DOCUMENTATION FORMAT RULE

Permanent rule for this project family:

  Do not use Markdown (.md) as required project documentation.

Allowed required documentation formats:

  .txt   plain text, maximum compatibility, easiest for novices
  .html  browser-readable public documentation
  .json  machine-readable generated metadata/configuration

Reason:

  Markdown is familiar to many developers, but not to all experienced computer
  users and not to many novices. Plain text and HTML have been understood for
  decades, open directly on ordinary computers, and do not require knowing a
  developer-specific convention.

Rule:

  Every package should include plain .txt documentation.
  Public-facing documentation may also include .html.
  Machine-readable generated metadata may use .json.
  Do not make .md files the canonical or required documentation.