Formatting Rules/Lists

Lists are perhaps the most complicated part of 'Tavi's formatting rules. For starters, you can begin a line with a '#' for a numbered list, a '*' for a bullet list, or a ':' for a simple indent:

 #numero uno
 #deux

 *oranges
 *bananas

 :well, i disagree
 :you see, . . .

becomes:

  1. numero uno
  2. deux
  • oranges
  • bananas
well, i disagree
you see, . . .

But it gets trickier. You can pile 'em up to have multiply indented lists:

 ##the main point
 **apples
 ::no, you're wrong on that one.

becomes:

  1. the main point
  • apples
no, you're wrong on that one.

More complicated still, you can pile one list on top of another one. Let's say you're writing a numbered list, and you want to list a few unordered bullet points under it. You could do this:

 #point number one
 #*some item
 #*some other equally important item
 #*last, but not least
 #point number two

which becomes:

  1. point number one
    • some item
    • some other equally important item
    • last, but not least
  2. point number two

You can use this technique to combine any of the list or indent types.

More complicated yet, let's say you want to introduce blank lines into your list, without skipping numbering. The way to do this is to end a line with a double backslash (\\), and leave the next line 'blank' (or indeed, type anything you want in it. You can do this repeatedly to slurp up multiple lines into the same list item, like this:

#point number one \\
   .
#point number two \\
i've got more to say on this. . .
#point number three

which renders as:

  1. point number one
    .
  2. point number two
    i've got more to say on this. . .
  3. point number three

Lastly, you can end any list with a definition list; i.e., a list item that shows a term and its definition (or whatever other use you care to put it to. The syntax for this is as follows:

 *;term: definition

 :abc
 :*;def: ghi

 **point one
 **;a brief aside: and its implications

which appears as:

term
definition
abc
def
ghi
  • point one
a brief aside
and its implications

That's all, folks!

Document last modified Sat, 04 Dec 2004 23:00:05