Bill, Cal, et al,
The figures of 2228 passengers/crew and 705 survivors are so ingrained in the Titanic community that I'm sure they'll remain with us always. Am not sure where "those people" came up with 2228 unless they were counting some cross channel passengers in that figure. But after maintaining a running spreadsheet of all the passengers and crew members for some years, I've been on line 2208 of the spreadsheet for quite some time with no additions or removals from it. Of course there's always the chance that a few people might not be accounted for but if there were such persons, they'll probably remain anonymous forevermore.
The survivor number is different and I think the figure 712 will stand the test of time. I can enumerate that figure and independently Brian Meister, Peter Engberg-Klarstrom, and Gunther Babler have also come up with 712.
There is a certain "I have spoken" mentality among some in the Titanic community and those will probably continue to put forth "the old numbers" or suddenly have an epiphany of their own that tells them the figures of 2208 and 712 are more accurate--and then inform the rest of us. But that's what gives us a certain pleasure and wry smile. Sort of like the old "Clyde Crashcup" cartoon series where Clyde was supposedly the genius and his assistant Leonardo was the inauspicious sidekick. Whenever faced with a particular dilemma, Leonardo would whisper the answer in Clyde Crashcup's ear. And then Clyde would say--"oh yes of course, glad "I" thought of it.
My best,
Phil