[amatera]

Then the Duden[0] gives the following rule:

"Fehlt das ß auf der Tastatur eines Computers oder einer Schreibmaschine, schreibt man dafür ss."

Translation: "If the ß is missing on a computer keyboard or typewriter, you have to write 'ss' instead".

[0] http://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/rechtschreibregeln/doppel-s...

[egeozcan]

But it's not missing. This is like saying capital s is missing because you have to press shift+s.

[amatera]

Hehe true. I guess they mean "if the (standalone) key is missing".

[jkrems]

I'm pretty sure they refer to the inability to type ß. Which is a real concern for type writers, less so for most keyboards. I'm writing this using an American keyboard and I don't see why I shouldn't use "ß" just because it's a different key(-combination). I also wouldn't start writing "spaet" just because "ä" takes a bit more work (Alt+U, A).

[kyleblarson]

The Duden abides. (sorry!)