Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
Andrew West
1 May 2016
“The Dodo never had a chance. He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of
becoming extinct and that was all he was good for” — Will Cuppy, How to Become Extinct
(1941)
Dodo from a copy of a 1626 painting by Roelant Savery
1. Introduction
This is a proposal to encode an emoji character representing the Dodo (Raphus cucullatus),
an extinct flightless bird with a distinctive and (sometimes considered) comic appearance
that is widely used as a metaphor for something or someone that is obsolete or that is no
longer living or functional. This bird features in the expressions “as dead as a dodo” and
“go the way of the dodo”.
The proposed character name is DODO, although DODO BIRD would also be acceptable, to
make it clear that this character refers to the extinct bird and not something else.
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
Page 1
2. Sample Images
A
B
C
Sources:
art/ (free use)
A. http://www.clipartlord.com/2012/10/29/free
http://www.clipartlord.com/2012/10/29/free-extinct-dodo-clip-art/
B. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Didus_cucullatus_white_background.jpg
(public domain)
C. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dodo.svg (cc-by-sa-3.0))
3. Selection Factors
Factors for Inclusion
A. Compatibility.
No compatibility requirements.
nts.
B. Expected usage level.
1. Frequency.
Medium expected frequency of use. This is indicated by a medium number of references to
a dodo emoji on social media (searching for dodo emoji is difficult aas “dodo emoji”
frequently refers to U+1F4A9 💩). A sample of anonymized tweets on Twitter mentioning
dodo [bird] emoji are listed below. Many of these tweets bemoan the lack of a dodo emoji,
and some of them try to represent a dodo using a chicken emoji, but there is no obvious or
consistent way of doing this.
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Ik pleit voor een dodo-emoji
emoji als eerbetoon 👉🏼 "De dodo was zo dom nog niet.
@AppleMusic please tell Tim we need a dodo emoji
Need a dodo emoji
where the 🐤 am I gonna find 100 🐪 in England? How about 30 🐼 and 3 *dodo emoji*
❓
Want a #dodo #emoji !
I'd like a dodo bird, if you can manage that! 🐓 (why is there no bird emoji? Just this
dumb chicken?)
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
oji
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Going to spend my evening stalking #Dodocon and making my own Pickwick bunting 💁
(why is there no dodo emoji?)
Can't find the dodo emoji
😂😂😂(inserts dodo bird emoji)
Lmfaooooo you don't see (I can't find the dodo emoji 😕😞)
I wish here was a dodo emoji this is bullshit
Where is that dodo emoji?
also I need a dodo bird emoji
🐥<--- me dodo bird. 🐧<--- van pretty penguin (not good bird emoji). 😂😂😂
i kant find the dodo emoji
is that a Red dodo bird emoji? haha
Can someone please tell me where TF is the dodo emoji
my spirit animal is a dodo bird 😎 *dodo bird emoji*
There's no dodo bird emoji and that makes me sad.
There's no Dodo Bird emoji.. I'm crying.
y is there no dodo bird emoji this is preposterous
find me a dodo bird emoji then.
*insert dodo bird emoji here* happy??
Seriously, they need a cute giraffe, panda, dodo bird emoji.
2. Multiple usages.
The dodo is widely used as a metaphor for something or someone that is old-fashioned or
obsolete, or that is completely extinct (“dead as a dodo” as the saying goes). The Oxford
English Dictionary definition for “dodo, n.” states: “transf. and fig., an old-fashioned, stupid,
inactive, or unenlightened person”. Quotations from Oxford English Dictionary illustrating
the metaphorical meaning of Dodo:
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne II. viii. 177 He belongs to the Dodo race of real unmitigated..Toryism.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 Feb. 1/1 The old dodo at Scotland Yard, roused into a state of feverish
activity..yesterday converted itself by a tremendous effort into a gigantic turkey-cock.
1922 F. S. Fitzgerald Let. 18 June (1964) 164 Tom Boyd wrote me that Bridges had been a dodo about
some Y.M.C.A. man.
1950 A. Wilson (title) Such darling dodos.
1904 H. O. Sturgis Belchamber iv. 51 The Radicalism of Mill..is as dead as the dodo.
1935 Ann. Reg. 1934 ii. 305 References appearing in the London newspapers to the effect that ‘war
debts are as dead as the Dodo’ were cabled to the American press.
1960 Guardian 24 Mar. 11/1 Mr. Menzies..refused a request for a boycott..saying he had hoped this
‘was as dead as a dodo’.
C. Image distinctiveness.
The dodo has a very distinctive appearance, which is quite unlike that of any other bird.
D. Completeness.
Fills a gap in extinct animals.
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
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E. Frequently requested.
Yes. See Twitter quotes listed above.
Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/dodo/> has 744,660 posts tagged
#dodo, but the vast majority of these appear to be unrelated to the extinct bird. 406 posts
are tagged as #deadasadodo.
Factors for Exclusion
F. Overly specific.
No. The bird emoji (U+1F426 🐦) is too generic to represent the dodo, and particularly
inappropriate as the dodo is a noted flightless bird, and the bird emoji shows a flying bird.
G. Open-ended.
No, there is only one dodo.
H. Already Representable.
No.
I. Logos, brands, UI icons, signage, specific people, deities.
No.
