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**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 10, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384 "2004-03-10T00:54:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 17\
**Page:** 1
**Author:**  [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/1 "2004-03-10T00:54:47Z")
Would somebody tell me why anyone felt it was important to create non-standard markup languages that don’t use angle brackets? I’m always writing stuff \like this\ instead of _like this_ because, I’ve known HTML for 10 years and I’m not always going to be mindful of this board’s “VBL” or whatever it’s called. At this point, HTML is as natural as punctuation. It’s only been the last year or so that suddenly half the discussion boards in the world want to use square brackets instead of angle brackets. Why would anyone want to create a custom markup language with different rules? Why, why, why?
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**Author:**  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/2 "2004-03-10T01:06:43Z")
If you use the browser’s native parser, people can stick in problematic scripts. So you have to provide a parser of some sort anyway.
If you use HTML syntax for your parser and just ignore certain tags, then it’s tough as nails to get the preview function to display the post as it’ll be displayed after it’s submitted.
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**Author:**  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/3 "2004-03-10T01:08:03Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Why, why, why?
Probably because it’s immediately clear that it’s _not_ HTML.
This cuts down on “Why won’t my table render properly?” sorts of confusions.
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**Author:**  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/4 "2004-03-10T01:09:10Z")
Or more likely what **Ultrafilter** said. 😃
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**Author:**  [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/5 "2004-03-10T01:10:40Z")
I’ve seen boards that simply don’t allow all HTML tags… like \ (which would do the most damage). If some boards do it, it’s obviously possible… I think VBL is just an example of programmers getting too clever.
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**Author:**  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/6 "2004-03-10T01:11:40Z")
Well, speaking just for the SDMB, we don’t allow HTML because some little idjit decided he’d have some fun hacking our board a few years ago. I imagine that MANY boards have experienced this, and have gone to some other markup system because of it.
I have the opposite problem, I’m always trying to use vBulletin markups in my LiveJournal.
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**Author:**  [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/7 "2004-03-10T01:16:43Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#):
>
> Well, speaking just for the SDMB, we don’t allow HTML because some little idjit decided he’d have some fun hacking our board a few years ago. I imagine that MANY boards have experienced this, and have gone to some other markup system because of it.
>
> I have the opposite problem, I’m always trying to use vBulletin markups in my LiveJournal.
Sometimes after an hour of ‘doping’ I do the same thing. I’m so \< nfused!
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**Author:**  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/8 "2004-03-10T01:20:23Z")
Having just been writing about modal logic, in which \<\> and are both symbols, and \*\* and \ are both meaningless, I don’t have much sympathy for y’all.
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**Author:**  [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/9 "2004-03-10T01:23:28Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#):
>
> I have the opposite problem, I’m always trying to use vBulletin markups in my LiveJournal.
Ditto. I don’t even use HTML, which may be part of the problem seeing as how I don’t see any difference between using [ and \<. Once I’ve posted, I can’t be bothered to change the things, so I’ve got a couple posts with \whatever\, just switch the brackets.
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**Author:**  [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/10 "2004-03-10T05:46:01Z")
Actually, I **prefer** the tags here, because you don’t need to Shift them.
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**Author:**  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/11 "2004-03-10T05:54:27Z")
> [@skutir](#):
>
> I’ve seen boards that simply don’t allow all HTML tags… like \ (which would do the most damage). If some boards do it, it’s obviously possible… I think VBL is just an example of programmers getting too clever.
I’ve programmed both message board and chatroom software, and trust me when I say it’s FAR easier to implement a nonstandard markup than to try to exclude certain tags and disallow others.
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**Author:**  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/12 "2004-03-10T06:43:11Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#):
>
> I imagine that MANY boards have experienced this, and have gone to some other markup system because of it.
Or go the way of /. by allowing a subset of the HTML tags. I would imagine restricting all table related tags will solve most of the problems.
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**Author:**  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/13 "2004-03-10T06:47:35Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#):
>
> …try to exclude certain tags and disallow others.
Which of course, leaves NO tags allowed. 😃
Obviously, I meant to say “exclude some and _allow_ others”.
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**Author:**  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/14 "2004-03-10T07:24:04Z")
> [@KarmaComa](#):
>
> Actually, I **prefer** the tags here, because you don’t need to Shift them.
I hate having to remember to shift the stinking HTML tags, too. Oh well. It’s somewhat better than toolbars.
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**Author:**  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/15 "2004-03-10T09:12:17Z")
I think at least part of the reason is that the vB tags (by which I mean the set that includes custom tags) include simple functionality that isn’t available in HTML without a bit of complex coding, for example the simple [spoiler] opening tag translates to:
\\\Spoiler:\\
\\| \
- the vB tags are designed to be extensible in ways that are convenient on a message board, where a considerable percentage of the users might not be expected to have any HTML coding skills.
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**Author:**  [@Hauky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hauky)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/16 "2004-03-10T21:56:15Z")
Well, I _was_ going to say that PHP (the language vBulletin is coded in) provides a simple function to strip all HTML tags from some string (say, a post) except for certain ones (say, \), but then **Mangetout** brought up such a good point that my thought wouldn’t really matter anyway.
Although I personally don’t find it hard to hit \<\> (right hand ring finger to shift, index finger to whichever key), I’ve also been coding HTML for 7 years, so maybe I’m just used to it. Heck, I’m even used to typing crap like if ($strip) {strip\_tags($post, “\\\”);}, so maybe my opinion should be ignored entirely.
Another thought: posting example HTML code is a lot easier when the board doesn’t interpret it.
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**Author:**  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-irritating-non-html-markup-lame/233384/17 "2004-03-11T16:27:20Z")
What I really miss, though, is the ability to use the ampersand sequence characters, like μ. The previous version let those go through like they’re supposed to. It doesn’t work anymore. ☹
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