Possible Duplicate:
Is it an error when I do not use ß when it is necessary?
For my computer application, I have a font which does not contain the ß character. Is it acceptable in German to replace them with double s?
Possible Duplicate:
Is it an error when I do not use ß when it is necessary?
For my computer application, I have a font which does not contain the ß character. Is it acceptable in German to replace them with double s?
It is acceptable, because it is also common to use "SS" for words written in up-case letters, as there is no capital "ß" in the official orthography rules, so the up-case version of "Straße" ist "STRASSE" (sometimes you see things like "STRAßE" which is just a horribly incorrect spelling).
Therefore, writing "Strasse" instead of "Straße" would be formally incorrect, but acceptable in my option.
Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9F#Substitution_and_all_caps
Yes. Replacing 'ß' with 'ss' is the correct thing to do if there's no 'ß' character available. Otherwise, use of 'ß' is orthographically mandatory in Germany, Austria and Luxemburg.