The UNICODE list seems to have missed this one...
Alain
_________________________________________________________
>From: Richard Hodgkinson <richard_hodgkinson@uk.ibm.com>
>To: <arnold.winkler@unisys.com>
>Cc: <alb@riq.qc.ca>
>Subject: Re: (SC18WG9.73) International gestures - help needed
>Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 16:04:31 +0000
>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by riq.qc.ca id LAA11305
>
>Arnold, let me give you some of IBM's collective wisdom on this issue....
>
>>From our guidelines for designing international software icons we are
advised
>to "Avoid hand and arm gestures. Almost every hand gesture that is
innocent in
>one country (hook-em-horns in Texas) is obscene in another. The American
circle
>OK and thumbs-up OK gestures are obscene in other marketplaces. The palm
>outline has been used often to indicate that an object can be moved---it
means
>STOP to some people, obscenity to others. Also, speech handicapped people use
>such gestures in sign language and, of course, these are not universal. The
>U.S. and French versions are similar since it was the French version that the
>U.S. used first, but the British version is different."
>
>I'm told that the gesture you seem to describe refers to a person's anus in
>some Mediterranean countries, whilst the "thumbs up" sign in Greece means
"Sit
>upon this!".
>
>Also, from an airline (British Midland) in-flight magazine I read that the
open
>palm gesture, or "Moutza" in Greece means "Go to Hell", whilst in the same
>country the British V (for Victory) sign means "Go half way to Hell!".
>
>Have fun.....Richard
>
>Richard Hodgkinson
>Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC 1/WG 5 - User Interfaces
>
>Cross Product Support, Information Development,
>MP 095, IBM Hursley Park, United Kingdom
>'Phone/internal: 7-245812, 'Phone/external: (+44) 01962 815812, Fax: (+44)
>01962 842327
>Lotus Notes: HODGKIN@IBMGB, Internet: HODGKIN@IBMGB.VNET.IBM.COM
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