Lists are perhaps the most complicated part of 'Tavi's formatting rules. For starters, you can begin a line with a '#' for a numbered list, a '*' for a bullet list, or a ':' for a simple indent:

 #numero uno
 #deux

 *oranges
 *bananas

 :well, i disagree
 :you see, . . .

becomes:

  1. numero uno
  2. deux
well, i disagree
you see, . . .

But it gets trickier. You can pile 'em up to have multiply indented lists:

 ##the main point
 **apples
 ::no, you're wrong on that one.

becomes:

  1. the main point
  • apples
no, you're wrong on that one.

More complicated still, you can pile one list on top of another one. Let's say you're writing a numbered list, and you want to list a few unordered bullet points under it. You could do this:

 #point number one
 #*some item
 #*some other equally important item
 #*last, but not least
 #point number two

which becomes:

  1. point number one
    • some item
    • some other equally important item
    • last, but not least
  2. point number two

You can use this technique to combine any of the list or indent types.

You can introduce a line break in your list with a double backslash (\\), then continue to type anything you want. You can do this repeatedly to slurp up multiple lines into the same list item, like this:

#point number one \\
   .
#point number two \\
i've got more to say on this. . .
#point number three \\
this is one \\
of many lines in \\
the last item.

which renders as:

  1. point number one
    .
  2. point number two
    i've got more to say on this. . .
  3. point number three
    this is one
    of many lines in
    the last item.

Lastly, you can end any list with a definition list; i.e., a list item that shows a term and its definition (or whatever other use you care to put it to. The syntax for this is as follows:

 *;term: definition

 :abc
 :*;def: ghi

 **point one
 **;a brief aside: and its implications

which appears as:

term
definition
abc
def
ghi
  • point one
a brief aside
and its implications

That's all, folks!