On 12/09/2015 06:49 PM, Hans Meiser wrote:
Yes, they do it wrong because (1) they don't know better and (2) they let their
software convert lower case text into upper case (a feature nearly every
typographic software provides).
Yet, if we let the majority of illiterate people decide what's right and what's
wrong we could as easily decide to have 2 + 2 = 5.
Here's an official text of the correct today's rules on how to write a capital
"ß" (it's in German):
http://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/rechtschreibregeln/doppel-s-und-scharfes-s
I remember when we went through all this the first time around, encoding
ẞ in the first place. People were saying "But the Duden says no!!!"
And someone then pointed out, "Please close your Duden and cast your
gaze upon ITS FRONT COVER, where you will find written in inch-high
capitals plain as day, "DER GROẞE DUDEN"
(http://www.typografie.info/temp/GrosseDuden.jpg) So in terms of
prescription vs description, the Duden pretty much torpedoes itself.
~mark
