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This is worse. The complaint about Standard Markdown was that it appeared to be hijacking the existing "brand" in order to present itself as the definitive ver

This is worse. The complaint about Standard Markdown was that it appeared to be hijacking the existing "brand" in order to present itself as the definitive version. One definition of "Common" means prevalent and it seems to me that this word was picked not to solve the above problem but to get around it by making Gruber look like a dick for objecting again to the same problem. Ironically, a second definition of "common" is "showing a lack of taste."

kemayo 12y ago
In fairness, given the people backing this I'd imagine that it'll very quickly be the most-common implementation of Markdown in use. I mean, reddit and stack overflow are both involved.
- smackfu 12y ago
  Reddit gets mentioned a lot, but I barely ever see Markdown there beyond the very basics. Link syntax is probably the only distinctive "Markdown" thing.
  - kemayo 12y ago
    You're right -- I very much doubt that even a tiny percentage of reddit's users know that they're using Markdown (it's mentioned as an aside in the "formatting help" section). Plus, of course, it's only a limited subset of Markdown allowed there. Nonetheless, a tiny percentage of reddit users who know how to use the formatting still likely represents a majority of the set of people who know about Markdown formatting.
  - glomph 12y ago
    I find it infuriating on reddit. The fact it follows markdown indentation rules is completely unintuitive to someone who hasn't read the markdown specification. Given how little people actually want to do complicated formatting I think markdown is actually the wrong choice for reddit.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- manicdee 12y ago
  So because they're the bullies with the biggest team, they're right?
- Isofarro 12y ago
  That's why they don't even need to call it Markdown. It can be a markdown derivative with a different name and it would still be as successful because they have the mindshare and the beginnings of a collaborative community.
generalk 12y ago
> One definition of "Common" means prevalent and it seems to > me that this word was picked not to solve the above problem > but to get around it by making Gruber look like a dick for > objecting again to the same problem. Or, alternatively, the largest sites that all use Markdown wanted to figure out how to build a Common Markdown format that they could all agree on (or Standardize on), since the original hadn't been touched in a decade. Yes, the License does say that derivative works shouldn't use the Markdown name. And yes, I'll even agree that it's a somewhat classless move, assuming you ignore years of context. "Github Flavored Markdown" is a thing, has been for a very long time. Not a peep from Gruber about it. It is highly reasonable to expect that "Common Markdown" (or even "Standard Markdown") might not raise any hackles. C'mon, you really think folks are sitting around, plotting the best way to steal John Gruber's one serious project?
- Isofarro 12y ago
  ""Github Flavored Markdown" is a thing, has been for a very long time. Not a peep from Gruber about it." In the podcast John Gruber did with Marco Arment ( https://overcast.fm/podcasts/episode/344902019595#t=4527 https://overcast.fm/podcasts/episode/344902019595#t=4527 ), John Gruber notes "Github Flavoured Markdown" is a good product name. He also says that they should standardise using a different name.
Ygg2 12y ago
> Ironically, a second definition of "common" is "showing a lack of taste." Like Common Lisp? Explains a lot. /sarcasm

kemayo 12y ago

In fairness, given the people backing this I'd imagine that it'll very quickly be the most-common implementation of Markdown in use. I mean, reddit and stack overflow are both involved.

smackfu 12y ago
Reddit gets mentioned a lot, but I barely ever see Markdown there beyond the very basics. Link syntax is probably the only distinctive "Markdown" thing.
- kemayo 12y ago
  You're right -- I very much doubt that even a tiny percentage of reddit's users know that they're using Markdown (it's mentioned as an aside in the "formatting help" section). Plus, of course, it's only a limited subset of Markdown allowed there. Nonetheless, a tiny percentage of reddit users who know how to use the formatting still likely represents a majority of the set of people who know about Markdown formatting.
- glomph 12y ago
  I find it infuriating on reddit. The fact it follows markdown indentation rules is completely unintuitive to someone who hasn't read the markdown specification. Given how little people actually want to do complicated formatting I think markdown is actually the wrong choice for reddit.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
manicdee 12y ago
So because they're the bullies with the biggest team, they're right?
Isofarro 12y ago
That's why they don't even need to call it Markdown. It can be a markdown derivative with a different name and it would still be as successful because they have the mindshare and the beginnings of a collaborative community.

generalk 12y ago

> One definition of "Common" means prevalent and it seems to > me that this word was picked not to solve the above problem > but to get around it by making Gruber look like a dick for > objecting again to the same problem. Or, alternatively, the largest sites that all use Markdown wanted to figure out how to build a Common Markdown format that they could all agree on (or Standardize on), since the original hadn't been touched in a decade. Yes, the License does say that derivative works shouldn't use the Markdown name. And yes, I'll even agree that it's a somewhat classless move, assuming you ignore years of context. "Github Flavored Markdown" is a thing, has been for a very long time. Not a peep from Gruber about it. It is highly reasonable to expect that "Common Markdown" (or even "Standard Markdown") might not raise any hackles. C'mon, you really think folks are sitting around, plotting the best way to steal John Gruber's one serious project?

Isofarro 12y ago
""Github Flavored Markdown" is a thing, has been for a very long time. Not a peep from Gruber about it." In the podcast John Gruber did with Marco Arment ( https://overcast.fm/podcasts/episode/344902019595#t=4527 https://overcast.fm/podcasts/episode/344902019595#t=4527 ), John Gruber notes "Github Flavoured Markdown" is a good product name. He also says that they should standardise using a different name.

Ygg2 12y ago

> Ironically, a second definition of "common" is "showing a lack of taste." Like Common Lisp? Explains a lot. /sarcasm