Using "International" rather than your nation's flag

Why do some people show "International" as their flag?

What harm would it do to tell what country you are from? That's weird to me...

You could just put a fake flag if you don't want people to know what country your from.

Some people don't really affiliate with a nation as they detest their home nation for whatever reason and haven't been to another country for long enough to call it home.

Another reason could be just simple anonymity.

For me personally, being 'international' just feels nice :)

Chess.com doesn't let me pick "International" for some reason... I agree it doesn't do much harm to state your country, but I suppose it is feasible someone could find out who you were based on your country and other information, especially if you lived in a small country.

I use the Scottish flag and I am indeed German. I also play for the Scottish team. As some might know - it`s easy to find out - Germany is not ruled by a legally built gouvernment. I returned my German passport and use the International one in real life. I `ve done written statements, saying I am not part of this fake system in Germany.

For the chess.com identity international would be the other option, but I chose Scotland for my home-country. That`s not fake in my eyes. Other people may have other reasons. I see no problem here.

I guess it makes sense for people like Kuguar and Blck_Star_Rider who sorta claim two different countries. 

Well, Rocky, it's a personal choice.

As it was a personal choice you to adopt Amaerican flag (what makes complete sense to me as I am a Brazilian and use Brazil's flag).

People have already shared with us some reasons for adoptiong International flag. 

The only non-Brazilian flag I could adopt would be Corinthians' flag but that was not available...

Go, Corinthians !!

For me its because I believe nationalism to be generally a myopic, divisive and negative force. I've live all over the world and although our cultures and appearance may be different, and that diversity is great and those differences should be celebrated, on a  more fundamental level we are all very similar.

Wow, that's quite an answer ! 

This has go to be the best answer of them all.

I've also wanted to have something less dull than the plain old conservative U.S. flag. The fact is, I live in the U.S. and have lived here almost all my life, so within the standard organization of people in the world, using nationalities, that is the correct flag for me to have.  But perhaps that is not the best way to classify people. 

In another couple places I am allowed to choose my own profile picture and I have chosen multicolored "Peace" symbols instead.

The peace sign was, and still is, a symbol of rebellion or resistance - but not exactly resistance: an alternative, holistic view of the world, probably a silly and unrealistic one, but a vision of living in peace, without all the injustice that our terrible national system generates: military, war, prisons - all unnecessary and stemming from a lack of interpersonal understanding and communication.  It is an unrealizable ideal, but it is important to pursue it and recognize the ideal.
For me to use the U.S. flag feels like capitulating to the system.  It's a somewhat unsatisfactory compromise, for me.
Obviously if chess.com had been started by hippies it never would have gotten built, and then we might be out in the world playing chess or some other game with actual real people.
I could use  a peace sign on chess.com as well for my profile picture but I chose the Nun because she is enthusiastic, and wears black and white, which are the classic chess colors; also she is religious, so she may know something about bishops.

I gave an especially long and detailed answer so the asker, a friend, can comprehend me better.

Thanks Cavatine.

Hi, JustADude80!

Why do I use an international flag?

I was born in Spain.

I live in France.

I'm learning German and planning to go to Germany.

I once learnt Romanian, can read it, but cannot speak it nor write it.

I had a girlfriend from Japan.

I have a girlfriend from South Korea.

I once fell in love with a Nepalese girl.

With a Taiwanese too.

I have lived one year with a friend from Chile.

I live with an Algerian friend.

I can read in Italian, Portuguese, Catalan.

I am getting started in ancient Greek.

If you give me an easy Latin text... perhaps I'll get it.

I have been in Sweden when I was sixteen.

I adore Indian classical music.

Now I'm discovering music from Indonesia, Afghanistan.

Where am I from?

What's my nation?

I can swear I did lose no thing when I lost the frontiers of my native Spain.

Thank you, JustADude80.

See you there!

: )

Thank you guillermoyomismo !

You're so kind, JustADude80

That is, although a very personal issue, a very legitimate question. For me to answer, since l myself have changed my flag to 'international' as well, it needs to start with the definition of "nationality" and what it stands for in the first place. What kind of rule if any, life style or characteristics of marks would a one nationality bestow on its people? 

If one is not happy with that "identity", there's no need to carry the brand... 

Or it could just present a simple agenda of "internationality", cosmopolitanism and equality, as in "we are all children of the world", not followers of arbitrarily drawn divisions and lines that separate us. 

That's my two cents dear Dude. 

Thanks Farjad. That is a good answer.

I wrote a long answer before, but my short answer now is that some people don't like nationalism, and wish that international relations would diminish in importance, in favor of global concerns - ecology worldwide, and food, and population concerns, and freedom and justice for all & not just within our borders - within our borders we have luxuries to circumvent the need for justice, and we obtain luxuries by inflicting pain on other countries! it's evil.  i have the flag but our country is evil in ways!  i have an example in mind of some Central American country (maybe guatemala or venezuela?) where our security forces quash a farmer uprising because we are intent on harvesting a set amount of palm kernel oil, for our margerine.

As a swede, I obviously do mistakes when i write and speak English. It is at least forgiven by most intelligent native English speakers.

I expect people with an International flag to write flawless English. That's my caveat on that issue.

Could it be because the players are playing from international water onboard a ship, or from the international space-station?