Markdown vs. bbcode

User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) · Editor: euclid · Created by macnab

declined

markdown wysiwyg

What functionality is missing? What is unsatisfying with the current situation?

I have heard and completely understand all of the arguments against the use of markdown on World Anvil: the community hasn't been passionate enough about it, it would be more difficult to implement at this point, bbcode is closer to HTML, etc. But I LOVE what you're doing with this app. WorldAnvil is kind of mind blowing. I feel that I may never utilize all the incredible functionality that it offers. That being said, I never use it to actually write anything. I have to take the prompts and actually create in another app: Obsidian, Notion, Roam, Drafts, pretty much anything but WorldAnvil. Then I have to come back to the website, copy/paste what I've created, and reformat everthing using bbcode. I'm a developer; I know that I could probably fire up VSCode and install the syntax and write there. But that extra step keeps me from wanting to start the creative process in this app. I would understand if I were asking for…vim, or something, to be implemented; I'd never do so! But…markdown? Even non-nerds know it!

How does this feature request address the current situation?

I believe that, like it or not, markdown is the reigning champion of lightweight markup languages. It would be a familiar option for many.

What are other uses for this feature request?

Markdown seems to offer the same amount of formatting options as bbcode…translating it to HTML would be similarly easy, perhaps?

The Team's Response

Hello beans! I am declining this now so not more coins will be spent on this. The Markdown vs BBcode argument has been settled 3 years after a lot of testing and discussion. Markdown is easier for some but if you see thought the list of BBcode provided it cannot cover even 10% of what is offered (this is not an exaggeration) When it comes to adding settings/variables/properties, in fact markdown becomes less legible.

Current score

8/300 Votes · +1100 points

Votes Cast

+300

by SetaDragon
on 2021-09-19 02:12
-10

by valhaia
on 2021-09-18 23:03
+50

by emolyn
on 2021-09-18 14:50
I am really familiar with Markdown, and would love to see it as an input option!
+20

by Vantaj
on 2021-09-18 14:22
+300

by eccbooks
on 2021-09-18 12:27
I think support existed for it at one point and was taken out, presumably for very good reasons (in Dimi and the WA team, I trust). BUT, on the off-chance that it could come back, I'll throw my weight behind this. EVERYTHING longform I write is in a Markdown editor (short stories, novels, etc.), so being able to use it here would be a godsend.
-10

by nnie
on 2021-09-18 10:42
Markdown has it's drawbacks. It's harder to implement new tools like, for example, the recently added breadcrumbs into markdown in a way the end user can understand. I'd also argue non-nerds only know the basics of markdown like bold or italic text, not more advanced things like lists. The more advanced markdown formatting is also usually implemented differently across platforms, so even if it was implemented wouldn't necessarily support working in other editors.
+50

by xSpazztic
on 2021-09-18 02:59
+100

by Guyra
on 2021-09-17 16:13
+300

by macnab
on 2021-09-17 14:44