"Cool S"

[rektide]

The diamond "S" should have a unicode character.

This guy:

  ʌ
 / \
/   \
| | |
\ \/
/\  \
| | |
\   /
 \ /
  v

See other examples about: https://mobile.twitter.com/JFriedhoff/status/971174957517590528

[Crissov]

Hm, as a math symbol? You would need to show some existing uses, the older the better.

[rektide]

This is definitely not a math symbol. :p The tweet was a joke.

It is however a very common ~2 decade old cultural artifact.

[rektide]

References:

Wikipedia link

[Crissov]

I understand that the tweet was a joke, but I'm not sure whether your intention to get this symbol encoded is, too. I suggested treating it as a (math) symbol because otherwise the question whether it should be part of a complete Latin alphabet is inevitable. To be considered for encoding it would need sufficient evidence that it is used either in or like text, not as purely decorative artwork. I highly doubt it would qualify as a new emoji, since the ESC/UTC is now almost only adding pictographs as newly encoded characters. (They are adding an infinity symbol to Emoji 11.0 using an existing character.)

[cnelson]

Seen in use as a replacement S this weekend in a town with a population < 200. This is clearly in regular use in places divorced from internet culture and should be added.

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[Crissov]

@cnelson Since it is used as a stylistic variant of a plain S in the word strawberry here, this does nothing to support its encoding as a separate symbol or letter.

[rektide]

We obviously need a "cool" modifier then?

[sdaitzman]

🆒

[marnanel]

What about a ZWJ solution?

U+1F192 SQUARED COOL
U+200D ZERO-WIDTH JOINER
U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S

[sdelaughter]

I think this genuinely warrants its own character. It's definitely not a math symbol, and while it may sometimes be used as a stylistic 'S' it is much more than that. It's a symbol with unknown origin that many people across many cultures inexplicably draw. I think the best fit would be in the other-symbol group -- think of it as a fleur-de-lis for middle-schoolers. The geometric category could be a good fit as well.

For a recent cultural reference point, see today's XKCD:
https://xkcd.com/2690/

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_S) lists documented appearances as early as 1973, though there's speculation it dates back to the 1890s. Basquiat even hid them in some of his paintings.

[pinobatch]

Would it work as a variant form of 𝕊 U+1D54A MATHEMATICAL DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL S?

[endrift]

My suggestion would be the Geometric Shapes Extended block, perhaps as U+1F7F1, as every other block that makes more sense is full, and I don't think this proposal alone justifies assigning a new Miscellaneous Symbols Extended block.

[no-identd]

One may find an extensive list of additional references / citations / &c. pp. here, courtesy of @LEMMiN0:

https://www.lemmi.no/p/the-universal-s

[IsaacEgger]

This needs to happen.

[SolarGranulation]

I discovered this issue because I specifically went looking for a codepoint for this symbol, as it seemed such a clear case of a symbol that should be in unicode.

I must also add that the symbol certainly has more than two decades (or even 2½ at this point) of history, as I can personally attest to its popularity almost forty years ago.

[kimslawson]

If the multiocular o (biblically accurate seraphim looky-loo) can get some unicode love, and it was only included once in a manuscript hundreds of years ago, it seems fair that a shared cultural artifact doodled on countless millions of manuscripts should have even footing. As far as implementation, I love the idea of combining characters, using 🆒 as a modifier to S.

[Crissov]

It’s actually easier to get something encoded that was used – even just once – in ancient manuscripts than what is scribbled frequently but informally in very recent times, unless the latter has some obvious usage distinct from its base letter, it was encoded electronically before.

[jonlundy]

🆒‍S