Two Different Types of Single Apostrophes (US)?

[MKM]

I am noticing that there are two different kinds of single apostrophes (’ and ') that can be used in mp3 tags and that there appears to be no consistent usage and as a result it causes weird sorting results and is getting annoying. Are one or both of them legitimate punctuation-wise, and if so, how should I handle it? I'm leaning towards just picking one and doing a global substitution but I'm curious if anyone else has this problem?

EDIT: I'm assuming resolution would be to create 2 filters and 2 action groups...

[ohrenkino]

@MKM

two different kinds of single apostrophes (’ and ') that can be used in mp3 tags

Actually, you can use more or less any printable and sometimes even unprintable characters (like linefeeds) in tags.
So it is more in the responsibility of the editor to select the correct characters.
Right now, only one of them is actually an apostrophe:

U+2019 : RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK {single comma quotation mark}
U+0027 : APOSTROPHE {single quote; APL quote}

Here is a thread that deals with other similar looking characters:

Apostrophe vs. Accent aigu

I recently discovered that it is quite hard to discern an apostrophe (') from an accent aigu (´) in the default font. My sight is not the best, but this may also apply to others. However, this discrimination is important, as many online tagging resources (most notable "hitparade.ch") issue an error if the accent is found, or simply do not work. Unfortunately many pre-tagged files use the accent (I´m lucky if I´m catchin´ them all). Confusing those two may also be at the bottom of many complaint…

@MKM

I'm leaning towards just picking one and doing a global substitution

Yes, this would be the best solution.
A possible way to replace the variations with just one character is also mentioned in the linked thread

[Crissov]

Don’t read too much into Unicode character names. U+2019 is the typographically correct apostrophe sign. U+0027 is a technical replacement character.

[ohrenkino]

Considering the OP's findings

@MKM

as a result it causes weird sorting results

I still think that a general replacement to get just one expression of the apostrophe is the best approach.
The unicode names only illustrated that these are in fact different characters and looking at the code number explaines why the would sort differently unless the programmer of the sorting algorithm hasn't included some kind of replacement internally.

[LyricsLover]

@MKM

I am noticing that there are two different kinds of single apostrophes (’ and ') that can be used in mp3 tags

Just for the record:
There are many more apostrophe-like characters that could be used:

Apostrophe

It is advisable to replace them all with the same character/apostrophe to avoid weird sorting results.

[MKM]

And the fact that OP can’t even see the difference between the 2+ apostrophes unless he gets his eyes within 2” of his display makes using mp3tag filters+ quick changes a no brainer

[ohrenkino]

As you can save filter expressions with Manage History ...
it may be worthwhile the effort to create that filter once and then recall it from history without the need to type it in with

@MKM

his eyes within 2” of his display

Alternatively, a clean-up action group that also replaces all the variations of apostrophes with just the simple version would be an option.
Or you leave everything as it is and live with the differences.