"When you do want to insert a <br /> break tag using Markdown, you end a line with two or more spaces, then type return. Yes, this takes a tad more effort to create a <br />, but a simplistic “every line break is a <br />” rule wouldn’t work for Markdown. " What I don't get is why the simplistic rule "wouldn't work for Markdown". Why the hell not? Two points : 1) Why should I have to artifically add TWO spaces at the end of a line, to get the desired behaviour? I haven't seen a good reason yet. 2) Even if I did learn this new habit, THAT DOESN'T HELP, if what I'm doing is (for example) copying and pasting a poem, where the existing line breaks are important.
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it. I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."