From: James Kass (thunder-bird@earthlink.net)
Date: Thu Oct 11 2007 - 01:56:16 CDT
People proposing styling and formatting characters often
seem surprised by the expeditious (“rude”) fashion in which
their schemes are dismissed by list members.
The rôle of plain text as defined in the Standard is here:
http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode5.0.0/ch02.pdf
...in §2.2 (General Structure - Unicode Design Principles,
under the heading plain text). It is clear, concise, and
well-written.
To be frank, I would use italics and related features in plain
text applications if only it were possible. But, it isn’t. By
definition, adding styling/formatting information enriches
the text — it should be clear that it is no longer plain.
There’s nothing wrong with working towards a standard way
of exchanging text styling/formatting data. Using unique
code points as mark-up might even make the most sense
technically. However, under the current Unicode principles,
proposals to standardize styling, et cetera, could not be
considered because they go beyond the scope of a plain text
standard.
It is possible that standardizers currently working with the
Unicode project would support styling standardization, even
to the point of becoming contributors/authors/architects.
It is also possible, though, that existing sundry mark-up
practices may suffice. Glad it’s not my call.
Best regards,
James Kass
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