Flags are an intersection and encryption of the political and the aesthetic, an impersonal assertion of allegiance. The flourishing of identities on the internet has been accompanied by a vexillological cambrian explosion of flags to represent them. Whether a political, gender, sexual orientation, or other identity, every affinity group online quickly finds itself with a flag to fly. Many groups find themselves with more than one, which can lead to conflict over which is more authentic, inclusive, or aesthetic.

Focal points, also known as "Schelling points", are a perceptual phenomenon in game theory. They are values or strategies that people will use because they seem obvious or attractive in a given context. They were a popular concept in blockchain theory when I made SchellingFlags. Using the blockchain, SchellingFlags supports the construction and use of flags as ideological focal points for decentralised social coordination. Any individual can create and share a flag, and any individual can support it. The most popular flags are displayed by the SchellingFlags graphical interface to provide a map of its ideological landscape.

This is another mutual critique - of the limits of identity and belonging in affinity groups and of the ability of the blockchain to represent political information. It may also be a sublimation of my then-unacknowledged interest in gender identity.