How can we get more non-programmers involved?

+++ Colin Fergus [Jan 26 15 23:36 ]:

In the context of this thread: I’m a software engineer and unfamiliar with the intimacies of the spec.

I feel that the exact interface I used to compose this comment on talk.commonmark fulfills a large number of my use cases, with emphasis on:

  • Wiki style editing
  • Composition of short form content, akin to emails
  • Instant preview capabilities
  • Trial and error learning

With that in mind, my selfish question:
Is the code underlying this editor open-source, and available to be incorporated into other apps?

I believe it is, but @codinghorror should be able to point you in the right direction.

Less selfish question:
Is there a ‘quickstart’ guide anywhere that could get an ‘ignorant’ user capable of composing a simple post? I’d be happy to begin or contribute towards such a guide.

Currently your best bet is to use John Gruber’s original Markdown docs.
http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/basics

There’s a thread in this forum about developing a CommonMark-specific guide. You might offer to help there.