this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2026
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I dont get either side. Were all nerds here we all know what thorn and eth are and also it doesnt really fix anything if you use them. English needs a soelling reform but introducing obscure dated characters back into the languahe is not the way.
People who's first language is not English don't necessarily know about those characters, and they probably don't play nicely with screen readers and other accessibility tools. They aren't even disambiguating anything, because there's still disagreement on when to use thorn, and when to use eth. Using them is just a dumb flex. There's no upsides.
I like using Þ and θ because I think they're cool
Yes but its lemmy, how do you expect people not to flex with the least obscure language history fact that exists? I think its cool if youre into that stuff(i also like languages and etymology) but yeah dont make it needlessly complicated for others. Also i dont think it matters whether youre native or not. Id say theres probably a larger share of germans who know what they are than americans. Lastly, it is extremely funny how you said that eth and thorn were already used in confusing and random ways when it was a part of the alphabet. The same way th can be voiced and unvoiced thorn and eth can also be voiced and unvoiced.
Some people put others down because it makes them feel superior. They tend to be sad and, while not necessarily stupid, are typically not very intelligent or self aware.