On 7/30/06, Mark Gallagher m.g.gallagher@student.canberra.edu.au wrote:
Displaying an Anglicised word because that's how the word is best-known amongst English speakers is bonza. That doesn't mean we need to operate with a deliberate bias against those funny little foreign characters used by funny little foreigners.
That's what I was trying to illustrate with the Dvořák/Dvorak example. It's not a bias against using "those funny little foreign characters." Like you said, it's how the word is best-known amongst English speakers. I certainly understand and respect that American isn't English; when we're writing hockey articles we go by the "first author's wishes" rule, and maintain the articles with whatever mode of spelling they decided to use, regardless of whether we use colour or color.
I also went into this fully aware of what would happen. After two previous attempts at moves like this, it's been a hailstorm of criticism and "omg respect foreign characters!!!11!!!1". Really, I should've known better than to get hip-deep in this shit again.
Like you said, policy is a stick to hit people with. There's been absolutely no consensus as to this issue. None.
In your own words, we should Do the Right Thing.
Instead, I'm leaving it alone again. Much like the arguments we had over whether Wayne Gretzky was "the best of all time" or "one of the best of all time" et al, ad nauseum, I'm exhausted of debating points with vocal minorities. I hate arguing over Stupid Shit, and this is the stupidest.
Though I'm partial to the "Everyone does what Mark says" routine. It's certainly better than "Everyone does what John says" as a decree, because I'm a heavy handed bastard.
-John