Obviously, as a "power user" of `pandoc` and markdown, GemText is a bit of a let down. However, as a user of a 1953 Smith Corona Silent typewriter (pica, 10cpi), there is a dissonance between the `pandoc` experience and my "offline" writing. BUT, since the online writing "has" all that power, I came into it feeling deprived.
The designers of the protocol don't, didn't, and shouldn't care. That's all about me and my perversities. WIBNI[A]!!!!!!
It took four or five days of active writing/editing. And grousing. And thinking. And I realize that if I think in Smith Corona Silent (1953) mode it all makes more sense. And I turn to the SCM[B] for simplicity and simplification. I just shut down all the MarkDown-ness and WRITE! Same thing for the FreeWrite Traveller. Neither does ANYTHING but write. The Traveller is not as good at backspacing and striking stuff out which has a kind of ancient appeal. But it sends the text to Dropbox and on to GemText (obviously there is nothing I can't do with a Traveller or the SCM that isn't valid GemText ... except the SCM lacks angle brackets :-( ). But then, I can't get paper into text without more complexities. So ...
So, I'm grinding it into my thick head that this is an important "writing mode" and adopting conventions that work. Like [<number>] for a link and [<letter>] for a footnote. HTML2GMI generates numbered link references. Footnotes are manual.
There we are. That, and *italic* and **bold** in text to trigger the rest of you who know full well what that stands for[C]. And off we go.
[A]: WBNI, short for "Wouldn't It Be Nice If"
[B]: SCM short for Smith Corona Marchant, the conglomerate that sucked up Smith Corona but kept it as part of the name.
[C]: *<something*> tells markdown processors to put into "italics". **<something>**puts the <something> "bold". The SCM[B] can't. You can take the paper out and to another typerwriter that has the appropriate font :-D ... if you have one and the patience. It works just as well these days to use the asterisk ("*") notation on paper. Most computer people know all about markdown or will soon.