Image syntax

[Mark Lawrence]

On Jul 27, 2005, at 10:45 AM, John Gruber wrote:


> In fact, in my own writing, I've been using HTML img tags for months:

>

>     <img

>         src='http://daringfireball.net/misc/2005/07/vancouver- 

> weather-1.png'

>         alt='Screenshot of the Weather widget, after typing  

> ‘Vancouver’.'

>     />

>

> So I'm thinking we should take a step back and completely rethink

> the syntax for including images.



I know this is a cowardly thing to say, but if it were me, I'd punt  
on the image syntax and simply expect people to do what John  
describes above. Unlike section headers, lists, quotations, emphasis,  
and the like, images are not part of text-only communication. So  
there is no historical guideline to follow. That the syntax is being  
thought and rethought with little satisfaction indicates also that  
there is no "natural" way of including images. Direct insertion of  
HTML may be a few characters longer, but it is unambiguous and the  
writer doesn't have to remember the order of the URL and the alt text.

--
Mark Lawrence