Flags of the World
Flags of the World ( FOTW ) is an international association of vexillologists the internet. Online, there is a mailing list and a website with the most comprehensive collection of information and images to flag customer on the internet. Mailing list and website use English as the language. The FOTW mailing list was founded in September 1993 by the Italian Giuseppe Bottasini with a few dozen members, since 1994, the site exists. FOTW joined in 2001 by the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques FIAV ( International Federation of Vexillology associations ) to. Director of FOTW and successor of Bottasini since June 1998, the Canadian Rob Raeside.
Website
The FOTW site is in November 2010 from 53,000 pages with more than 101,000 flag images (February 2013). This also includes an extensive Vexillologiewörterbuch.
In addition to Rob Raeside, as a graphic editor, 35 more editors from around the world are volunteers at the site. It is usually supplemented weekly with new material and updated some of the 22 mirror sites in eight countries, but only once a month. Due to the large amount of data, not all information up to date, some mirrors are no longer updated.
AP Burgers, refers, in The South African flag book of 2008, the website of the FOTW without a doubt all-encompassing website on flags. She was the main engine of global growth in the interest and the collection of data on flags. After Peter J. Orenski in 2003, all other flag projects ever conducted dwarfs are compared to FOTW.
By his own admission, the quality of the information published on the website is very variable: it contains not only known flags, but only based on rumors drawings, which are documented accordingly. The published articles are explicitly declared as private opinions. FOTW disclaims any responsibility for the veracity and accuracy of the information published.
Mailing list
Main source of data on the FOTW site are the contributions of the 1125 members (as of February 2013) of the FOTW mailing list. A group of editors that are recruited from unpaid volunteers, manages and processes the information. Another source of data is submissions from all over the world FOTW. Unverified results there are not at FOTW. The management of the mailing list accepts a list master, whose post will be filled from among the members.
The first host of the mailing list was CESI. In July 1997, we moved to the University of California at Berkeley, a year later to QNET.com, in 2000 eGroups.com and - after an increase of spam - 2001 YahooGroups.com.
List Master was from 1997, the Americans Josh Fruhlinger and from 1998, the American Edward Mooney. In August 2000, took over the Dane Ole Andersen, 2002, the American Steve Kramer and after his task was followed for health reasons in late 2003, the Portuguese António Martins - Tuválkin. As of 2005, followed by André Coutanche from the UK and from 2007 to 2009 Jonathan Dixon. As of 2009, the Frenchman Ivan thing and held the office from 2011 to 2013 Nathan Lamb, the new Master List. Current List MAster is Dirk Schoenberger.
Flag
The flag of the organization is an asymmetric vertically divided white- blue flag with five upward different colored stars that form a circle around a black star. The design is by Mark Sensen and was chosen from ten candidates by a vote on the mailing list. The flag was officially adopted on 8 March 1996. March 8th is the official flag day of FOTW.
Scythes explains the symbolism as follows:
White stands for peace, blue for progress. The six colors of the stars are the most commonly used colors in flags. Together, the many stars the circle as a larger symbol. The connection that received the stars so, represents the Internet
The flag is mostly used online. But it exists as a real flag that is used for example in Vexillologiekongressen use.