Philipp dixit,

> However,
> any manuscript transcript should be based on a benevolent interpretation
> of the Sanskrit text transmitted in the witness, containing, for
> example, /ba/or /va/, when and wherever required by the contexts.

Why be benevolent in the *transcription*?  One can, and should be benevolent in the text of the edition.  That's a different text file.  But I see no motive for being benevolent in the transcription.  Also, smoothing out scribal quirks also erases the chance for future study of such scribal features.  But mainly, I just can't see any point in not transcribing diplomatically.

If, for the sake of argument, one had a special need for a MS transcription that had b and v in the expected places, one could write a little grep script to fix them all up. 

Best,

Dominik