Appropriate character encoding / collation to store URLs?

Question

My web application stores URL segments in a database. These URL segments are based on user-submitted content.

What collation should I use for character strings that will appear in URLs?

My assumption is ASCII General CI (?) based on this question: Which characters make a URL invalid?

Answer 1

It doesn't really matter as far as I can see. The characters valid in a URL are represented in any character set I know of, and I wouldn't use different collations between tables and columns - you'll get "illegal mix of collations" problems on any attempt to join them or perform any other kind of cross-column or cross-table operation (see my recent problem here).

Correct me if I'm wrong of course.