[tech] [spec] On extending gemini

[Stephane Bortzmeyer]

On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 08:20:14PM -0500,
 John Cowan <cowan at ccil.org> wrote 
 a message of 161 lines which said:

> But it's still possible to write a client that interprets a line
> beginning with "***" by rendering it in italics, and we can't stop
> that, nor can we stop it from spreading to other clients, or authors
> starting to use it.  That's because of the extensibility of the
> interpretation of plain-ish text.

> The only way to avoid all this is a WHATWG-ish standard in which
> everything a client can do is spelled out in excruciating detail,
> and whatever is not permitted is forbidden.  I think it is 100%
> unlikely that we will ever go there.

There is another way, which is not 100%-foolprof (but, then, nothing
is), it's to show users that we care about extensions requests and do
not dismiss them automatically. If we clearly say why this extension
is a bad idea, it will be easier to exercice social pressure against
those who use it. If, on the other hand, we are closed to every
discussion, people will, as you notice, do it anyway, and badly.

It is also a matter of outreach: clearly documenting the "Gemini way"
and making it wildly accessible (the FAQ already does a good job).