💾 Archived View for station.martinrue.com › tomosleggett › 2c41b76c189c4268bad19d54cdc29634 captured on 2023-11-04 at 13:12:11. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-09-28)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I wish gemtext was a bit more fleshed out and a little closer to markdown. That'd be my dream come true
11 months ago · 👍 lykso, prk
Some extra bits of formatting like italics or ordered lists would be nice, but it's a fine line before it turns into bloat. · 11 months ago
Only thing I find is truly missing is some way to emphasize text (i.e. italics). It's been a part of typesetting for centuries. · 11 months ago
The thing about gemtext (and the rest of the protocol) is that it’s trying to find the best compromise between ease of implementation (e.g., parsing and presenting) and value for the content author. In contrast, Markdown is all about making things great for authors, while implementing a parser is a nightmare.
One could make a Gemtext-v2 that had nicer features, but clients would have a harder time supporting them. People would be pressured to use a less diverse set of software to process and view Gemini content, and it wouldn’t be good for the ecosystem.
My recommendation: make both a Markdown version and a simplified Gemtext of your content. · 11 months ago
I look at Gemtext like a subset of markdown. While the omission of tables and numbered lists is annoying, I think gemtext is alright as-is. I like the principle of a gemtext file being readable without a gemini client while still being slightly more than a text file. Wasn't the original purpose of markdown such that it would be converted to HTML? · 11 months ago
I'm not really sure what else I'd add to Gemini. Like @digbat I've kind of just tailored how I write to fit into what Gemini accepts.
If the whole point is that the first 3 characters of a line informs the client what the text on that line is, there's not much more we can add. I personally don't want the spec to change too much, and adding new features like inline formatting and tables etc. would require a pretty radical extension to/overhaul of the current gemtext spec. · 11 months ago
What I'm missing the most is some sort of table management, from a semantic point of view. · 11 months ago
I know what you mean, it would be convinient. However, I agree with digbat that it would not be Gemini :) Who knows though, maybe it could work? · 11 months ago
might be nice but then it would not be gemini but something else:-) i've applied a discipline to writing that fits the gemini model. · 11 months ago
But how? 🤔 · 11 months ago