Asmus Freytag wrote:
> In my view the test to pass for a proposal really is "will there be
> a critical mass of user agents that can display this symbol based
> on its numeric character reference alone". If the answer is yes,
> the symbol should go in.
This is circular. A critical mass of user agents will support it (usefully)
if it is in fonts that are (sufficiently) widely available, and it will be
included in widely available fonts if it is encoded in Unicode.
If WG2 and UTC encode the RABBIT EARS SYMBOL, it will get into various
fonts and then will be displayable by Netscape and IE, and somebody will
use it for something (vide the discussion of FLORIN as a dingbat for
"Macintosh folder"). But that is not to say that RABBIT EARS SYMBOL should be
encoded, for where is one to stop?
The existing criterion is one of tradition: does the symbol traditionally
appear in running text? If so, it gets encoded.
--John Cowan http://www.reutershealth.com jcowan@reutershealth.com Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis vom dies / Schliess eurer Aug vor heiliger Schau Den er genoss vom Honig-Tau / Und trank die Milch vom Paradies. -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)
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