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posted by janrinok on Sunday August 07 2016, @04:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the giving-it-their-best-shot dept.

[...] The Emojipedia website argued that the symbol could still appear as a lifelike gun in messages sent to non-iOS users. Apple made the change in the wake of a series of shootings in the US.

However, Microsoft announced this week that its toy gun symbol would be redesigned as a more realistic-looking firearm. The emoji character system allows companies to use slightly different designs of the same basic objects, signs or expressions.

"The thing is, emojis already look different on different platforms and it does cause confusion," Jeremy Burge, editor of Emojipedia, told the BBC. "When we're dealing with guns and toys as a comparison, that's a whole new level of problems that we have there."

[...] "Apple has the most prominent emoji set that people use," said Mr Burge. "I think it has a high responsibility to be a bit cautious."

There was further criticism from web users, but a columnist in the Guardian praised the move as a statement on gun control.

"It's a smart, small part in the battle - which we're presently losing - to keep Americans safe," wrote Jean Hannah Edelstein. There have been calls previously - including from a campaign called Disarm the iPhone - to remove the handgun icon from iOS devices.

[...] Both Apple and Microsoft have said they are working with the Unicode Consortium - the body that maintains lists of emojis across different platforms.


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by physicsmajor on Sunday August 07 2016, @04:39AM

    by physicsmajor (1471) on Sunday August 07 2016, @04:39AM (#384884)

    Who lets facts get in the way of an agenda?

    Read up, make your own conclusions about if we're losing anything even close to a "battle to keep Americans safe": http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/12/foghorn/guns-violence-united-states-numbers/ [thetruthaboutguns.com]

    What I see supported by robust data is exactly the opposite, which happens to be very inconvenient to a particular emotion-based policy position.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Sunday August 07 2016, @05:08AM

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday August 07 2016, @05:08AM (#384893) Journal

    Even more inane is this argument about a caricature of a gun somehowhaving an effect on actual safety at any level.

    It makes everyone involved look ridiculous.

    When Apple want's to make a statement about anythingi in the future, everyone will point to this and assume it's more of the same.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 07 2016, @06:42AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 07 2016, @06:42AM (#384903)

      But this is less about safety than Apple's image, especially as advertising to a certain segment.

      I'm actually okay with Apple going this route. It makes clear to me whose business they want, little different than the little fishes that adorn certain businesses.

      The bit that bothers me is people not cynical enough to call it out for what it is: a marketing ploy. It consumerism now down to marketable stances, as if Apple wouldn't do an about face if there was real money involved.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by davester666 on Sunday August 07 2016, @07:32AM

      by davester666 (155) on Sunday August 07 2016, @07:32AM (#384912)

      what's going to happen is that person A on an iOS device will input a gun emoji cuz it looks cute in a string of emojis, and send it to person B who has an Android phone, and then that person's parent will be going through their messages and see the real-looking gun and phone the police that person A just made a death threat against their child. And the police will go to person A's house and shoot them because the gun looked real to them.

      • (Score: 2, Informative) by kurenai.tsubasa on Sunday August 07 2016, @03:59PM

        by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Sunday August 07 2016, @03:59PM (#384989) Journal

        This is modded funny, but take a gander here: https://www.rt.com/usa/334041-student-emoji-message-charges/ [rt.com]

        • (Score: 1) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday August 07 2016, @11:03PM

          by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Sunday August 07 2016, @11:03PM (#385074) Journal

          Exactly. Whenever you think the government won't react over a cartoon caricature of a weapon, just remember this [techdirt.com]. (For those who don't want to bother with the link -- the TSA actually provided a tiny cartoon "bomb" paperweight photo that looks like something used by Wile E. Coyote as an example of an item that "looks like a real bomb" and could be prohibited by the TSA and even "can cause significant delays because the explosive detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat.")

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 08 2016, @12:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 08 2016, @12:52AM (#385111)

      We live in a world where babies are racist, the glaciers are sexist, and saying hello unsolicited is a hate crime. What do you expect?