Thoughts on symbols

Yesterday this proposal for a new symbol for the fediverse was making the rounds. People made comments on it. People always make comments. We all do. Some liked it, some thought it reminds a bunch of snowflakes (it kinda does), others think it’s not bad but the old one is better. Every time someone “rebrands” something this type of reaction is pretty common. My first thought when I saw it was “Does the fediverse need a symbol?”.

In their proposal, the first thing they explain is how this is a typographical character that can be copy pasted everywhere. Cool, I guess. The second is the original meaning of the symbol:

It refers to groups of stars in the sky, akin to constellations.

Then they explain why they think it’s a good symbol:

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.

I’m no astrophysicist, and if what I’m saying is wrong I’m sure Brian will correct me, but I’m pretty sure galaxies do have a centre. And also, the last thing you want is to have “several stars coming together” because that’s gonna end badly.

Also, and probably quite fittingly, stars in the sky only give us here on earth the illusion of being in some way connected while in reality there’s no connection and are all incredibly far apart. But hey, maybe that was an intentional secret meaning behind this starry-themed symbol they picked. But I digress.

After describing the meaning they then explain what the fediverse is and only then they address the most important question which is why do you need a symbol in the first place.

Thanks to the interconnected nature of the fediverse, it usually doesn’t matter if someone is a member of one platform or another. What matters is that they can follow each other as part of the fediverse. A single symbol to represent that belonging can often be more relevant than individual icons for each service.

This, to me, means absolutely nothing. But also, I think trying to unify people behind a silly symbol is the wrong move. And it’s also a misguided effort. A new symbol doesn’t solve anything and doesn’t help your cause. Also, "A single symbol to represent that belonging can often be more relevant than individual icons for each service" belonging to what? I am no fediverse citizen but I do consider myself a good citizen of the web. I try my best to make it a better place and I try to encourage people to own their corners of the web. Am I excluded from your fancy club because I don’t “federate”? Are you saying I don’t belong? I’m asking this rhetorically, because frankly speaking, I couldn’t give less of a fuck about belonging to some arbitrary definition.

Stop trying to make everything about symbols and flags and tribes. It’s not helping.