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  (function() {
    const SKIP_PARENTS = new Set(["SCRIPT", "STYLE", "NOSCRIPT", "TEXTAREA"]);
    const walker = document.createTreeWalker(
      document.body,
      NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT,
      {
        acceptNode(node) {
          const p = node.parentNode;
          if (!p || SKIP_PARENTS.has(p.nodeName)) return NodeFilter.FILTER_REJECT;
          if (p.nodeName === "INPUT") return NodeFilter.FILTER_REJECT;
          return NodeFilter.FILTER_ACCEPT;
        }
      }
    );

    let node;
    while ((node = walker.nextNode())) {
      node.nodeValue = node.nodeValue.replace(/ſ/g, "s");
    }
  })()
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what?
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That will replace the long-s with the standard s. You can do the same for the thorn.
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The person you're talking to was wondering if there's a more elegant long-s font choice, not how to replace long-s with short-s.
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Interestingly I found the long s annoying and I had to think every time I saw it, but I quickly got used to and could read it naturally after a few paragraphs.
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Hmm, I thought it wafnt fo bad, myfelf
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oh my god, you're right, they just used an f, no wonder I found it so bad! That is really annoying. Enraging even.
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The text doesn't use an `f`. If you copy from e.g. the 1700 passage you get `ſ` not `f`.
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Probably people are confused by ligatures. Indeed it is a long S.
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This is correct. And if you don't like that font's long-s, you can fix it with

document.body.style.fontFamily = "Baskerville";

Baskerville has a nice long-s. TNR is also not bad. Garamond is passable.

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I should have noticed, it has a full cross bar, I guess it's my fading eyesight and also the white text of green is perhaps not the best contrast.
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It doesn't have such a bar in the article e.g. "swifter" https://imgur.com/a/XwsoVgB
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