yaoyueyi
Mass panic sounds a bit overkill.
They'd be like 10 threads on the forum about it, and that's about it. It wouldn't break anything, it would just bug out some stories on mobile.
I guess there are a lot of drama-queens here, though, especially on mobile. They'd overreact, so I do see your point.
Also how difficult is it to implement italics in 2019? No need for patience, that's something that can be added easily if WN was actively trying. It's just not very high-up on their to-do list I imagine.