On Tue, 14 Nov 2000, Rick McGowan wrote:
> Mike Ayers wrote:
> > The last I knew,
> > computer-savvy Taiwan and Hong Kong were continuing to invent new
> > characters. In the end, the onus is on the computer to support the user.
>
> Yes, the computer should support the user, but... The invention of new characters to
>serve multitudes is OK, and international standards will probably continue to support
>that. But I don't think it's reasonable or appropriate to keep inventing new
>characters willy-nilly for individuals (as reported), and then expect them to be
>added to an international standard. That's silly. The onus is not on international
>standards to support the whimsical production of novel, rarely-used, or nonce
>characters of the type reported to be generated.
> In any case, I still have never seen actual documentary evidence that would prove to
>me that in fact Taiwan and Hong Kong *ARE* creating new characters at the drop of a
>hat. People just keep saying that to scare everyone. Sounds like an urban myth to
>me.
I think there is some confusion between "new characters" in the sense that
they were never available in any standard, but which are taken from
pre-existing print sources, and now people would like to properly add
them; versus "new characters" that were made up "yesterday" for frivolous
reasons.
Thomas Chan
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