J. Transient.
No. The Dodo has been an iconic animal for several hundred years.
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
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4. Proposal Summary Form
SO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2/WG 2
PROPOSAL SUMMARY FORM TO ACCOMPANY SUBMISSIONS
1
FOR ADDITIONS TO THE REPERTOIRE OF ISO/IEC 10646
Please fill all the sections A, B and C below.
TP
PT
Please read Principles and Procedures Document (P & P) from http://www.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/principles.html for
guidelines and details before filling this form.
Please ensure you are using the latest Form from http://www.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/summaryform.html .
See also http://www.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/roadmaps.html for latest Roadmaps.
HTU
UTH
HTU
A. Administrative
UTH
HTU
UTH
1. Title:
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
Andrew West
2. Requester's name:
Individual contribution
3. Requester type (Member body/Liaison/Individual contribution):
2016-05-01
4. Submission date:
5. Requester's reference (if applicable):
6. Choose one of the following:
YES
This is a complete proposal:
(or) More information will be provided later:
B. Technical – General
1. Choose one of the following:
NO
a. This proposal is for a new script (set of characters):
Proposed name of script:
YES
b. The proposal is for addition of character(s) to an existing block:
Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs
Name of the existing block:
1
2. Number of characters in proposal:
3. Proposed category (select one from below - see section 2.2 of P&P document):
A-Contemporary
X B.1-Specialized (small collection)
B.2-Specialized (large collection)
C-Major extinct
D-Attested extinct
E-Minor extinct
F-Archaic Hieroglyphic or Ideographic
G-Obscure or questionable usage symbols
YES
4. Is a repertoire including character names provided?
a. If YES, are the names in accordance with the “character naming guidelines”
YES
in Annex L of P&P document?
YES
b. Are the character shapes attached in a legible form suitable for review?
5. Fonts related:
a. Who will provide the appropriate computerized font to the Project Editor of 10646 for publishing the
standard?
Andrew West
b. Identify the party granting a license for use of the font by the editors (include address, e-mail, ftp-site, etc.):
Andrew West
6. References:
NO
a. Are references (to other character sets, dictionaries, descriptive texts etc.) provided?
b. Are published examples of use (such as samples from newspapers, magazines, or other sources)
NO
of proposed characters attached?
7. Special encoding issues:
Does the proposal address other aspects of character data processing (if applicable) such as input,
NO
presentation, sorting, searching, indexing, transliteration etc. (if yes please enclose information)?
8. Additional Information:
Submitters are invited to provide any additional information about Properties of the proposed Character(s) or Script
that will assist in correct understanding of and correct linguistic processing of the proposed character(s) or script.
Examples of such properties are: Casing information, Numeric information, Currency information, Display behaviour
information such as line breaks, widths etc., Combining behaviour, Spacing behaviour, Directional behaviour, Default
Collation behaviour, relevance in Mark Up contexts, Compatibility equivalence and other Unicode normalization
related information. See the Unicode standard at http://www.unicode.org for such information on other scripts. Also
see Unicode Character Database ( http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr44/ ) and associated Unicode Technical Reports
for information needed for consideration by the Unicode Technical Committee for inclusion in the Unicode Standard.
HTU
UTH
H
1
Form number: N4102-F (Original 1994-10-14; Revised 1995-01, 1995-04, 1996-04, 1996-08, 1999-03, 2001-05, 2001-09, 200311, 2005-01, 2005-09, 2005-10, 2007-03, 2008-05, 2009-11, 2011-03, 2012-01)
TP
PT
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
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C. Technical - Justification
NO
1. Has this proposal for addition of character(s) been submitted before?
If YES explain
2. Has contact been made to members of the user community (for example: National Body,
NO
user groups of the script or characters, other experts, etc.)?
If YES, with whom?
If YES, available relevant documents:
3. Information on the user community for the proposed characters (for example:
NO
size, demographics, information technology use, or publishing use) is included?
Reference:
common
4. The context of use for the proposed characters (type of use; common or rare)
Reference:
5. Are the proposed characters in current use by the user community?
YES
If YES, where? Reference:
6. After giving due considerations to the principles in the P&P document must the proposed characters be entirely
NO
in the BMP?
If YES, is a rationale provided?
If YES, reference:
N/A
7. Should the proposed characters be kept together in a contiguous range (rather than being scattered)?
8. Can any of the proposed characters be considered a presentation form of an existing
NO
character or character sequence?
If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
If YES, reference:
9. Can any of the proposed characters be encoded using a composed character sequence of either
NO
existing characters or other proposed characters?
If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
If YES, reference:
10. Can any of the proposed character(s) be considered to be similar (in appearance or function)
NO
to, or could be confused with, an existing character?
If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
If YES, reference:
NO
11. Does the proposal include use of combining characters and/or use of composite sequences?
If YES, is a rationale for such use provided?
If YES, reference:
Is a list of composite sequences and their corresponding glyph images (graphic symbols) provided?
If YES, reference:
12. Does the proposal contain characters with any special properties such as
NO
control function or similar semantics?
If YES, describe in detail (include attachment if necessary)
13. Does the proposal contain any Ideographic compatibility characters?
If YES, are the equivalent corresponding unified ideographic characters identified?
If YES, reference:
Proposal to Encode a Dodo Emoji
NO
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