[wp-hackers] allow opting out of WordPress SmartQuotes

[Stephen Rider]

First off, there seem to be two slightly different discussions going  
on, so I'm going to be specific.

Discussion 1: Someone wants an option to turn off automatic smart  
quotes.

Discussion 2: Hard coding things such as the type of quotes used, and  
using foreign language quotes as faux-arrows, is a disservice to non- 
English speaking users.

On Feb 16, 2009, at 8:49 AM, Benedict Eastaugh wrote:

> -1
>
> Use a plugin. This is just bikeshedding.

For discussion 1, I agree that this is a non-starter.  A plugin can  
easily do what is requested, and it is not a common need.

For discussion 2, I think this is *far* from a "bikeshed" discussion.   
This is basically a l18n issue of sorts: not a case of translating the  
interface, but a poor assumption by the software that the user is an  
English speaker.

I don't speak anything other than English (and a smattering of French)  
but I think that this type of thing should be considered.

On Feb 15, 2009, at 7:57 AM, Thomas Scholz wrote:

> WordPress inserts legal quotes for english text only. In non-english  
> texts WordPress’ »smart quotes« are anything but smart. They’re just  
> plain wrong.
>
> Additionally WordPress has german, swiss and french »quotes«  hard  
> coded as *arrows*.[...]
> Using » and « as arrows violates aestethic, orthographic and unicode  
> rules.
>
> Typography should never be hard coded in a software that is used in  
> different languages. Get it out of the core or add at least an  
> option to switch it completely off.

Stephen

-- 
Stephen Rider
http://striderweb.com/