Sometimes a silly question simmers in your mind for years till a few internet friends come along and turn it into something more concrete: the @FediverseSymbol is an initiative to promote the asterism symbol ⁂ as a way to reference the fediverse more generally.
Check out https://symbol.fediverse.info and feel free to get involved however you see fit!
This project has mostly been @raphael and @nclm making this idea into a thing. But I feel excited to be involved in this history after this hell thread from 2022 took a life of its own.
https://social.wake.st/@liaizon/108974105137722178
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol Nice! Totally fit for the scope! ⁂
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol
Three asterisks is a good symbol for the Fediverse because sometimes, we are a pile of assholes.
@TrickTim @liaizon @FediverseSymbol Yeah, the first thing I thought when I saw this was, y’all never read Vonnegut?
Hard pass. (It also looks like a shaggy mess. We already have a much better symbol)
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol - the proposed symbol for the fediverse looks like snowflakes to me. That's not a bad thing.
Would be great if it’s not just a symbol, but also would have functionality in the future like the @ and #
@wardgeene @liaizon @FediverseSymbol
Phone keyboards would need some updating. :)
@jamesbritt @liaizon @FediverseSymbol
Introducing: The Fediverse keyboard for Android and iOS. Download now from the stores!
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol I love it, just added it to my website!
@gabek thats super nice to hear! @dansup also expressed some interest in using it in Pixelfed potentially so maybe there is already a bit of momentum. I guess we will just have to see how people respond. The post on @FediverseSymbol is doing quite well.
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol speaking from a graphic design perspective, my first thought on looking at this symbol was "ahh yes, the fediverse, where assholes triangulate"
@pencilears @liaizon @FediverseSymbol three cats are leaving the room
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol So ⁂ is U+2042 right?
@liaizon @maxthyme @FediverseSymbol Any predictions for this year? xD
(Also, 42? Nice!)
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol where users of one server don't interact with users of another? Sounds like something not fedi.
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol How can the ⁂ be typed on iOS/Android, MacOS/Windows/Linux without copying? Might be good to include that info on the website.
I was pondering a lot to how better represent those profiles in contact section of the video. While Mastodon icon isn't half bad and more readily recognizable as "all things fediverse and decentralization", in the end of the day, a broad icon for fediverse will sit well with anyone who knows to use anything else. Reasons being: I dunno, associate oneself less with Mastodon? It's not unthinkable in the age when most fediverse software has outgrown its direction.
Also, my regards to @drq for contributing to the pentagram icon that we know today! However, I really would appreciate it if ⁂ was given the benefit of the doubt in many places, due to relative simplicity and integration within Unicode of the latter. At least, it warrants a fast insertion of the fediverse image without the use of additional graphics: just trust your font to render asterism the best, no fuss!
@liaizon@social.wake.st @FediverseSymbol@typo.social @dansup@pixelfed.social
Not the worst logo I've seen, though I have to say I'm against using existing single characters to define something. You can't copyright it, you can't trademark it, you can't restrict its use, and it can only lead to confusion when anyone else quite legitimately uses it for their own thing.
And then, what are we going to do about the fediverse name? It's awful. The whole nomenclature, from instance to ... everything, is techy and a barrier for mass adoption.
@nfg @liaizon @dansup @FediverseSymbol
To me, the whole emblem and name of the "Fediverse" are but a set of unnecessary labels. Take it far and make it a THING.
To your first point: no, I don't think we should even have any copyright nor restriction in place. Fediverse is simply better as a noun, etched into our languages. It's just that the word itself brings the funnies. But that's just it, the word. Words have synonyms. Brands with fixed logo shape... not so much?
The usage of single character looks like a trend after 𝕏. Regardless, if fediverse is meant to be broad, then so should be the mark. Note the concept of the three stars triangle and adapt it to any of your works the way you see fit, with any font.
@vintprox@techhub.social
@liaizon@social.wake.st so... Never mind the name, here's a logo we found in the Unicode depths?
I don't like it, but I wish you luck.
@vintprox @nfg @liaizon @dansup @FediverseSymbol sorry but we already have this.
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol one advantage is that some fediverse-enabled freezers already have that symbol .
but seriously though, it's cool !
(pun not intended, but appreciated)
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol i dont get the point, bcause there's a symbol so far, its the coloured pentagram like in the screenshot. The asterisk remember me on diaspora and i always associate this with diaspora. So, dont know, but people have to much time thinking about things.
@onlytina @liaizon @FediverseSymbol Nah, it's the other way around. The attention span of people is getting low, so it's easy to mistake for summoning or initiation.
I had more time on my plate, so no, I didn't draw this conclusion at first. T'was but an innocent colorful pentacle.
@Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol this is not a symbol it is a graphic.
It isn't included in the UTF8 Charset.
@schenklklopfer @Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol And why should it?
(i'm more like: we need inline-SVG?)
@lobingera @Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol don't know, but that's what they intend.
@schenklklopfer @lobingera @Hiker @liaizon The use of ⁂ is way more cross-media than inline SVGs: we can use it in social media posts, SMS, print, fax, chats, articles, and draw it more easily as well (I bet you can’t hand draw the colorful fediverse logo from memory without cheating!).
@Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol du kannst eine Grafik nicht als Text verwenden.
Es wäre schon praktisch ein einheitliches Logo als Text zu haben.
Gibt es das andere in FontAwsome o.ä.?
Dann will ich nix gesagt haben
@Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol und bitte jetzt keine Diskussion.
@Hiker @liaizon @FediverseSymbol I also like this logo. Good enough!
Looks a lot like the Chinese character for wood 森
@Nightingalle @wim_v12e @liaizon That’s very cool! Thank you for this precious information.
@Nightingalle Thanks for the correction. That was my Dutch showing :-/
@Nightingalle@shpposter.club @wim_v12e@octodon.social @liaizon@social.wake.st @FediverseSymbol@typo.social as a tree I love this interpretation so much
@Nightingalle@shpposter.club @wim_v12e@octodon.social @liaizon@social.wake.st @FediverseSymbol@typo.social
it also scales in a funny way like
木: diaspora
林: hubzilla and freundica
森: mostly microblogging engines (and their forks)
森林: everyone speaking activitypub
@Nightingalle@shpposter.club @wim_v12e@octodon.social @liaizon@social.wake.st @FediverseSymbol@typo.social oh my, Hayashi (that's 林) tracks on color-magnitude diagrams for low mass-stars (that's a pretty important part of how they evolve up (well, actually down) to the main sequence from protostars) look like a small forest indeed.....
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayashi_track)
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol
I said this comment on another post, but to me it looks like Walmart is trying to buy Fediverse.
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol I feel like a lot of people dumping on you because the pentagram is "already good enough" haven't tried to use it at a small size. I've dropped it into a number of print designs where I previously used the Twitter symbol, and it just doesn't scale down that great :\
I for one like this, whether it is stars or snowflakes or even a pile of arseholes. (I think that's a feature, not a bug. If we can't have a sense of humour about ourselves, what are we even doing?)
@TheArtGremblin @FediverseSymbol thanks for the kind words
@TheArtGremblin @liaizon @FediverseSymbol I double that.
People didn't try scaling down the pentacle or feel like they see it well BECAUSE they already knew WHAT to see - it's a survivor's bias at best.
Plus whether it's a Walmart version of Fediverse logo or a representation of snowflake community, it doesn't matter because it's just the two of many things you can associate asterism symbol with. I kindly ask all gathered to have some sense of humor and smell the roses.
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol a snow flurry?
@liaizon @FediverseSymbol I really like how flexible this symbol would be. When it comes to application of branding, it has a lot of possibilities.