Re: Tag characters

Have there been any discussions of the flag alphabet? (Signal flags).

They are not that infrequently used online or in print, although the
concentration tends to be higher in publications/sites geared to
nautical audiences (not that different from chess pieces and chess
publications).

Now, before you leap on the "it's just a font" bandwagon, consider that
the signal flags not only represent letters and digits, but also contain
special pennants for functions like "repeat once" to "repeat four times"
as well as a number of special flags that are associated with two-letter
codes.

Also, the use of certain individual flags has conventional meanings
other than the letter itself, so a reference to the flag in text would
not necessarily survive a font substitution, because you'd lose the fact
that you are talking about flags.

Some of these uses have spread to enthusiasts, for example divers like
to use the old "PO" flag (that curiously is now obsolete for this
purpose) as a logo for their sport. The "diver down flag" (flag "A") is
now a different one in the International Regulations for the Prevention
of Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS), but for e-moji style use that would not
matter as the other one (whatever it's origin) is now the recognized
tribal symbol for divers.

It seems to me that when schemes for representing sets of flags are
discussed, it would be useful to keep open the ability to use the same
scheme for signal flags -- perhaps with a different base character to
avoid collisions in the letter codes.

A./
Received on Wed May 20 2015 - 19:16:39 CDT