> Its main rationale appears to be that the external link icon is not an element of plain text. I would agree that is the case. However I would like to point ou

> Its main rationale appears to be that the external link icon is not an element of plain text. I would agree that is the case. However I would like to point out that emoji and other similar useful symbols are not plain text either yet they have been accepted and continue to be accepted. The author seems to be using a very limited definition of "plain text". Emoji are clearly used in the same way as latin-character text in communication, so they are effectively plain text. I think a more effective argument may be that the external-link symbol should be allowed for the same reasons that the power on/off/toggle and eject symbols were allowed.