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Flags of Cyberspace

Last modified: 2007-02-10 by phil nelson
Keywords: cyberspace |
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I would like to know, it there exists some flag of cyberspace and how does it look like. I did an internet search and found links like "flag of Cyberspace" or and the world-famous Cyberspace Flag, created by Aurora Developments in 1996 but all the links are dead.
Jakub Friedl, 5 February 2003


Bill Grimes-Wyatt of Baltimore, Maryland, United States, an occasional contributor here, developed a flag a few years ago for use in "rallying" Internet users together at assemblies. It's an elegant design, consisting of - again, I'm going on memory - a yellow @ symbol on a blue field. I mention this because at the same time, I designed a flag for the growing political movement in the U.S. against Internet censorship. I called it the "Electronic Freedom Flag", and though I designed it independently, it was similar to Bill's: a horizontal triband of blue-black-blue with a centered gold/yellow @ symbol overall. Given that two different vexillologists came up with much the same design independently for "cyberspace", I'd say this design (Bill's in particular, as mine is more a political variant) has some resonance.
Steve Kramer, 6 February 2003


If I recall correctly, that was a personal initiative from some guy that decided to create a flag design and put it on a webpage. I don't recall clearly the design itself, but I know that it contained the character "@".
Jorge Candeias, 6 February 2003


I did that as well, with the Electronic Freedom Flag. It is not currently on the Web, however.
Steve Kramer , 7 February 2003


[A Cyberspace flag] Contributed by Jakub Friedl

However I did find a flag in my search for a flag of Cyberspace. It was proposed a day after Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (February 1996) with following explanation:

The blue ribbon represents the EFF's Blue Ribbon Campaign to protest censorship of the internet. The blue border on the flag supports and reinforces the message of protest.

The black field represents the grassroots protest that occurred in January of 1996, where 83% of all personal web pages on the net were turned black in mourning for the impending legislation that would have put chains on our fingers and prison bars around our minds by censoring our free expression.

The slogan, "Don't Tread On Us!" is there to send a clear message to the United States government (and any other). It recalls the words on the very first flag used in battle by the militia of the Colonies. This flag was of a rattlesnake, coiled and poised to strike, on a yellow field, and contained the words: Don't Tread On Me! That flag's purpose was to show the British army that the American patriots had had enough and were now prepared to fight back against their oppressors, to stand up for their rights as free human beings, and to defend those rights. On the Cyberspace Flag, the slogan is there as a reminder.

Jakub Friedl, 7 February 2003