People seem ok with a lot of awful things. I don't see that as an argument for Markdown.
The question is: has Reddit (or other Markdown users) actually studied Markdown's usability? Even a basic comparative study against a WYSIWYG equivalent?
It seems like "techy" people just kind of assume Markdown is great and easy and awesome without ever bothering to actually make any effort to question that assumption. That's really the part that bugs me most.
And the entire pitch of Markdown is that you can style your text the way you did back when you were using text-only stuff. Ok. So _this should be underlined, then_. And /this should be in italics, right?/ And naturally this is boldfaced. Oh wait. Markdown is ZERO FOR THREE.
(Strangely, Markdown doesn't even have underline. Go figure. It's not even remotely close to feature-parity with the WYSIWYG textboxes we were all using on the web in 2008.)
I'm quite confused with a lot of your dislike for Markdown.
I have a reverse question, what is better than Markdown in your mind? I'm starting a project that is heavily based around text, and for simplicity i just wanted plain text. Ie, i have no editor for the project. So for markup, i need something. What do you feel is the right markup language?
Personally i feel Markdown is easiest markup language i've found. Compared to some, it's quite intuitive. Combined with the fact that it is becoming quite prominent means users are also learning it. The only downfall with Markdown in my mind is a lack of a standard, but i think that's being worked on (there are some attempts at that, i believe).
Anyway.. i would really appreciate your feedback, if you feel there are better pure text Markup languages :)
If an end-user is using a markup language at all, you've already screwed up as a developer of usable software.
If you're going to use a markup language, at least use one that supports basic shit like underlining text, or typing the sentence "21." without it thinking you're trying to start a list.
No matter how users are interacting with the text on your site, do usability testing. If you do usability testing in good faith, and Markdown comes out as the winner, then use it, with my blessing.
Don't base your usability decisions on gut instinct or knee-jerk reactions. Which is pretty much exactly what every site using Markdown currently is doing. AFAIK it's never been studied in front of a fair selection of users.
I believe OP means a WYSIWYG editor is much better than Markdown.
In terms of a markup language in pure text, I think Markdown is your best bet. Folks in CommonMark.org tries to "standardize" Markdown. Our implementation in Twincl.com follows that standard as much as we can.
Appreciate the reply. Honestly though, this confuses me even more. Many sites have both Markdown and a rich editor.. isn't that sort of required for users anyway? No matter what language powers your Markup, at the end of the day many users want an editor.
The median user would rather click a "add a poll" link and select options (with interactive help) rather than read a guide page on exactly how to punctuate and arrange whitespace to get a poll that works properly
Griping about reddit's Markdown implementation is a pretty common theme, from both people familiar with markdown and not.