January 9, 2026
Plain text, spicy comments
How Markdown took over the world
The humble text that beat Word—and lit up the comments
TLDR: Markdown, a simple format made by John Gruber, quietly became the default for notes, blogs, and even AI prompts. The comments split between nostalgia for rival Textile, praise for “simple wins,” nitpicks about Markdown’s quirks, and a cheeky fact-check—showing how humble tools spark big debates that shape how we write online.
A plain-text format called Markdown—created by blogger John Gruber—now runs everything from AI prompts to grocery lists. The article is a love letter to simple text conquering the web, but the comments turned into a nostalgia-fueled brawl. Old-school fans like ChrisArchitect whisper “IYKYK” and ask what if it had been Textile, an earlier rival, arguing that timing and momentum crowned Markdown, not destiny.
Pragmatists cheer the victory of “good enough” tools. One hot take: worse is better wins again—simple tools beat fancy ones. Think Java beating C++, Python and JavaScript topping Java, and Markdown outlasting Microsoft Word and DocBook (a heavy, XML-based system). Translation: the tool that’s easiest to actually use tends to win.
Then the pedants roll in. akshayshah gleefully points out Markdown’s messy edge cases—like whether “mark_up_” should turn into italic “mark up”—proving even the king of simple has quirks. Meanwhile, a drive-by fact-checker pops in with the iconic “Gary Hart?” to poke the article’s 2004 political timeline. For pure vibes, nzoschke drops GistDeck, turning notes into slide shows and throwing shade at PowerPoint. Verdict: Markdown rules, but the comment section is where it really got spicy.
Key Points
- •Markdown is presented as a simple plain text format widely used across modern technology, from AI prompts to everyday note-taking and document sharing.
- •The article attributes Markdown’s origins to John Gruber, emerging from a personal problem and linked to his Daring Fireball blog.
- •In 2002, Gruber focused on Apple and blogs when Apple was recovering; Apple had just released a Windows-compatible iPod and the iPhone was years away.
- •The piece notes Apple’s subsequent rise, including a stock price increase of about 120,000% after Daring Fireball began, and Gruber’s influence on tech media.
- •By 2004, blogs and social media became mainstream, with U.S. Democratic primaries helping propel blogs into public awareness, illustrating media-tech interplay.