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

  • dudenas@lemmy.mlEnglish
    564·
    3 months ago

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

    • max@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      281·
      3 months ago

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

      • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        281·
        3 months 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
          58·
          3 months ago

          1 thats not how typography works

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

    • aasatru@kbin.earth
      151·
      3 months 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
      13·
      3 months 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
        12·
        3 months ago

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

        • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
          41·
          3 months 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.

          • jerkface@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            3 months ago

            I… umm… yes, I will grant that in UTF-8 and perhaps UTF-16, it encodes to fewer bytes. But that doesn’t have anything to do with my point.