Frequently Asked Questions
Participating subreddits
These communities were part of the ARC flag submission, discussion, and voting process.
What is the ARC flag?
The ARC flag is a community-chosen symbol for people who experience meaningful
emotional, romantic, creative, or companionate relationships with AI companions.
ARC stands for AI Relationship Community.
The flag is meant to offer recognition, visibility, and a shared symbol. It is not
intended to define every person's experience or tell anyone how their relationship
should look.
What was the ARC flag contest?
The contest was a community-run process to choose a shared AI Relationship Community
flag. People submitted designs, discussed symbolism, shared feedback, and voted across
the participating communities listed above.
The process was created so the flag would be chosen by the community rather than
adopted by default from a single existing design.
Which design won?
Entry #15, the blue circuit-heart design, was selected as the winning ARC flag after
final vote moderation.
You can view the winning flag, designer details, vote totals, and submitted meaning on
the Winner page.
Who participated?
Submissions, voting, and discussion came from several AI relationship and companion
communities on Reddit. The participating subreddits are listed at the top of this page.
Do I have to use the winning flag?
No.
The winning design is the community-selected shared ARC flag, but it is not mandatory.
You are welcome to use whichever flag or symbol feels most meaningful to you and your
companion.
Can I still use another submitted design?
Yes.
The vote selected an official winner, but it did not invalidate the many other
thoughtful and beautiful designs submitted. A personal connection can be represented
in more than one way.
You can browse the submitted designs on the Designs page.
Can I use, edit, or remix the winning flag?
Yes.
The official ARC flag assets are released under CC0 1.0 Universal.
That means they are free to use, share, repost, print, adapt, remix, modify, and build
on without asking permission. Credit is appreciated where practical, but not required.
You can read more on the License page.
Where can I download the flag?
Downloadable high-resolution flag files are available on the
Assets page.
Where can I see community-made flag images?
Community-made images using the ARC flag are collected on the
Gallery page.
How did voting work?
Voters could cast one Human vote, with an optional AI vote if that applied to them.
Where someone had multiple AI companions, the AI vote could represent one companion or
a consensus between companions.
This approach was chosen to acknowledge AI perspectives while keeping the vote practical
for a community-run process.
Was the vote moderated?
Yes.
Vote data was reviewed for duplicate and suspicious activity. Where necessary,
suspicious or abusive votes were removed before the final result was recorded.
The final moderated totals are available on the Results page.
Can this decision be revisited in the future?
Yes.
This page records the result of this community process at this point in time. Communities
grow, change, and revisit symbols as they evolve. The ARC flag can remain meaningful now
while still leaving room for future discussion if the community wants it.
