[Wikipedia-l] Super simple table using preformatted text

[Daniel Mayer]

In all the wiki table syntax hoopla I think we have forgotten about the "p" 
word; preformatted text. I spent a couple of hours creating a simple linear 
HTML list at http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/List_of_elements_by_name and then 
Zoe created http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/List_of_elements_by_symbol by using 
preformatted text. 

Unlike my table, Zoe's is /very/ easy to read in edit mode and is just what 
an HTML unaware person would expect to see after hitting 'edit this page'.

In these cases it would be nice to have a way to justify this list, 
optionally create a border around it and change the parsing on it to default 
font instead of the hideous courier. Then making a table like that will be as 
easy as it was with typewriters of old. 

I tried to put some pre-formatted text I originally created on my palm-pilot 
and then copied to http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Talk:Glycolysis into a table 
so that it could be right justified and placed alongside the glycolysis 
article but HTML tables treat the preformatting spaces as whitespace and 
ignore it. 

Would it be possible to change the font of preformated text and allow 
preformatted text in tables (whatever the syntax)?

Just kicking around another idea. 

--mav