Sergeant Semantics

So the W3C launched a logo for HTML5. And not just for HTML5-the-spec but for HTML5-the-buzzword. Regardless of the logo itself or what it stands for, I find the choice of the ancillary visual elements weird.

A badge consisting of a Zeldman-orange HTML5 shield, sergeant insignia, military/police badge-looking thingy and a white five-pointed star in a black circleIf you generate a vertical badge for showing off that you are using HTML5 semantics and HTML5 CSS3 styling, you get the image shown here. I find the imagery odd. I can understand that trying to communicate the concept of semantics visually is a hard task. But of all things, do you really have to go for military insignia?

The symbol for semantics is very clearly the rank insignia for a sergeant. (The orientation varies by country, but the orientation used by the W3C is used at least by Finland, Sweden and the United States.)

The Finnish sergeant insignia (on Wikimedia commons)

I have trouble pinning down where exactly the symbol for style comes from, but I think it has some kind of a police vibe.

As for the star, it sure looks like something I have seen on an American military vehicle. Oh, here:

American fighter planes at the Air and Space Museum (on Flickr)

Seems to go back at least to the Second World War:

Painting the American insignia on airplane wings with precision and patriotic zeal (on Flickr)

Do we really want to evoke military associations with HTML5? Militaries exert violence. Could we, please, promote HTML5 with more peaceful imagery?