
Apple and the Gun Emoji - firloop
http://blog.emojipedia.org/apple-and-the-gun-emoji/
======
grenoire
I think this is a ridiculous change by Apple, going completely against the
idea of Unicode and consistent character displays across different devices.
Author's suggestion is good, but I don't think that this was a necessary
change by any means in the first place.

~~~
cooper12
Unicode only says that it's a gun, and only recommends how it should look.
IME's are free to make the emojis look however they want at their discretion.
Note Samsung's saltines instead of chocolate chip cookies for "U+1F36A
Cookie". Consistency is laudable, but we live in a world with multiple
cultures, meanings, and contexts, so in the end consistency might actually be
more harmful and reductionist.

~~~
teddyh
The unicode code chart¹ actually says “PISTOL = handgun, revolver”, and the
reference glyph (with a larger version on page 4) is pretty clearly a Beretta
M9.²

①
[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf#14](http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf#14)

② [http://www.beretta.com/en/m9/](http://www.beretta.com/en/m9/) and
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_M9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_M9)

~~~
Mithaldu
Apple is not alone though. On windows i get a colorful lasergun:
[http://i.imgur.com/bOC6M6H.png](http://i.imgur.com/bOC6M6H.png)

[http://emojipedia.org/microsoft/windows-10/pistol/](http://emojipedia.org/microsoft/windows-10/pistol/)

Additionally, your pointing out that the example glyph looks like a beretta
only has any kind of weight if you can also point to guidance that specifies
to what level it should be followed.

~~~
bballer
I would operate on the condition that the standard denotes that items
representing the unicode can be flavored/styled to the producers desires, but
should not misrepresent the item/object being conveyed. A water gun != a
pistol and a laser gun != a pistol. Both are altogether different
items/objects. If Windows/Apple want unicode for those objects they should
appeal to the standards board to make it happen. It would be acceptable to
hide the pistol emoticon in their UI while still allowing it to display
correctly when used. Masking it as something it is not is just misleading
though.

~~~
Mithaldu
That is your preference, however the question here is what the unicode
consortium thinks.

~~~
bballer
Why have a standards body at all if it's just going to be up to the 3rd
parties to determine what is going to be displayed then? Like I said before,
they should be free to display each unicode item/object artistically how they
see fit, they should however not be free to change what item/object is to be
conveyed entirely.

~~~
Mithaldu
That is your opinion and you are free to hold it but what matters here is what
the Unicode Consortium thinks.

~~~
bballer
I agree, it would be nice to have the Unicode Consortium come out and address
these issues.

------
rdtsc
Next up someone then sends an invitation to a pool birthday party asking
people to bring some water toys. They look through list of emojis, pick what
looks like a water gun. Everyone with non-Apple devices wonder why is their
host asking them to bring guns to a pool party.

~~~
cam_l
Or worse yet, vice versa.. waterpistol toting apple fanboi drug cartels.

------
teddyh
Question for those who are fine with what Apple did: What if Apple had
implemented a text filter which changes all occurences of the word “pistol” to
“water pistol”. Would that be fine too?

Also, what if the Unicode Consortium later adds an emoji for “WATER PISTOL”?
How should it be distinguished from the “PISTOL” emoji? Or should they be
identical?

~~~
cooper12
A text filter is very different from the visual representation of an emoji
which the unicode consortium gives a lot of leeway to IMEs to implement.

Everyone is only angry about this change because it was a normal pistol first
and changed to a water pistol later. What if it was the inverse? Then we'd
have people complaining the other way. My point is that people expect the
emoji to represent what they've been taught it to represent, but in actuality
the IME is the one who chooses how exactly it should look. Just look at the
saltine cookie vs the chocolate chip cookie.

As for your last point it's quite unlikely that they would add that because
it's too redundant to the pistol emoji. Though for facial expressions, the
consortium gives specific recommendations on how to differentiate them and the
IME would have to consider those.

Have a look at
[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf](http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf)
to see how much guidance they actually give on the looks of each. For most
they list synonyms for searching and related emoji. For some they go more in
depth on the look such as for U+1F4DE Telephone Receiver.

~~~
CydeWeys
> Everyone is only angry about this change because it was a normal pistol
> first and changed to a water pistol later. What if it was the inverse? Then
> we'd have people complaining the other way.

You say that as if it's a counter-argument, but it's really further proof that
changing it is bad. Yes, it is confusing to change emojis that used to be one
thing to be another thing, so it shouldn't be done, regardless of direction.
Opposing all such changes is entirely consistent. If Apple wants a water
pistol emoji they should _add a new one_ , not replace an existing emoji that
means something else.

~~~
cooper12
The difference here is the intent. And I already explained why they likely
wouldn't get a specific water pistol emoji. HNers actually think that they
think they changed it to a water pistol because they wanted an emoji to
represent a water pistol?

------
CharlesW
I'd love to know who made this decision, apparently giving it less thought
than what they were going to have for lunch. Whoever it was doesn't understand
how communication works, and should probably not be in charge of decisions
like this.

