[thelist] <P> vs. <BR><BR>

[Paola Kathuria]

Tony Grimes wrote:
>      With the recent move toward web standards (i.e. alistapart's
> redesign), which is the best way to separate paragraphs: <P> or <BR><BR>?
> I would assume you would use the <P> tag, but is there a place for double
> <BR> tags anymore? Was there ever?

I don't use <br><br> for paragraphs but I do use 'em to create
a blank line in lists of other things.

For instance, I often use them in lists (before <li>) to
improve legibility (it's invalid HTML to use <p> in <ul>
or <ol> lists).

I experimented with CSS margins and paddings to achieve the
same effect but, as a Netscape 4.7 user, found this troublesome
(the padding applied to the text but not the bullet!) and so
I soon abandoned it.

I also use <br><br> to create vertical space in a list of
text links, when the whole group is surrounded by the
tag which otherwise formats the list), again for legibility
(and for Fitt's law).  This effect can be achieved by using
cellpadding in tables but involves a lot more mark-up.


Paola, with the transitional DTD