\*(Ba behaviour

[Kristaps Dzonsons]

Hello,

Note that I'm not on this particular list, so please CC me any responses...

I've found (by way of address@hidden, by way of address@hidden) that
groff's behaviour regarding \*(Ba has changed mysteriously since 1.15.
Example:

 .Sh DESCRIPTION
 .Fl a \*(Ba
 .Pp
 .Fl \*(Ba

Old (1.15) groff:

 DESCRIPTION
      -a |

      |

New (>=1.18.1 and probably before) groff:

  DESCRIPTION
       -a |

       - |

Which behaviour is correct?  Neither seems so to me: for the former, it
makes sense that only the literal bar should delimit; for the latter, no
other special character (I tested them all) has an interim space.

Should it not be "-a -|", then "-|"?

Thank you,

Kristaps