Implicit Link Names

[Jelks Cabaniss]

Jason Clark wrote:
> > Everyone seems to agree that this:
> >
> >     [this][] is a link
> >
> > is slightly ugly/kludgy/crufty whatever.
> >
> > But it's also obvious at a glance that it's a link.

> Looks kludgy, yes, but also looks like a link.  Based on the
> above idea that a link looking like a link is a good thing,
> [this][] has its merits.

Agreed.  

Also, I didn't mean to originally suggest [this][] is ugly/kludgy/crufty per
se, but just as compared to [this].  Otherwise, I think it's superior to the
others that have been suggested (with the possible exception of [[this]])
because of its consistancy with the explicit link syntax.

> The only thing (IMO) that looks like a link, is easier to type than
> [this][], possibly less visually disruptive than [this][], and avoid
> the accidental triggering issues of [this], is:
> 
> 	[[this]] is a link.
> 
> I know this has been rejected previously,  but to me [[this]] is
> easier to type and more visually distinctive than [this][].  Rad Geek
> also pointed out prior usage precident with Wikipedia.  In fact, as I
> look at this doc and think about the visible distinctiveness angle, I
> think I actually prefer [[this]] to [this].  Whoodathunk?

I don't really understand the problem some people seem to be having with
[this] -- is it just that you can't tell *immediately* without moving your
eyeballs (or in extreme cases, your scrollbar)?  To me, that's like saying
you don't exactly how a CSS class attribute might render an element without
looking it up, therefore we should deprecate class and all move to pure
inline CSS!  :)

That said, if implicit links must be unambiguous within themselves, I agree
that the newer suffix notations, i.e.:

>     [this]-> is a link
>     [this]= is a link
>     [this]__ is a link 

are worse than [this][].  

I also agree the [[wikipedia]] notation precedent has merit.  Plus it's not
bad looking, and it's pretty obvious that it's *something like a link*.

How about both?  Keep [this][] for consistancy with the explicit syntax (hey
-- it's already implemented!:) and add [[this]] for the "visual clarity"
version.


/Jelks