First, I acknowledge that kerning is not always needed. For examples, monospace or Trinité both do not need/have kerning.
Second, I have never designed a typeface. I have only ever reviewed and used them. So I make certain assumptions when a typeface is being made that the designer does the spacing first, then kerns, then finds things to improve, ad infinitum until they release the typeface. In other words, I like to give people credit for following best practices.
Third, I know nothing and want to know more. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All of this said, as I review typefaces I am amazed at how often I'm displeased with the kerning of pairs which include punctuation. I often start with looking at
@Christoph Koeberlin’s useful
http://typefacts.com/kerningtest paragraph. I find that it shows plenty of flaws to make general comments. Even within the first sentence I'm sometimes/often/frequently (but not always) dismayed at the lack of attention to detail in kerning such pairs as /“A/ /f”/ /‘A/ /f’/ and /’./
Am I expecting too much?
Edit/Note: I also realize it is very subjective. I'm not the sort to tinker when I'm doing my work unless absolutely necessary. That is where my original tweet started. I was exasperated to see I needed to tweak.
Comments
The default kerning strings in Glyphs.app have those pairs.