It's better to think of it as "all word", as opposed to "iw" as "inner word". It's easier to think about with "it" for "inner XML tag", apply stuff only between

It's better to think of it as "all word", as opposed to "iw" as "inner word". It's easier to think about with "it" for "inner XML tag", apply stuff only between the opening and closing tags, of "at" for the whole thing, tags included. So "dat" would delete the tag and its content, while "cit" would change the content of the tag.