[Markdown]: Support for benefits/drawback lists

[gfellerph]

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For an idea I had on a project, I tried to list benefits and drawbacks of a certain approach in the format of a list prefixed with +/- symbols (swisspost/design-system#3287). The markdown looks like the following:

+ This is a benefit
- This is a drawback

However, when the idea is rendered to the page, the information in the prefix is lost and it's rendered as a basic list with bullet points.

• This is a benefit
• This is a drawback

I'm aware that there are possible workarounds (removing the space between the sign and the text or wrapping it in a preformatted block), but it would be really cool if those kind of lists would be supported in some way.

[Chaitanya029]

Hey @gfellerph ,
I understand your concern. The issue you're facing is due to the way Markdown parses lists. By default, Markdown interprets the + and - symbols as list item markers, and the space after them is required to indicate the start of the list item text.

I completely agree with you that it would be useful to have a way to preserve the + and - symbols in the rendered list, especially when using them to indicate benefits and drawbacks.

One possible solution could be to extend the Markdown parser to support a new syntax for "labeled lists" or "pros and cons lists." This would allow users to create lists with custom prefixes, such as + and -, and have them rendered accordingly.

Here's an example of how this could be implemented:

markdown

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+++ Benefits

• This is a benefit
• Another benefit

--- Drawbacks

• This is a drawback
• Another drawback
  This syntax could be rendered as a list with the + and - symbols preserved, along with the corresponding text.

I'd be happy to help you create a feature request for this enhancement. Would you like me to draft a proposal for the Markdown parser to support labeled lists?

[gfellerph]

That would be amazing, thanks @Chaitanya029. I did not expect such a fast reply.