We propose the symbol ⁂ to represent the fediverse.
We propose the symbol ⁂ to represent the fediverse.
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⁂ 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.
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@ 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.
I'd rather see the current logo added to Unicode than reuse an existing symbol. It's not impossible, considering that the Bitcoin symbol (₿) ended up making it.
Am I misunderstanding this - you want to replace a recognised symbol with a symbol that's already being used by another group? That seems counterproductive at best.
I'm also wondering, have you spoken to anyone with poor eyesight? This is my reply to a comment below suggesting that the new symbol would be easier to read:
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
Whoever decided that a logo should be standardised as Unicode? That is the worst criterion for picking a symbol that has and will have hundreds of other uses than inline text. If it's so important — work to have the current, pentacle fediverse symbol included in Unicode.
Registering a domain to introduce your dumb idea with a lot of empty bravado leaves you with ... an annual bill and a dumb idea. The pentacle symbol is so much more recognisable.
Its use looks contrived to me on the linked GitHub page. The comparison with @ and # is flawed because those symbols are part of the resource name, whereas here the symbol is superfluous. It's like adding a 🌐 in front of every web URL.
I wrote about this on my blog. I like the notion and points made here, but I also think we're not helping by re-inventing things that already exist, so I'm torn on it. I have been happy with the existing one.
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?
There is no real dichotomy between the logo we have and the proposed typographical symbol. They have different uses, neither can really replace the other. Keep the established colourful Fediverse logo in visual layouts and when desired use the typographical symbol in text. It is natural that they won't be exactly the same symbol because they are designed for different needs; one is meant to look pretty and one is meant to read well as text.
I'm more partial to the pentagram/star ⛤🌟 shape of the current fediverse logo. It would be nice to have a monochrome and emoji form in unicode, just have the pentagram encased in a pentagon.
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.
However, its design is a little too complex to be used at small sizes, as you would in text or in a button.
I wonder what the criteria are. Because ⁂ just looks like three blurry dots to me. It's not making things worse, but I wouldn't say it's making them much better either.
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.