like a simplified form of HTML (<a>, <b>, <sup>, some kind of table formatting, etc). The latter is non-proprietary, easily read and diffed, and communicates better than pure text.
Yes, but, the problem isn't typically being proprietary, when it comes to future use, but a closed, non standard, unknown format.
Yet you're creating a new standard here, with your own rules, which no one will understand, and which no automated tools can convert to another format.
(Eg some kind of table formatting)
Better to be 100% html than this.
(Maybe you meant that, but regardless, this is a good place for me to comment on standards being more important than anything else.)
The point isn't that you can learn it, but instead, having to learn it by examining it in depth, always wondering if there are things not used yet (does the doc you look at, only show part of the standard in its formatting? Imagine a doc not using a tag, but the tag is in other docs...), and then, writing code to covert it.
Standards exist for a reason.
We already have issues with people not understanding specs, and writing data out of spec, even with that spec in RFC's!
Yes, but, the problem isn't typically being proprietary, when it comes to future use, but a closed, non standard, unknown format.
Yet you're creating a new standard here, with your own rules, which no one will understand, and which no automated tools can convert to another format.
(Eg some kind of table formatting)
Better to be 100% html than this.
(Maybe you meant that, but regardless, this is a good place for me to comment on standards being more important than anything else.)