[Doc-SIG] lists & block quotes

[David Goodger]

Paul Moore wrote:
> I prefer::
> 
>     This is how I would normally format a list in plain text:
> 
>         1. First item
>         2. Second item
> 
> to this::
> 
>     This is how reST requires it, if I am to avoid spurious blockquotes:
> 
>     1. First item
>     2. Second item

Ah. You seem to see lists as "belonging" to the referring paragraph. That's
one interpretation, perfectly valid. Representing that idea properly and
completely makes for tricky content models and processing though.

> I'm focussing on the fact that reST should be readable in its raw form,
> as well as after processing. Maybe that's not the best view to take, but
> I'm not sure how often reST will be read unprocessed.

Are you implying that reStructuredText *will* or *will not* be read much in
its unprocessed form? If the latter, I don't think there's an issue. In
typical HTML renderers, a list is indented relative to the text before &
after. That could be the reason why you prefer lists indented.

> I dunno. Maybe it's simply a case where you have to accept that reST
> can't be expected to handle "pure" plain text without *any* concessions
> to markup needs...

It's a balancing act. Can't please everybody all of the time. This is one
area where the balance has been properly struck though, I think.

-- 
David Goodger    goodger@users.sourceforge.net    Open-source projects:
 - Python Docstring Processing System: http://docstring.sourceforge.net
 - reStructuredText: http://structuredtext.sourceforge.net
 - The Go Tools Project: http://gotools.sourceforge.net