Enable custom SVG as social icon

[scottleechua]

Addresses Issue #2268: Add IETF social integration.

The social integration aspect is straightforward, but as mentioned in the original issue, adding this feature introduces the use of SVGs as social icons.

Current approach

Seeking wider input on how we want to handle SVG social icons.

In this PR, I made a new social entry ietf_id that would show up like this:

I enforced an SVG height of 4rem to match the styling on the font icons.

It's possible to style the SVG further to match the appearance with the font icons (e.g., enforce monochrome, remove wordmark), but personally I think it wouldn't look as nice.

Possible Alternative Approach

A possible alternative is to take this as an opportunity to create a more general svg entry under social integrations in _config.yml, for users to bring their own SVGs. Something like:

svg:
  logo: _includes/svg/<LOGO>.svg
  link: https://website.com/profile

Then styling would be up to the user.

[george-gca]

I don't think I like the idea. The point of using as a font is to make sure the styling of the icons are the same, considering colors, size, etc. If I change the font color in css I would expect to all icons change their color. Also I don't know if I would add this to our _config.yml, but currently I have no other suggestion.

I am considering starting a fork of academicons to give support for this kind of issue (since it is being over a year that they made any changes), but I am not sure how hard it is to do this.

[scottleechua]

I agree that a font-based solution would absolutely be the best case, yes. I wonder if it's worth reaching out to the owner of Academicons to see what his plans are for the repo. I personally don't mind maintaining it, and would be willing to reach out. What do you think?

[george-gca]

I doesn't hurt to try. There are many open requests for icons there, and the last update to the repo was over a year ago.

[george-gca]

But I don't think we should close the issue just yet. Maybe we can think of a better way for someone to insert their svgs, maybe a guideline of how it should be, idk.

[scottleechua]

I'm also on the fence about this. I think the most helpful guiderail this provides is enforcing the SVG height to be the same as the other social icons. Happy to leave this open so other users with a stake can share their thoughts. 😄

[scottleechua]

I've reached out to the Academicons folks for a chat at the end of the month, and will update here on the outcome of that conversation. 👌

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.