Clever idea for collaborative writing
Via MetaFilter, this clever idea of how to do mark-up using a plain text editor. Basic idea:
First pair of square brackets encloses a deletion (or nothing, if no deletion)
Second (adjacent) pair of square brackets encloses an addition (or nothing, if no addition)
Third (adjacent) pair of square brackets encloses a comment.
The third pair is never empty: if you don’t have a comment, you simply don’t use the third pair. Here are some examples:
They['re] – means delete ‘re — no second pair (nothing to add) or third pair (no comment).
They[]['re] – means add ‘re — no deletion, no comment
They['re][][You already have a verb] – means delete ‘re, no addition, and a comment.
They[]['re][You need a verb] – means no deletion, add ‘re, and a comment
They [][][Who? Specify] – means no deletion, no addition, just a comment.
The link suggestions thinking of a number line, proceeding from negative (deletion) to positive (addition), along with the comment in third place (if used).
As he says, you quickly get used to the notation and can readily read it.
