From: Asmus Freytag (asmusf@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Thu Aug 23 2007 - 12:45:27 CDT
On 8/23/2007 1:36 AM, Andreas Prilop wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2007, Asmus Freytag wrote:
>
>
>> The genesis is likely the use of HTML editing software,
>> such as FrontPage, that does not support U+2019.
>>
>
> Then change the tool!
> If unicode.org uses tools that do not support Unicode,
> what do you expect from other people?
>
>
I don't see you volunteering as an editor for this task. The
consortium's editorial activities are done on a volunteer basis, some
with more or less tacit approval from their employers, some without any
pay whatsoever. In that light, please ask yourself whether this issue
really is so important, especially when compared to the effort required.
Material on the Unicode site needs to foremost be factually correct, up
to date, and complete. That's the highest priority and takes most of the
time - as the site gets larger it gets more challenging for the editors.
Next in line comes editing for clarity, style, grammar, and spelling (as
well as controlling terminology). These are all tasks that, if not done,
impede the use of the material by its intended audience.
The kind of task you have in mind ranks at the low end of that scale.
The use of 2019 for typeset publications is indeed the recommended
practice, but for non-typeset publications, the use of ' continues to be
acceptable, and it certainly is general practice.
Now, for typeset material, the Unicode book, and including the UAXs,
which were recently added to the printed book, the consortium has taken
the pains to eliminate or convert ' and " as you can see if you look at
Unicode 5.0. The same material was also proof-read by an independent
professional. That's very appropriate for something published as a book,
but not something that the consortium can afford to do across its
ever-changing website.
In summary, I think the allocation of resources by the Consortium
strikes me as largely correct, and given that they are finite, if this
is the one thing that falls off the plate, that seems just fine.
A./
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