I propose that we first merge these icons into 1 or more sprites. Then recode all the implementations to reflect the <i></i> based approach so that our theme authors can more effectively swap in their own icons either via their own sprite files or an icon based approach.
Their may be an issue in IE8 in which we would have to provide a work around but I believe its only an issue if you are running IE8 on Windows 7 which if extremely rare anyway.
Also if we recreate all the icons at a larger since we can also gain retina support. We might have to make some subtle changes to the icons though.
What we gain:
- More semantic code
- Less code to work with
- Reduced server load with faster page loads
- Easier integration with third party resources.
- Retina Support
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