At first when I started looking at and playing with Text Encoding Initiative, I was confused as to why it even existed and thought it was strange, as it’s (for the most part) simple and people can simply transcribe media without it. But the more I used it, I enjoyed it as it’s personally satisfying for me for text to be reorganized in a certain fashion.
One of the reasons I enjoy playing with TEI is because you actually have an idea of what you’re transcribing, as the content is right in front of you and you don’t have to have the code to compile in order to see it, moreover not having to guess if you’re even doing it correctly. One of the best parts of this language is that you can transcribe basically anything, even if it’s not really needed (but why not!), like menus, music, poems, anything with words and/or pictures!
I unfortunately have little experience with computer languages, as I’ve only ever played with HTML, CSS and JavaScript strictly for class, and I would have to say TEI is my one favorite (so far) to play with, because you create your own tags and not have to use preset commands in order for the code created to be valid. I see TEI being almost like an art style, as the transcription is being completely controlled by the transcriber.
Chats with Chelsea 
I liked reading your post because it seems like you really enjoyed playing around with TEI. It definitely is different compared to other coding styles but I can tell that is what you like about it. I wish I could share your sentiment but I didn’t enjoy TEI as much as you did. I found myself frustrated and confused by the end of the exercise. Anyways, thumbs up from GG.
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Interesting analogy of the process of transcription and art. Everyone has their own unique style when approaching thing, and transcription is just one of those thing. Just like how everyone has their own unique style of art. However, when in collaborative environments it may pose problems and thus rises the need for a standard style guide that trades uniformity over diversity in the style of transcription.
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