Quote:
Originally Posted by naraht
For Alpha Phi Omega, the hand sign is official, it is the same as the Boy Scout sign (right hand, thumb joined to pinky, other fingers straight.)
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In what context would you use that?
I think there may be various things that can be meant by "handsigns." It seems to me that handsigns can be broken down into three different kinds of signs:
- Handsigns made in photos or similar situations that serve simply to say "we are members of ΑΒΓ";
- Signs made only in a ritual context with ritual meaning; and
- Recognition signs used to quietly identify other members, similar to a challenge and response.
It seems to me that in this thread we've mainly been talking about the first category. Obviously we wouldn't know about the second category for any GLO but our own, and the third category would also likely be secret (if still used). I'm guessing that whistles also originally functioned like the third category of handsign. (You can see in the chart above that some whistles actually have challenges and answers.)
I wouldn't be surprised of lots of GLOs have signs of the second and third kind, though in these days when it's easier to identify members in other ways, those of the third kind may have fallen out of use. It's those of the first kind that I think have only fairly recently been appearing outside the Divine Nine, and I would guess it is a Divine Nine influence that has given rise to them elsewhere.
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