language of ideograms?
Can you answer, “Why do we need a symbol that represents the Fediverse?” Because modulo that, your question becomes, “Why does the symbol that represents the Fediverse have to have a Unicode codepoint?”
We don’t need it to be a Unicode character, but there are advantages if it is that are so obvious they don’t even bear discussion.
If they can’t be articulated, I lose respect for those reasons
That’s nonsense.
If you know what those reasons are, then whether or not they have been articulated should not influence how you feel about those reasons. To think I could control your mind by not saying things. Just think of all the things I am not saying right now. You’ll go mad.
If you DON’T know what those reasons are, then you are simply not able to respect them less than you do now.
It’s literally a character, like aitch.
⁂
I’m pretty sure we’re cool to use it. The advantage of using a glyph that already exists in Unicode is huge.
Are you one of the three proposers mentioned in the git repository?
No I’m just so very bored and this is the classic bikeshed issue so I figure I won’t cause any problems here.
a bunch of assholes conected to each other… sounds about right.
You mean like a human centipede
Nah, thats Reddit.
Not an asterism but an assterism (or arseterism).
It’s a sarcasterisk.
…and it’s ruined… Thanks internet
I was gonna say snowflakes, but now I can’t unsee the buttholes.
If Greendale Community College was a University.
https://scienceleadership.org/blog/the_use_of_illustration_in_kurt_vonnegut-s-breakfast_of_champions
That’s how I started to see them as anuses.
Isn’t there one already widely adopted? The rainbow mesh pentagon? Why rebranding?
Not so widely adopted if most results don’t include it.
My guess is because it’s unicode. But that doesn’t really matter. How often are you going to want to put the icon instead of just typing the fediverse
eg as a link where using a word 300 times on the same page would be cumbersome
“Fedi”
Already more than 50% shorter.
In comparison, asterism symbol (and any proposal that further extends into Unicode’s emoji area) still spends three, maybe four bytes.
my friend, please read the article. it does a great job of explaining the why. it only takes a minute to read.
is said in webpage: the pentagram symbol is hard to distinguish at smaller typographicl sizes
I’m reading this thread on mobile, and the fediverse logo next to the community name is much easier to see than the three stars. If I didn’t already know what the three stars were from the rest of the post, I wouldn’t have a clue what they were supposed to be in the body. They look like a blurry capital A.
Obviously the fediverse logo is bigger there, which helps, but it’s not significantly bigger, and would still be clearer at a smaller size
I recommend the asterism to instead be adopted as the symbol for astigmatism.
I like it! 😁
Don’t typograh so small
1 thats not how typography works
2 im not webpage authour what u wan me to do about it moew?
So they touch upon it on their site:
The pentagram icon is the original symbol for the fediverse, created back in 2018 by Dr. Quadragon and Eukombos. It’s a great depiction of the decentralised nature of the fediverse, and has been serving the community well. However, its design is a little too complex to be used at small sizes, as you would in text or in a button. It’s also only available in image form, not as a typographical character.
I think they have a valid point. Currently on my website I use a Mastodon logo next to email and git and all that jazz. It’s not ideal, as it’s not so important that I’m on Mastodon specifically (and I might move to a self-hosted #Seppo instance in the future), but the existing fediverse icon would not work well at that scale.
It’s a huge branding effort to make it catch on though. And part of me likes the pentagram better.
Blech
It looks like a bunch of snowflakes. I’d rather not associate with that image.
I had to tell him, he couldn’t see it
Do we need to address the typographical issues for the existing symbol? I am not using that symbol every time I talk about fedi. Fedi accounts are identified as @username@instance, so there’s no need to use some obscure unicode.
Exactly. And if needs be, get the existing symbol included in Unicode. It might already be in FontAwesome.
What a bunch of snowflakes. I like the idea. This was my first thought though
Yeah, mine too.
Which I’m fine with. If the metaphor is that the Fediverse is a fucking blizzard of snowflakes organizing against corporate social media, I’m all in for it. If it serves to alienate right wing weirdos then all the better. In the end it’s all about freezing out the fucking fascists.
I thought it was three puckered buttholes.
(⊙_☉)
Diaspora already use the symbol, to some extent. https://diasporafoundation.org/
