This is a follow-on from: https://meta.discourse.org/t/spaces-in-html-md-conversion-from-email-turns-lines-into-code-blocks/84537 Many people send in emails with only plain text versions (no HTML version). In many countries they start off each paragraph with indents (or five spaces). Needless to say, all paragraphs got turned into code blocks in MarkDown. The thing is, hardly never will my user send in a code-block. I do not run a programming forum. Is there any way to turn OFF the four-space ==> code block feature of MarkDown?

[image] schungx: In many countries they start off each paragraph with indents (or five spaces). I am curious where this is a standard convention?

I’ve seen this in Spain and some SE Asian countries.

I have U.S.-based users who insist it is proper to format an email with indented paragraphs. :roll_eyes: Interestingly, they all seem to use Thunderbird as the email client.

British English starts off each paragraph with an indent. Usually four to five spaces. Another common style is TWO spaces AFTER each full-stop (vs American’s one space). I have been doing it when writing in English since I was small. EDIT: Chinese prose starts off each paragraph with TWO spaces, but that is two FULL spaces, mapping to four normal (or half-width) spaces. So many documents will have four spaces for Chinese indents. EDIT 2: Modern English typography usually indicates a new paragraph by indenting the first line. This style can be seen in the (handwritten) United States Constitution from 1787 A second common modern English style is to use no indenting, but add vertical white space to create “block paragraphs.” Paragraph A paragraph (from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos) 'to write beside') is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system, paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing extended segments of prose. Cuneiform is one of the oldest surviving forms of writing. It was used in Mesopotamia to compose a tremendous number of texts on clay tablets, thousands of which sur...

This used to be a convention in the UK, but we don’t use it as rigidly any more.

[image] schungx: British English starts off each paragraph with an indent. Usually four to five spaces. Brazilian Portuguese too! I think that’s required when writing on paper. But I only see people who are 40+ do that on the internet.

I have never seen this in American or British writing online. Could it be something that only got adopted in British colonies? We see that with many idiosyncrasies in Indian English for example.

That’s the thing. It isn’t “online”, it’s print media. I can understand how some don’t make the context distinction that online follows different typography conventions than print. TBH I don’t know what, if anything, could or should be done.

AFAIK it isn’t common for on-line writing, but I do occasionally see websites with indented paragraphs. However, when people write emails they do use this writing style. Emails are different from on-line articles. I suspect there will be more people using indents in emails. I believe for English this is a British thing, as the colonies simply copied from the UK. The practice probably stays on longer in the colonies while the UK already moves on. EDIT: We may need an option to turn this feature off for email in because for many sites people never email in code sniplets, and it will be highly likely that those indents are paragraph indents instead.

Any way to turn off code-block indent from emails

Product Support

codinghorror (Jeff Atwood) April 4, 2018, 5:32pm 2

I am curious where this is a standard convention?

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Any way to turn off code-block indent from emails

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