[this] as a synonym for [this][]

[Michel Fortin]

Hi,

I've been reading some text recently and I came to the conclusion that 
I don't like the new syntax for links. Not because there are some cases 
which are going to be tricky, but because **it decreases readability** 
of Markdown text, at least I think so.

Here is some fake text to explain my point:

	Here is the original text with the names removed:

	> [His wife] did not want [him] to go last night. That's why
	> she stole the keys of his car. When he learned this, he
	> called his friend [Joe] ...
	>
	> Some time later, [someone] asked him about this. ...
	>
	> Then [the man] finally gave up.

	[Joe]: url

Can you see the problem? When reading, how do you know what is a link 
and what really is square brackets? As the writer you know (if you can 
remember), but as a reader you must look everywhere in the document to 
ensure there is no link reference with that name.

When you read [this][] you can be sure it's a link. When you read 
[this], you now must take into account the possibility that this is a 
link. That makes a big difference while reading, especially if you read 
Markdown texte written by others.

It looks *nicer*, but that doesn't necessarily makes things easier to 
read... and I don't like that.


Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.com
http://www.michelf.com/