On the telecon this morning, we discussed how square brackets are used
in the spec, other than in the hidden assertion markers. In some cases,
the spec uses brackets around an internal cross reference, as in "[see
Chapter 5]". I checked several on-line style guides for information
about the use of brackets in writing.
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/use-brackets.aspx
http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/brackets/changing-a-quote-using-brackets/
The most similar case presented in these sources is the use of brackets
for references, but that is strictly for a reference that provides a key
to bibliographic entries that are listed elsewhere in the document.
IMHO, it would be more in accord with standard usage to use parentheses
instead of square brackets for internal cross references in the spec.
This would alleviate potential confusion with the brackets in assertion
markers when using a script to extract assertions.
-- Michelle
