Reddit markup doesn't work on ycombinator. Use square brackets and a number to designate the link [0] then put the URL at the bottom of your comment.

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/StallmanWasRight/

> Reddit markup

Oh boy.

Please explain why it's markdown. Is Reddit's link format not just BBCode [0]? Honest question, no snark.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBCode

No, BBCode looks like:

    [url=https://example.com]link text[/url]

whereas Markdown looks like:

    [link text](https://example.com)

Compare the BBCode article you linked to the Markdown article [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown#Example

Thanks. Have to admit, I'm still confused, especially after reading the first sentence on that page...

>Markdown is a lightweight markup language

Clearly in over my head on this, I'm just going to stop using the term altogether.

Both BBCode and Markdown are markup languages. ("Markdown" is a play on "markup language".)

BBCode was used on old internet message boards. You'd write something like [b]text[/b] to get bolded text, [i]text[/i] for italics, [img] to embed images, etc. BBCode tags (like [b]) mirrored simple HTML tags usually: since message board posters weren't really trusted, allowing regular HTML was out of the question.

Markdown is a newer markup language that was intended to be easier to read and write. Instead of [i]text[/i], you write

    *text*

which is actually one of the few formatting options HN recognizes [0]: text. Bold is double stars, links are this [link text](url) format, images are , etc.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc

Cheers for this. I'm old and that's why I thought it was BBCode. Markup is such a loose term that I couldn't figure out what the problem was. You've put it to rest now though, I get it, whew.

Learned something new, pedantry FTW!

It's not pure markdown, they have their own parser.

https://github.com/reddit/snudown

But the markup in question is pure markdown. There was nothing Reddit-specific used in this thread.

> sometimes I wish HN had basic markdown support: italics, `code`, [link](http\://)

I like seeing the URL (or at least the domain) before I click. Hovering over is annoying, particularly on mobile.

I think it would be neat if HN were updated to support Markdown formatting, except that links could be auto-converted to a footnote-link as is the convention on this board.

Indentation also works. It's intended for code blocks.

  An indented block.
  Don't use it for quotes.
  People, especially on mobile, will complain.

Stallman is often viewed a weird guy but he definitely has seen a lot of stuff long before anybody else. I wonder how much impact he could have if his presentation was a little better.

I guess that phrase about unreasonable men being the only ones who bring about change does apply here.

I really wonder about this too.