On Fri, February 3, 2012 3:03 pm, Joshua Hutchinson wrote:
My preference is for RST to win simply because of the lower entry bar, but ... *shrug*
In my mind, RST has a /higher/ entry bar than any other markup. Part of this is because it has a fair share of uniqueness in it's markup that users are required to learn to use it effectively. Another bar to adoption is the lack of skill transferability. If I learn RST to contribute to PG, it will also help me if I become a Python programmer, but not much else; therefore, I am somewhat disincentivized to learn RST. Lastly, RST suffers from the ambiguity inherent in all "light" markup languages. While the markup is technically "unambiguous," it is still very difficult for a human being to remember and recognize the rules of RST. Does this line start with a space or a tab? Does ===== indicate a first level header or a second level header? Where was the first declaration so I can figure it out? The subtlety of the language /may/ be easier for the end user (reader) if the document has not been pre-processed (personally I find reading an RST document anything but "restful"), but the subtlety can make it difficult for an original creator and horrible for a maintainer who wasn't the original creator.