Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2015 21:31:23 +0200
Take a look at http://unicode.org/reports/tr51/ for details.
Mark <https://google.com/+MarkDavis>
*— Il meglio è l’inimico del bene —*
On Sat, Jun 27, 2015 at 9:12 PM, Noah Slater <nslater_at_tumbolia.org> wrote:
> Mark, are there any other instances of a ZERO WIDTH JOINER being used in
> this way? (i.e. Outside of its intended use with Arabic and Indic scripts,
> etc.) Please excuse my ignorance.
>
> On 27 June 2015 at 20:06, Mark Davis [image: ☕]️ <mark_at_macchiato.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Nothing really needs to be added to Unicode; vendors could already use:
>>
>> 🏳[image: 🌈]
>> U+1F3F3, U+200D, U+1F308
>> WAVING WHITE FLAG, ZERO WIDTH JOINER, RAINBOW
>>
>> credit to Shervin for the idea
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark <https://google.com/+MarkDavis>
>>
>> *— Il meglio è l’inimico del bene —*
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 27, 2015 at 7:26 PM, Noah Slater <nslater_at_tumbolia.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello!
>>>
>>> It is Pride Month and the US just legalised queer marriage in every
>>> state. No better time to start a conversation about including the
>>> internationally recognised rainbow flag in Unicode!
>>>
>>> Here’s some background reading on the flag itself:
>>>
>>> *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag_(LGBT_movement)
>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag_(LGBT_movement)>*
>>>
>>> Here's Bustle on the inclusion of the rainbow flag:
>>>
>>> > Nearly 40 years after it was first flown, the rainbow flag remains a
>>> powerful and potent symbol of not only current gay rights struggles, but
>>> the history of gay rights in America. So why isn’t it available as an
>>> emoji? The flag is in the public domain, so it certainly isn’t being held
>>> up by copyright issues. And the current range of rainbow-related emoji show
>>> that the technology to jam all those colors distinctly into a very tiny
>>> space is available. Numerous national flags have been emojified. And given
>>> that the flag has recently been added to the Museum of Modern Art’s design
>>> collection, everyone is in agreement about its ongoing cultural
>>> significance. So what gives?
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.bustle.com/articles/93227-wheres-the-rainbow-pride-flag-emoji-why-the-iconic-gay-rights-symbol-should-be-on-our
>>>
>>> This article also includes an example (via screenshot) of how many
>>> people “make do” without the rainbow flag. Typically, they use U+1F308
>>> RAINBOW. This can be seen by searching on Twitter (or any other social
>>> media platform) for that character.
>>>
>>> Indeed, GitHub uses RAINBOW for this:
>>>
>>> http://i.imgur.com/KaKQzIC.png
>>>
>>> Facebook did the same sort of thing, as seen here:
>>>
>>> http://mashable.com/2013/06/27/facebook-rainbow-pride-emoji-doma/
>>>
>>> They also did this:
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.newnownext.com/facebook-adds-lgbt-emojis-for-pride-month/06/2014/
>>>
>>> These emojis are *derivative* of the rainbow flag, or include characters
>>> displaying the rainbow flag.
>>>
>>> While it can be argued that the RAINBOW emoji itself is usable as a
>>> stand-in (as above), it usually requires some sort of additional context to
>>> work. There is a clear need for a rainbow flag that unambiguously
>>> symbolises queer pride.
>>>
>>> This is already going on, with some platforms choosing to use a custom
>>> emoji shim where no Unicode code-point exists.
>>>
>>> This is Twitter’s rainbow flag:
>>>
>>> https://twitter.com/ericajoy/status/614822988609794048
>>>
>>> Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/1kewdN1.png
>>>
>>> Slack has one too:
>>>
>>> https://twitter.com/SlackHQ/status/602779337784430592
>>>
>>> Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/8cOK8MH.png
>>>
>>> Reddit also offers one:
>>>
>>> http://www.reddit.com/r/bisexual/comments/2lc2rc/can_you_see_the_emoji/
>>>
>>> Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/p6YDRkF.png
>>>
>>> In all three examples, the symbol is being used in running text.
>>>
>>> I found this:
>>>
>>> > [...] the UTC does not wish to entertain further proposals for
>>> encoding of symbol characters for flags, whether national, state, regional,
>>> international, or otherwise. References to UTC Minutes: [134-C2], January
>>> 28, 2013.
>>>
>>> http://www.unicode.org/alloc/nonapprovals.html
>>>
>>> I looked up the minutes, but could not find a more detailed explanation.
>>> My guess is that these concerns related to geopolitical issues. Hopefully
>>> the same rationale does not apply to the rainbow flag.
>>>
>>> Looking at:
>>>
>>> http://unicode.org/reports/tr51/#Selection_Factors
>>>
>>> Here's a quick list of summary answers:
>>>
>>> a. Compatibility: yes. There are existing platform-specific rainbow flag
>>> emojis, as demonstrated above. To build a Twitter or Slack client that
>>> replicated the native functionality, you would have to use an image instead
>>> of a Unicode code point.
>>>
>>> b. Expected usage level: the rainbow emoji is listed at #168 on
>>> emojitracker.com, and as demonstrated, the rainbow flag has been in
>>> wide use since the 1970s.
>>>
>>> c. Image distinctiveness: the rainbow flag is visually distinct.
>>>
>>> d. Disparity: the rainbow flag is a missing flag.
>>>
>>> e. Frequently requested: unsure. I could organise a petition if this
>>> would help to sway the decision.
>>>
>>> f. Generality: the rainbow flag is not overly specific. Indeed it is the
>>> most general of all the pride flags.
>>>
>>> g. Open-ended: the rainbow flag is open ended, being the most general of
>>> all the pride flags. (Wikipedia lists 18 pride flags on the LGBT symbols
>>> page, but there are many more in the wild.)
>>>
>>> h. Representable already: a rainbow can be represented, but it is
>>> ambiguous. The RAINBOW emoji cannot be combined with anything pictorial
>>> that makes the meaning clear. Context is required, such as paring it with
>>> the word "pride".
>>>
>>> i. Logos, Brands, UI icons, signage, specific people, deities: the image
>>> is suitable for for encoding as a character.
>>>
>>> What is the best thing for me to do next?
>>>
>>> My proposal is that we add RAINBOW FLAG to Unicode, and that we use the
>>> “six-color version popular since 1979”.
>>>
>>> I only found one official proposal for a single emoji:
>>>
>>> http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2014/14298-whisky-emoji.pdf
>>>
>>> I couldn’t find any templates for proposals, though I did look through a
>>> number of different examples.
>>>
>>> I noticed that a number of them include the ISO/IEC form at the end. Can
>>> someone explain that to me? Does it make sense to submit a proposal to the
>>> UTC without one of these?
>>>
>>> I also notice that it looks like I have to provide (or find a person to
>>> provide) a font for the character. Is there any guidance on that? I am
>>> happy to pay someone to prepare such a thing for me.
>>>
>>> Thank you in advance for your help.
>>>
>>> Noah Slater
>>>
>>>
>>
>
