The author discusses the common issue of visually ambiguous characters that can cause frustration and errors in data entry, especially when handwritten or in unclear fonts. Some commonly confused characters include O / 0, I / l / 1, 5 / S, 2 / Z, 8 / B, 6 / G, 9 / q / g. The article explores the implications of case-sensitive vs. case-insensitive IDs, with calculations on the number of possible unique IDs based on character set and length. The author provides their own preferred character set for generating IDs that prioritize readability. Additionally, alternative character sets like Base32 and Open Location Code are mentioned to avoid ambiguities and accidental obscenities.
https://gajus.com/blog/avoiding-visually-ambiguous-characters-in-ids