[Cromlyn]

I wonder why my country's flag appears in the old version of BBO but not the new one? (It is just blank on the new one)

[barmar]

What country?

[Lurpoa]

Why do we need flags ?
What has bridge to do with flags ?
I would suggest we all put up pictures of our favourite pet.
Be The ♥ with you.

[barmar]

When I look at your profile I see the Union Jack flag of Great Britain.

[hrothgar]

 Lurpoa, on 2013-December-23, 23:50, said:

Why do we need flags ?
What has bridge to do with flags ?
I would suggest we all put up pictures of our favourite pet.
Be The ♥ with you.

My cats are part of the standard picture set...

Which makes it kinda sad that I continue to display a picture of the NorthWest Pacific Tree Octopus...

[1eyedjack]

 Lurpoa, on 2013-December-23, 23:50, said:

Why do we need flags ?
What has bridge to do with flags ?
I would suggest we all put up pictures of our favourite pet.
Be The ♥ with you.

It might indicate in what language(s) you are likely to be fluent..
It might indicate with what national standard bridge systems you are likely to be familiar.

There are other reasons, but two is enough to be going on with.

[barmar]

Cromlyn sent me his country by PM. It doesn't fit our criteria of an independent country; we'll be removing it from the country menu rather than adding the flag for it. It's in the old version because they once fielded a team for an event that was on Vugraph.

To Lurpoa: If you want a picture of your cat, you can upload it to your profile. Don't begrudge everyone else their national flags.

[Lurpoa]

 1eyedjack, on 2013-December-24, 08:44, said:

It might indicate in what language(s) you are likely to be fluent..
It might indicate with what national standard bridge systems you are likely to be familiar.

There are other reasons, but two is enough to be going on with.

not really usefull....
your systems should be mentionned on your pro, seems more adequate...than all Polish play Polish Club, all Brits play Benji Acol, ...
yes the kind of generalisations you get by boxing the people into flag categories...
as for the language... really ?
some people mention: I only speak Antwerps... that is for sure more useful.

No, we really would prefer "pets".

Be The HEART with you.

[Lurpoa]

 barmar, on 2013-December-24, 09:57, said:

To Lurpoa: If you want a picture of your cat, you can upload it to your profile. Don't begrudge everyone else their national flags.

No, we do not begrudge your flags....we just think it is a bad idea....

But maybe a an idea: could we have a Rainbow Flag ?

PS: I did put up the Philippines.... because, please, we should not forgot all those people, who still have no houses, or medical care after the storm.

[Cromlyn]

I was hoping to broaden this topic out into whether or not one should display the flag of one’s country or the flag of where one is living?

The flag only serves the purpose of letting one know where the person is and therefore what language they might speak, the time zone they live in and the system they may play. For example if ‘Acol’ is on the profile it will be a completely different system if it is on a profile of someone from the Netherlands or someone from Australia.

Perhaps someday it would be possible for the profile to be redesigned to allow things like time zones, languages, etc to be included?


Actually I am not concerned about whether we have flags or not, my post was just a query about why I had the flag of my country in one version and not the other.

[Antrax]

Now I'm really curious where you're from. Palestine? The Falkland Islands?

[1eyedjack]

National flags are not a necessity. But that fact is not a compelling reason to dispense with them.
Furthermore they have no official purpose. They are just a bit of fun.
You might choose to assume a player's system familiarity and/or primary language based on flag but you do so at your own risk, just as you do with their self-assessed competence rating. There is no shortage of players out there who chose a flag based on nothing more than its aesthetic attraction.

Bottom line is that most players (not all, sure) choose to display a flag. If they go to the effort of doing so, for whatever varied reason, then they value the provision of the facility. Let them have their fun and get on with your own life.

Personally I abhor nationalism (except in the military/political arena where it is necessary to protect your own financial or sovereign interests), or indeed the deification of any sportsman for reasons other than their demonstrated competence in their field. The original Olympics were based on the principle of rewarding individual achievement. I remember being on BBO during an Olympics many years ago and someone was drooling online at the table about how fantastic were the US female gymnastics team. From the viewpoint of a dispassionate observer I thought that they were no more, or not significantly more, competent than their opponents from several other countries. Sure, they weren't "bad", but there was nothing that I could see that singled them out for any particular praise beyond that they shared a national heritage with that of the drooler. It is not just nationalism. I cannot fathom why an indiividual would "support" a particular football team all their lives. What has that team ever done for them, apart from the accident of residing (and not in all cases at that) in a proximal geographical neighbourhood. So in that regard I have some sympathies with Lurpoa. A picture of your favourite cat is no less justified. But the point is that you CAN post a picture of your cat, just as you CAN post a national flag. Let them get on with it, whatever they choose, I say.

[Antrax]

1eyedjack, it increases the fun for them. If you're emotionally invested in the game, you enjoy watching it much more.

[barmar]

Humans are social animals. As such, we have a psychological need to identify with particular social groups. Sometimes this manifests itself as patriotism, xenophobia, ethnic/tribal conflicts, or all-out war. Sharing a devotion to a local sports team is a much more healthy way to express that need (except on the rare occasions of riots after a crucial game).

[mycroft]

My guess would always be one of the 4 countries that are really one, claimed to be governed from London, except where they aren't...