Microsoft employees discover new Teams feature thanks to Pepe the Frog

Mining and Energy News - Microsoft has started internally testing a caller civilization emoji characteristic for its Microsoft Teams communications platform. Multiple sources show The Verge that Microsoft labor learned astir nan astonishment caller capacity aft animated emoji of Pepe nan Frog — a meme pinch a troubled past — started appearing successful reactions and messages connected early soul versions of Microsoft Teams.

The Pepe nan Frog emotes, which are now wide utilized successful Discord servers and connected Amazon’s Twitch streaming level arsenic lighthearted responses, appeared alongside different civilization emoji that don’t vessel successful Microsoft Teams correct now. We’re told Microsoft is testing nan civilization emoji characteristic successful early alleged “dogfood” versions of Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams presently supports GIFs done nan Giphy service, but these are abstracted from nan emoji sheet that appears wrong video calls and chat messages connected nan service. If Microsoft decides to rotation this civilization emoji characteristic retired to each Teams users, it doesn’t mean that Pepe nan Frog memes will vessel by default, conscionable nan expertise to adhd civilization emoji. It will beryllium up to IT admins to o.k. and let caller civilization emoji — overmuch for illustration really Discord and Slack admins negociate this.

Microsoft Teams presently only supports charismatic Unicode emoji.

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

The summation of Pepe nan Frog to soul versions of Microsoft Teams amazed immoderate labor because of nan fraught history of this peculiar meme. While Pepe nan Frog is wide utilized innocently these days, nan animation frog was besides co-opted by achromatic supremacists years ago. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added Pepe nan Frog to its hate awesome database successful 2016, but nan defense group has since teamed pinch Pepe creator Matt Furie to backmost a “#SavePepe run to reclaim nan awesome from those who usage it pinch hateful intentions.”

Pepe is now utilized little commonly arsenic a dislike awesome than a guidance meme successful Twitch chats. “Because truthful galore Pepe nan Frog memes are not bigoted successful nature, it is important to analyse usage of nan meme only successful context,” says nan ADL. “The specified truth of posting a Pepe meme does not mean that personification is racist aliases achromatic supremacist.” The life, death, and rebirth of Pepe was explored successful nan documentary Feels Good Man.

Pepe nan Frog was a awesome of guidance for Hong Kong protestors successful 2019.

Microsoft has not yet officially announced civilization emoji for Microsoft Teams, and nan characteristic is still successful very early testing. Microsoft did admit nan highly requested characteristic had been added to a backlog of caller additions 7 months ago. Given civilization emoji has existed for years successful rival platforms for illustration Slack and Discord, it’s much than apt to scope each Microsoft Teams users astatine immoderate constituent this year.

We reached retired to Microsoft for comment, but nan institution did not respond successful clip for publication.

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