Interestingly, it's a giant middle finger not just to gun nuts, but to
millions of people on both sides of debates about gun control, the
militarization of law enforcement, etc. (Not to mention a kinda creepy form of
infantilization.)

~~~
dilap
Probably came straight from the top, i.e., Tim Cook. (I say this without
knowledge or evidence, but it is the kind of thing he would care about and
do.)

~~~
TenOhms
What other constitutional protections should Apple attack next?

------
teddyh
This change was actually a community suggestion:
[https://openradar.appspot.com/26897761](https://openradar.appspot.com/26897761)

(Source:
[https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/761223785076797442](https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/761223785076797442))

~~~
Mithaldu
And they're certainly not the first to do so, and in great company:
[http://emojipedia.org/microsoft/windows-10/pistol/](http://emojipedia.org/microsoft/windows-10/pistol/)

~~~
teddyh
That was actually Microsoft’s _original_ design, but they _changed it to a
realistic gun_ almost a week ago:
[https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/microsoft-new-real-
gun-e...](https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/microsoft-new-real-gun-emoji/)

Also, I would not call _one single vendor_ “in great company”; before Apple,
Microsoft was the _only_ vendor showing anything else than a normal modern
handgun (except Android, which in 4.4 had what seems to be an old blunderbuss
pistol:
[http://emojipedia.org/google/android-4.4/pistol/](http://emojipedia.org/google/android-4.4/pistol/)
but Android changed it back to a revolver in Android 5.0).

------
bluejekyll
This makes a ton of sense. Good article. This is directly analogous to API
deprecation issues.

------
jaredklewis
Interestingly, the bomb, sword and dagger emoji remain in their natural form.

Apple should probably also thoroughly cleanse the iTunes Store for movies
showing guns, lest some unsuspecting child has his purity irrevocably tainted
by the image of a firearm. Such stimulation might lead him to commit homicide,
such is the simple relation between the two. Sigh.

Edit: sarcasm guys, geeeez

~~~
cooper12
Can we stop with this hyperbole anytime something is changed? What do emoji
have to do with the iTunes store? You're assuming an awful lot about Apple's
intentions with stuff like "such stimulation might lead him to commit
homicide, such is the simple relation between the two".

~~~
CamperBob2
_Can we stop with this hyperbole anytime something is changed?_

No. Monkeying with the language and symbols we use for self-expression is
defensible only if you think of _1984_ as a progressive manifesto.

~~~
cooper12
Yep, changing the look of an emoji is tantamount to state-sanctioned
censorship and oppression. Ridiculous statements like these only spawn more
ridiculousness. Try grounding your arguments in reality rather than an Atlas-
sized persecution complex and that stupid Orwellian meme. Private companies
are free to do what they want, the first amendment only applies to the
government.

~~~
cmdrfred
Pick one, it's important or it's not. Anti-gun people seem to posit it's an
important move to change the lexicon by removing the symbol and replacing it
with a water gun as that will have an effect on the public consciousness.
Someone points out that this sort of looks like newspeak from 1984 (replacing
words that make people feel bad with things that are incomprehensible) and all
of the sudden it's a trivial unimportant move that will have no effect.

~~~
CamperBob2
Exactly. To the extent the change is meaningful, it's Orwellian. To the extent
the change is meaningless, it's unnecessary.

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unethical_ban
Does anyone doubt it's a clearly political decision that is also technically
worst-practice? Does anything think this is beneficial to society to remove
the gun emoji? That it will prevent any violence?

------
bballer
Is there even logic behind this kinda of change? I just do not get it. It's
easy to say that's just Apple shoving PC down their users throats, but what
does a representation of a gun and PC have to do with each other? A gun is a
real thing, in the real world, and has real world consequences, masking it as
a water gun won't change this fact. Does Apple just want to be every ones big
brother and decide what is best for us by coddling everyone into a land of
rainbows and unicorns?

~~~
trav4225
Don't you know? If we pretend bad things don't exist, they'll simply be wished
out of existence.

------
techdragon
This is about the most reactionary, sarcasm and knee jerk fuelled batch of
comments I've seen on HN in some time. There are a few insightful ones
peppered throughout the comments here, but its easily lost in the noise.

If this thread was a recipe I'd say it needs Less 2nd amendment discussion and
lots more Unicode technical discussion. :-/

------
sksixk
I wonder if they considered having the pistol pointed upward or diagonally. It
does seem menacing when it's pointed straight to the left (or right). Not so
much if it were pointing in a different direction.

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err4nt
This is the most reasonabke solution to the direction apple has taken. I've
been anooyed that you can totally say 'water pistol‘ or 'water gun' with the
current pistol emoji like this: water+pistol, but you cant say firearm or gun
with fire+water pistol.....that just turns into fire-water-pistol? Napalm?

But I hadnt realized the potential danger in this change until this post!

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trav4225
Han shot first.

;-)

