I disagree with your analysis of the flag. When colonial countries in Africa got their freedom from their European oppressors … they almost universally changed their flags. The boarders or the people or the language didn’t change … the government changed. Here in the USA there was a confederate flag (stars and bars) which to some is a hate symbol (like the Nazi flag), but to many it’s just a flag of the southern USA (territory).
I do agree with you that when someone selects a flag here on OGS, there can be a multitude of reasons … some which have nothing to do with political feelings.
I hear what you are saying, and I don’t totally disagree.
I just find it ironic that there are a bunch of companies that are pulling out of Russia … and that impact on regular Russians is significant (like them loosing their job or cannot travel) but not allowing a go player to pick their flag is going too far.
Let’s make a comparison. A building is divided into several apartments. Mr Flag broke the door of the Galf family and punched several of them. The Galf family tries to fight back but isn’t able to push Mr Flag out of their apartment. Other families fear that Mr Flag will control the whole building so they decide to punish the Flag family, hoping that this puts pressure on Mr Flag. For instance the Flag family is banned from Mrs Glaf’s grocery store and can’t participate in “Family feud”. However they are not banned from Mr Falg’s go club: anyway there are many other go clubs nearby, the Flags could easily go to another club so this wouldn’t constitute a real punishment.
Now, someone in the building proposes that when they play at the go club, they won’t be allowed to tell that they are from the Flag family. What’s the point? They may or may not support Mr Flag’s actions, but whatever their opinion they are from the Flag family and can’t change that.
This gives me the impression that you don’t think it’s right to make regular Russians suffer the consequences of an economic attack. I might be wrong, but if this is the case I don’t see why it would be helpful to prevent them from using their flag on OGS, which would only cause trouble to the regular people without having major political or social effects.
I agree. I don’t want people to think I am “waving” the Union flag (national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). I think I might take it down if that is how it is seen. I have it with my name to identify my nationality not because I belong to one of the ultra nationalist/fascist groups which like to wave this flag or run it up a pole in their garden as a symbol of their political allegiances. Same as the site doesn’t use the Ukrainian colours in the logo to identify it as originating in the Ukraine.
I don’t really approve of people using the slot I saw as intended to indicate nationality to display political symbols like the rainbow flag, either. Maybe just get rid of the flags altogether and have a field for ‘primary language’ which will help others know whether they might be able to communicate with you? National flag doesn’t tell you that anyway.
I think the owner (Anoek, to the best of my knowledge), as far as I can tell, relies on a number of Ukrainian nationals to help run the site. I understand that they threatened to withdraw their services unless the site flew the Ukrainian colours. I may be wrong about this, but I’m sure someone who reads this will be in a position to say whether or not that is fact.
Edit (27 September 2022): Based on what I have since been told by @Sofiam and @Vsotvep in comments to this thread, below, there are no Ukrainian nationals at all helping to run this site and nobody threatened to withdraw their services. I was wrong and I’m grateful to those who have provided the inside information I did not have access to to correct the matter.
You really imagine the FSB or some other RF government agency is monitoring game sites to make sure every Russian citizen is displaying the national flag? Do you have the slightest shred of evidence to support such a position?
I am not proud of my government and I dissent from many of their policies. I didn’t choose the head of state (he was born to it) and didn’t pick the head of the Government (she was chosen by her party members) or the party whose leader gets to run the government (but that party was elected according to law as far as I can tell, albeit with a different leader and no manifesto for current policy). My flag just says I am a citizen of the country that’s run like that.
It does not matter whether I can tell “for a fact” whether this is true or not. I find this to be a spurious accusation for which you have absolutely no evidence.
What a ridiculous thing to say, also, considering that OGS is literally waving payment of supporters from Ukraine.
You may think that just posting bs online means nothing, but do better, you know.
Also, why is it that you take issue specifically with this flag. And yes, you’re not the first one, it’s not even original. It is always the rainbow flag. I’ve never seen anyone say “Gee, maybe the flag of House Targaryen shouldn’t be there”. It is too transparent that you just dislike it on the grounds of ideology.
Thanks, Sofiam. When it first happened, I discussed it privately with someone “on the inside” and perhaps picked up the wrong impression? Are “the moderators” like a sort of council for the site, then? Can they (you?), in effect, ‘make law’ for the site, or do they have a general advisory role? How many mods are there, and what is the national makeup?
It was proposed by a moderator, accepted by anoek and no one was against it, IIRC.
I don’t think moderators are some kind of board. Anoek can do what he wants and what he wants might include consulting us.
You can see the team here (but 💖 KoBa 💖 isn’t a moderator anymore)
You’re right that I have no evidence. I did hedge the statement around with caveats and invited someone to correct me if I was wrong. Actually, I thought I had been told something like that, but am happy to accept that I got the wrong end of the stick. Please see my reply to @Sofiam, above. I’m interested in knowing exactly what process did lead to the decision. I am not sure of the relationship between the mods and Anoek, who I understood has full executive power over the site (but again, I could be wrong. I don’t think it’s published anywhere, is it?). Perhaps you have some personal knowledge of that and can illuminate?
It’s the only one I was specifically aware of, having seen it on the site a number of times. Later in the thread, I notice it mentioned that some fly the Confederate flag. It’s hard to be sure exactly what this means, but it’s not a national flag, and I think it may have some political meaning to some, so I would class it in the same way. You’re relying on rather thin evidence to state that I “just dislike [the rainbow flag] on the grounds of ideology”.
Thanks for the link (which I overlooked on first reading). Is there a route for a regular punter to get to that page without being handed the link on a plate? Some people on there have flags I don’t recognise as national flags and one has no flag, just the default android.