But is [abc](http://...) any better? I can never remember which brackets to use, and I've been using Markdown for years now. I never have a problem remembering the HTML syntax.

IMO, yes, it is so much more concise that it is worth memorizing.

https://mtsknn.fi/blog/how-to-remember-markdowns-link-syntax...

Think of it as a function call (mnemonically, it doesn't need to make sense conceptually).

My problem exactly. My memory seems not to work well for symbols which rely mostly on position. Is it URL first or link text first, and do I put the URL in round or square brackets? Same with formatting: Is the first * italics or bold? I can remember <i> and <b> much better, and will trade off a bit of verbosity for not straining my memory anytime.

Easy trick to remember it: [Button](url)

The [ and ] are ascii art for a button - in between goes what is clickable (title) and then comes the url.

The lack of internal consistency, especially the link syntax, has always been something I struggled with with Markdown. But that's about the first sensible way to remember it that I've seen.

yes of course.

> I can never remember which brackets to use

and that is patently untrue, as you just demonstrated.

I had to look it up before writing my comment :)