[kemayo]

I sympathize with Gruber's apparent position, which I would summarize thusly: "Markdown is /this/, which I released; it is good enough for me; if it's good enough for you as well, use it; if not, feel free to make something for yourself instead".

[gordonguthrie]

I don't think he is saying that. Jeff Attwood is (I think) asking him to say "I approve, this is going to be a Markdown Spec" or "I disapprove" - in which case it will be a Rockdown Spec.

It seems to me that Gruber is adopting a 'Trotsky at Brest-Litovsk' position - "no war, no peace".

[eric_bullington]

This is what I love about HN. Where else would you read a reference to an iconic early 20th-century event[1] in a debate about a parser spec?

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk