Impure, Google Docs, impure

I think that Google is big enough to take a bit of bashing, so here’s me wading in with markup-centric boots.

I have started writing for a Local Web Site For Local People, using the magnificent lightweight markup language called Markdown, which is a cinch to learn and to read. I then use the online Markdown convertor called Showdown, and copy and paste into their WYSIWYG text editor (which I think is based on Yahoo!’s YUI 2).

All well and good. For me. But for other less fortunate folk who haven’t learnt the simple art of Markdown, not so good.

If you try copying and pasting from Word, it keeps all the diabolical formatting and rips out anything useful. I would try it but I burnt my copy of Word back in 1999 (symbolically, of course, I printed out a directory listing and burnt that instead).

I thought perhaps that maybe Google Docs would come to the rescue: surely, the HTML markup exported from the Word-alike would be reasonably clean and pure.

Alas, no. Absolutely chokka with inline CSS and other such gubbins.

Really, how hard can it be to write a standalone What You See Is What You Mean desktop application?!?! Please, anyone?