1

I always thought the markdown > was a shortcut for HTML’s <blockquote>. However, there appears to be differences. Compare this …

> This is `monospace` markdown

This is monospace markdown

With this …

<blockquote>This is `monospace` markdown</blockquote>
This is `monospace` markdown

I would think this would be the same and I find this confusing, especially for new users who aren’t used to Markdown yet.

Is this difference intentionally?

Oh, and this isn't a solution...

<blockquote>This is <pre>monospace</pre> markdown</blockquote>
This is 
monospace
markdown

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

Markdown is normally not converted when located within block-level HTML elements. It's a mild annoyance at times. Some extended versions of Markdown provide some utility for making this work; for example, PHP Markdown Extra adds this ability by checking for a markdown attribute on the containing block HTML:

<div markdown="1">
This is *true* markdown text.
</div>

...and then renders the Markdown followed by removing the attribute on the container.

Apparently StackExchange does not use any similar functionality.

3

Use <code>, not <pre> when you want to show code in a HTML blockquote.

<blockquote>This is <code>monospace</code> markdown</blockquote>
This is monospace markdown

But why would you? The regular Markdown does what you need in this case.

Maybe related: code blocks with 4 spaces not working

3
  • Okay, that solves the problem. But still, I consider it to be very weird that the markdown doesn't work in a blockquote. Is it meant to be this way? I had to edit a question of a quite new user today because that didn't work, so that shows this is confusing for new users.
    – user26607
    Commented Feb 28, 2013 at 10:25
  • Markdown converters are usually not real parsers, just a bunch of weird regular expressions. Mixing those with another parser (HTML) will always result in strange edge cases. I think that’s inevitable. We have to live with it.
    – fuxia Mod
    Commented Feb 28, 2013 at 10:30
  • That's a shame. Thanks for your support!
    – user26607
    Commented Feb 28, 2013 at 10:34

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