Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2015 01:46:07 +0400
U+1F3F3, U+200D, U+2620
WAVING WHITE FLAG, ZERO WIDTH JOINER, SKULL AND CROSSBONES
Wanna this one, too :)
Konstantin
2015-06-27 23:06 GMT+04:00 Mark Davis ☕️ <mark_at_macchiato.com>:
> 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
>>
>>
>
