Before I start creating a bunch of mnemonics, I'd like to know if there are set formatting tags to specify keywords, pronunciation, component keywords, etc.

If not, are there any plans for the future, in which case I could future-proof by tagging things now? Or should I just make up my own system?

My long-term goal is to create a complete Heisig set of meaning mnemonics with corresponding Matthews pronunciation mnemonics.

I started using _italics_ for the meaning of the prompted character and *bold* for the *keywords* representing the component characters, like this:

晚: _Evening_ is when the *sun* is *remove*d

Some others followed suit. A few reverse the bold and italics. Some use CAPS and "quotes" instead, but I think that's because they don't know about the *asterisks* and _underscores_. A few people include the characters themselves:

音: Standing (立) on the sun (日) will make you scream!

But others complain about this, wanting the mnemonics to be less obvious as hints.

MK1977 has been using misspellings to include the pinyin and ~tildes~ to highlight the word that hints at the tone:

卓: *Stand on top* of something _lofty_ and zhuo will get a good view of the ~rising~ sun in the *morning*.
所: Each *household* needs an *axe*. An axe is ~swung~ to build a house.

I don't see a lot of this outside of his mnemonics, but people seem to love the ones he writes judging by the votes.

EDIT: I posted this before I saw your response above Nick.

I ask because I see people using _underscores_ and *stars* a lot.

It would be really cool to have a standardized set of tags that would allow the following specifications:

1) Tone (ie. ^)
2) Pronunciation (ie. ')
3) Meaning (ie. *)
4) Component (ie. _)
5) Mnemonic (ie. [System] OR [MeaningSystem/PronunciationSystem]

ie. 案 mnemonic: The _ice_ is given _orders_ to make everyone *cold*. ^Teddy^ 'lengthens' his sweater sleeves to stay warm [Heisig/Matthews]

Then the iOS app/website could automatically format these tagged portions (ie. bold, italics, etc) to make the mnemonic easy to read.

If the user didn't use the tags, then no harm done either, they's just stay as they are now.\

EDIT2: Probably want to use something other than * and _, as in my example above, since they are already standards for formatting.

Thanks Nick for the reply and the great ideas. I didn't realize there were formatting characters available.

I guess tags for data type are not really necessary. I'll go with the formatting tags.

_keyword_
*component*
'phonetic'
~tone~
[System] or [MeaningSystem/PronunciationSystem]

If support for mnemonics gets added to the iPad app, it would be really great if there could be a server (if only one mnemonic is downloaded) or local (if all mnemonics are added) filter to select/prioritize the mnemonic used based on the [System] text.

** Would it be possible to add support for _ and * formatting tags so we can see bold and italics in the iOS apps mnemonics?

The iOS app mnemonics already show the bold and italic as well as they can, but in the bottom part for the reading and definition prompts, we can't pull it off.

Hi Nick, I sent you an email with a screenshot. I Might be missing something.

Looks like a bug! We'll work on it.