Alternative markup for post entries: Markdown

[tamouse]

Title:
Alternative markup for post entries: Markdown

Area:
entries

Summary:
Allow the use of Markdown to format entries in addition to RTF and HTML.

Description:
While it has been previously suggested in http://dw-suggestions.dreamwidth.org/390894.html?view=3345134 that DW offer a text-based alternative to marking up entries, that suggestion focused on wiki-style markup, and the objections raised (yet another markup to learn, already have RTF, some incompatibilities) are not the same when using Markdown. Markdown is designed to be highly intuitive to pretty much everyone who has used e-mail or irc for past umpteen years. And for those who haven't, there would still be HTML and RTF available.

Markdown is at http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/ . What markdown does is convert the marked up text into HTML.

Markdown co-exists with HTML already, it would likely not have a problem dealing with DW tags in text (i.e., it would leave them alone).

Poll #7555 Alternative markup for post entries: Markdown

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 63

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
14 (22.2%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
1 (1.6%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
21 (33.3%)

(I have no opinion)
25 (39.7%)

(Other: please comment)
2 (3.2%)

Offer a "Preferred pronoun" field on the profile page

[pendrecarc]

Title:
Offer a "Preferred pronoun" field on the profile page

Area:
Profile

Summary:
It would be helpful to get a "preferred pronoun" field on the profile screen in addition to the "gender" field. This would facilitate discussion and linking to other users' posts. It would be important to include a "Rather not say" option, of course.

Description:
It can be difficult to link to other DW users' posts or mention other users if you don't happen to know which pronoun they prefer. Not everyone is comfortable asking You can always choose something gender-neutral or talk around it, of course, but that can be syntactically awkward, and whenever possible I want to respect other users' preferences. If someone has a gender selected, that can provide a clue, but it's not a guarantee, and of course not everyone does.

Having a space in the profile to specify a pronoun seems like a quick fix. The field could be free text if compiling a list of possible pronouns is problematic, but either way it should include the (default) option not to display a pronoun.

Poll #7556 Offer a "Preferred pronoun" field on the profile page

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 117

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
53 (45.3%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
23 (19.7%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
17 (14.5%)

(I have no opinion)
23 (19.7%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (0.9%)

Edited on 10/8/2011 to add that I got some of my facts wrong in this post re: the existing profile options, due to some confusion over different sites. Also, I explained the possible benefits of this very poorly. It's not just an issue of social ease for those of us linking to other users; it's also, and far more importantly, about being aware of how users of this site want to be approached. Based on comments, if this is implemented (as I still think it should be) it's very important that the field be free text.