Pretty often. Yes you can use mb_* functions everywhere but not all string functions have an mb_* counterpart, and forget just once and you risk blowing up the

Pretty often. Yes you can use mb_* functions everywhere but not all string functions have an mb_* counterpart, and forget just once and you risk blowing up the entire rest of the request. Not to mention times when you have to use a 3rd party library that doesn't bother with mb_*. Native UTF is such an important thing... I know it's tough to implement, but come on guys!