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.
But what of the thorn user who does it to "put down" people that don't understand it? It was already proven it does nothing to stop AI so it's just a smug way of showing off.
It's just the semi-regular Lemmy drama - people get their knickers in a twist and echo chamber themselves into a frenzy over the most absolutely inconsequential shite. Oh no, someone uses a character not everyone understands! If we allow this, men will dress as women and marry their dogs! Won't someone think of the children?!
I could not care less what they do. Their thorn use is benign and they will explain exactly what the character means if asked. Everything I've seen stated about the "real reason" they're using it and their implications seem to be little more than assumptions and fabrications made to pretend putting them down is somehow justified.
s
The only thing that surprises me is that no one has called to defederate from their instance.
/s
Solid put down right here tbh.