Dear Martin,
Thanks for alerting me to the issue of causal direction of aesthetic
preference - it's been on my mind, but your reply helps me sort out some
details.
When I first encountered text (outside of the German language locale)
with ample use of ligatures in modern printed text, I definitely found
the ligatures a bit distracting, but partly just because I wasn't used
to them. I also perceived them as a solution to what (in Germany)
appeared to me to be a real non-issue.
Put simply, there is a conflict between full flexibility for font
designs and the burden imposed by sophisticated ligatures and kerning
tables.
From my background I never perceived a need, but I guess I (and most
people??) wouldn't really mind the tradition coming back (in Germany) if
things are designed well (which is the job of the font designer) and for
the user everything is handled automatically in the background by the
available technology ...
Stephan
