So Tumblr added @-mentions not too long ago.

Here’s what you type into the WYSIWYG editor:

@abandonmentprobability

It gets displayed as:

abandonmentprobability

If you switch to HTML mode, the markup looks like (without newlines):

<a class="tumblelog">
    abandonmentprobability
</a>

Unless you save the post first, in which case you get:

<a class="tumblelog" href="http://tmblr.co/msgaYTlPKdo0sLlHh4mXlOg">
    abandonmentprobability
</a>

If you try to use an @-mention in plain text or Markdown mode, meanwhile, the resulting markup is:

@abandonmentprobability

Notice anything missing? To get a proper link, you actually have to use (again, sans newlines):

<a class="tumblelog">
    abandonmentprobability
</a>

But be careful when you try to quote that markup in your post, because if you don’t escape it somehow, it’ll get transformed into:

<a class="tumblelog" href="http://tmblr.co/msgaYTlPKdo0sLlHh4mXlOg">
    abandonmentprobability
</a>

Even in the middle of an indented Markdown code block.

Seriously, get it together, guys.

Tumblr's Markdown Link is a Lie!

TL;DR: If you want endless footnote salad and breadsticks, Tumblr’s Markdown parser supports that. As well as a lot of other things.

Dear Tumblr,

1. Please stop calling window.focus() in your login page JavaScript. Amazingly enough, when I switch to another tab after clicking on my Tumblr bookmark, I generally expect that I’ll be interacting with that tab. Not yours. Yours can wait.

2. Is there any reason Markdown preview has been completely, utterly broken for the past several days? I kind of use it. A lot.

~if