3 ms·

Are you implying that a water pistol is not a "handgun"? Or that you could not make a water pistol that could also be a "revolver"? Does "revolver" include revo

Are you implying that a water pistol is not a "handgun"? Or that you could not make a water pistol that could also be a "revolver"? Does "revolver" include revolver action rifles, so long as you can use them with one hand (sawed offs, etc). If not, why not? If so, would that be a "more" appropriate emoji for some reason? I'm not saying they're further out of spec. But I disagree with your implication that they are somehow further in spec than a water pistol. Pistol is pistol.

wongarsu 2y ago
> Are you implying that a water pistol is not a "handgun" Yes. If I asked you to bring me a gun (or a handgun) I don't think anyone would argue I might have meant a water pistol. A water pistol is a gun-shaped object, or an object that imitates a gun, but it isn't a gun.
- catapart 2y ago
  It fits the Webster definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun If I ask you to bring me a gun, and there is a water gun right next to you and you argue that "I might have meant water pistol" (colloquially: refusing to assess the water gun as a "gun"), I would assume you were ignorant, dishonest, or both.
  - xigoi 2y ago
    A water gun is a gun in the same way that a gummy bear is a bear.
    - catapart 2y ago
      Right on. And if someone made a "bear" emoji as an image of a gummy bear, I wouldn't accuse them of being out of spec. I would just find it personally misleading. Things that might be appropriate to say with a bear emoji might not be appropriate to say with a gummy bear emoji. That could be confusing, and it could be frustrating. But - as the standard emoji convention is often just "use whatever is closest" (see: eggplant/peach) - I don't think there would be any real, practical problem by people using gummy bears as their "bears". So it's perfectly in spec and could easily be a practical solution. The same is true of the gun emoji. Hard for me to picture a scenario where I would need to communicate "real gun" but not want to say the words "real gun". And given the ubiquitous (until now) change in the icon, I have empirical evidence that it was an entirely practically appropriate solution. And, again, it was no further out of spec than an M1911.

wongarsu 2y ago

> Are you implying that a water pistol is not a "handgun" Yes. If I asked you to bring me a gun (or a handgun) I don't think anyone would argue I might have meant a water pistol. A water pistol is a gun-shaped object, or an object that imitates a gun, but it isn't a gun.

catapart 2y ago
It fits the Webster definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun If I ask you to bring me a gun, and there is a water gun right next to you and you argue that "I might have meant water pistol" (colloquially: refusing to assess the water gun as a "gun"), I would assume you were ignorant, dishonest, or both.
- xigoi 2y ago
  A water gun is a gun in the same way that a gummy bear is a bear.
  - catapart 2y ago
    Right on. And if someone made a "bear" emoji as an image of a gummy bear, I wouldn't accuse them of being out of spec. I would just find it personally misleading. Things that might be appropriate to say with a bear emoji might not be appropriate to say with a gummy bear emoji. That could be confusing, and it could be frustrating. But - as the standard emoji convention is often just "use whatever is closest" (see: eggplant/peach) - I don't think there would be any real, practical problem by people using gummy bears as their "bears". So it's perfectly in spec and could easily be a practical solution. The same is true of the gun emoji. Hard for me to picture a scenario where I would need to communicate "real gun" but not want to say the words "real gun". And given the ubiquitous (until now) change in the icon, I have empirical evidence that it was an entirely practically appropriate solution. And, again, it was no further out of spec than an M1911.