[Request] