Org Mode Syntax Is One of the Most Reasonable Markup Languages for Text (2017)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of Org vs. Markdown

  • Many argue Org and Markdown solve different problems:
    • Markdown: minimal syntax for readable text that renders to HTML/PDF; good for small docs, READMEs, blogging, comments.
    • Org: richer semantics and workflow—tasks, agenda, metadata, code execution, tables, literate programming, time tracking.
  • Several commenters stress that comparing them purely as “markup languages” misses Org’s main value, which depends heavily on Emacs features.

Org-mode Features and Power

  • Org-babel lets you execute code blocks, chain multiple languages, and embed computations into documents, effectively creating “plaintext notebooks.”
  • Tables with formulas and spreadsheet-like behavior, properties and tags per heading, macros, timestamps, and task states enable complex technical documentation and personal information management.
  • Users describe large, multi-thousand-line Org files for work logs, PKM, project tracking, and even slide decks, with powerful navigation and folding.
  • Some feel once you deeply use Org, Markdown seems only “adequate” for relatively simple documents.

Complexity, Tooling, and Adoption

  • A recurring criticism: Org lacks a formal spec; Emacs is the de facto reference implementation.
    • This makes third‑party tooling harder and leads to partial, inconsistent mobile and editor support.
  • In contrast, CommonMark formalization and Markdown’s simplicity have encouraged broad ecosystem support across platforms and products.
  • Several commenters say Markdown “wins” in practice because it’s ubiquitous, easy to implement, and good enough, especially when interoperability and collaboration matter.

Syntax, Escaping, and Usability

  • Some dislike Org’s choice of * for headings and inline formatting, and note escaping special characters (e.g., *, ~) can be awkward, sometimes requiring zero‑width spaces or workarounds.
  • Others find Org link and block syntaxes clearer and more regular than Markdown’s, and emphasize that most Org users read the raw markup in Emacs rather than exported output.

Alternatives and Hybrids

  • Some use simpler formats (e.g., Gemini’s gemtext) for ultra‑easy parsing.
  • Others mix formats: write in Org, then export to Markdown/HTML/PDF via pandoc or Emacs exporters, treating Org as an authoring/master format and Markdown as the interchange format.