> I would add a counter argument to "it feels hacky" because to me, it feels like the perfect solution: icons are symbols that we use to explain things, just like words.
Interesting point! But I think where it falls down is that the HTML content used to conjure a given icon is never related to the icon's content. If there was some way of representing words as icons with a font (perhaps using ligatures?), that would be one thing. But as things stand, it's still a hack.
I don't think it's a good point. A font is a collection of specific visual representations of existing and known symbols. That is why you can (barring this use case) change the font of text and lose no meaning. To use the old HTML/CSS mantra: text is semantic; fonts are presentational.
Interesting point! But I think where it falls down is that the HTML content used to conjure a given icon is never related to the icon's content. If there was some way of representing words as icons with a font (perhaps using ligatures?), that would be one thing. But as things stand, it's still a hack.