@ syntax as a synonym for user name=

[deborah]

Title:
@ syntax as a synonym for user name=

Area:
Entries

Summary:
In an entry, if someone types "@[string]" (more specifically, something like "(^|\s)@[legal characters in usernames]*\b), check to see if that's a username at posting time. If so, translate it internally to <user name="> syntax.

Description:
This would allow users to choose the now-common shorthand of '@username' to indicate users on the local system. This would be taking a design pattern that has become mainstream over the last several years, which users are used due from Tumblr, Slack, Twitter, etc. I'm not suggesting auto complete; there are too many more important pending changes to the post system. I'm also not suggesting a variant for the other-sites functionality of the user element; no @username@twitter, or something. Just a very straightforward replacement. But this would be a nice shorthand that users have become accustomed to.

Poll #20845 @ syntax as a synonym for user name=

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 120

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
56 (46.7%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
39 (32.5%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
14 (11.7%)

(I have no opinion)
10 (8.3%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (0.8%)

Comments

[jducoeur]

I'm broadly in favor, but with an edge-case caveat. I use Markdown almost exclusively these days, and use the @name convention there. But the one time I *cannot* use Markdown is because of this feature: when I'm linking to a Medium URL (which often has an @ *in the URL*), this causes the link to break.

So there needs to be some sort of way to escape out of this -- to signal, "no, this @ isn't trying to link to a user".

[elf]

Would it work if it only parsed the names if it were [space]@name? In that case, an @ in the middle of a phrase - like an email address - wouldn't auto-link to an account name.

I like the convenience of @name@place; it'd especially be useful for the wave of Tumblr refugees.

[jducoeur]

Would it work if it only parsed the names if it were [space]@name? In that case, an @ in the middle of a phrase - like an email address - wouldn't auto-link to an account name.

I think that would deal with my problem case (@ in the middle of a URL), yes.