We propose the symbol ⁂ to represent the fediverse.

We propose the symbol ⁂ to represent the fediverse.

…

⁂ 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.

…

@ 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.

Git Repository: fediverse-symbol/fediverse-symbol

  • Rentlar@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    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.

  • dudenas@lemmy.mlEnglish
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    23 days ago

    Isn’t there one already widely adopted? The rainbow mesh pentagon? Why rebranding?

    • max@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
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      23 days ago

      is said in webpage: the pentagram symbol is hard to distinguish at smaller typographicl sizes

      • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        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

        • max@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          0·
          23 days ago

          1 thats not how typography works

          2 im not webpage authour what u wan me to do about it moew?

    • aasatru@kbin.earth
      0·
      23 days ago

      So they touch upon it on their site:

      The pentagram icon is the original symbol for the fediverse, created back in 2018 by Dr. Quadragon and Eukombos. It’s a great depiction of the decentralised nature of the fediverse, and has been serving the community well. However, its design is a little too complex to be used at small sizes, as you would in text or in a button. It’s also only available in image form, not as a typographical character.

      I think they have a valid point. Currently on my website I use a Mastodon logo next to email and git and all that jazz. It’s not ideal, as it’s not so important that I’m on Mastodon specifically (and I might move to a self-hosted #Seppo instance in the future), but the existing fediverse icon would not work well at that scale.

      It’s a huge branding effort to make it catch on though. And part of me likes the pentagram better.

    • arudesalad@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      My guess is because it’s unicode. But that doesn’t really matter. How often are you going to want to put the icon instead of just typing the fediverse

      • jerkface@lemmy.caEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        eg as a link where using a word 300 times on the same page would be cumbersome

        • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
          0·
          23 days ago

          “Fedi”

          Already more than 50% shorter.

          In comparison, asterism symbol (and any proposal that further extends into Unicode’s emoji area) still spends three, maybe four bytes.

    • citrusface@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      my friend, please read the article. it does a great job of explaining the why. it only takes a minute to read.

  • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    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

    • jerkface@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      It’s not being used by another group to represent themselves. It’s a technical symbol like degrees or pi. This idea is similar to how the semicolon is being re-used as a symbol for a group of people. Nothing is being stolen from anyone.

      • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        I didn’t say that it was being used to represent anyone, or that it was being stolen, I said that it was already in use. To use your examples, I’d think that using Pi or the degree symbol to represent the fediverse would be a bad idea too, as they could also lead to confusion. The semicolon is punctuation, so there’s less chance of confusion with that.

        If an astronomy group made a poster with the three stars, would the stars be representing star clusters, or advertising that they’re on the fediverse? Given that the fediverse is still relatively small, is there more chance of the stars being seen as an astronomical symbol?

        • jerkface@lemmy.caEnglish
          0·
          23 days ago

          Oh my god, you’re right. How could I have failed to see the risk. They must be stopped at all costs.

  • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    No this looks very primitive. It’s not the 1970s. Add a circle and some colors.

  • Asudox@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    22 days ago

    Why though? We don’t need a symbol. Is it that hard to type “fediverse”? The fediverse logo is good enough.

    • AVincentInSpace@pawb.socialEnglish
      0·
      22 days ago

      Especially when U+26E5 ⛥ is right there, and much closer to the current logo. Add lines connecting the outside and you’re basically there. If we made a font that rendered the sequence U+26E5 ⛥ + U+200D ZWJ + U+2B20 ⬠ as the Fediverse logo, and set it as default on Fediverse web platforms, we could go a long way towards getting it adopted.

  • mke@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    21 days ago

    However, its design is a little too complex to be used at small sizes, as you would in text or in a button.

    What are the criteria? Because ⁂ just looks like three blurry dots to me. It’s not making things worse, but it’s not exactly making them better either.

  • sunglocto@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    This looks like shit, is used for something else already, we already have an icon for the fediverse and this has 0 reason to exist

  • aeronmelon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    I like it because it reminds me of the Japanese kanji 森 Mori (Forest).

    Which is in and of itself brilliant because it’s the kanji 木 Ki (Tree) repeated three times and bunched together.

    • chiisana@lemmy.chiisana.netEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      Technically, the words are adopted from Chinese (in this case both Traditional and Simplified are the same and have not diverged yet); but same meaning and reasoning, just different pronunciation.

      • aeronmelon@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        I know that Kanji was originally derived from Chinese but I don’t know which Chinese characters are the same and which are different without doing research.

        It is nice that in this case the symbols are the same all the way across the board. 5/5 design choice on both counts.

  • m-p{3}@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    I’d rather see the current Fediverse logo added to Unicode than reuse an existing symbol. It’s not impossible, considering that the Bitcoin symbol (₿) ended up making it.

  • astro_ray@piefed.socialEnglish
    0·
    22 days ago

    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.

    • Handles@leminal.spaceEnglish
      0·
      21 days ago

      Exactly. And if needs be, get the existing symbol included in Unicode. It might already be in FontAwesome.

  • asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    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?