Re: [xml-dev] Why is terseness of minimal importance?

Yet today's web content is largely written using markdown and/or other Wiki syntax, telling us SGML's SHORTREF was on to something ...

Marcus Reichardt
sgml.io

> Am 14.01.2022 um 23:06 schrieb Peter Flynn <>:
> 
> On 14/01/2022 15:08, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen wrote:
> [...]
>> I don't remember anyone taking the view that tools would shield us
>> from the markup.  Make it unnecessary to type all those keystrokes? 
> 
> In the early SGML days, yes. I had a project of scientists to support,
> many of whose keyboard skills were minimal, and once they grokked SGML
> (which I'm happy to say they did fairly fast, as their funding depended
> on being able to submit reports in it :-) they loved the idea of </>
> 
>> Shield us from the markup?  Why would you want to shield
>> someone from something valuable?
> 
> Because the average user thinks it's just meaningless gibberish getting
> in the way of the text. At best, they think it's programming. Never
> underestimate the demand for the Instant Textual Gratification provided
> by word processors.
> 
> Peter
> 
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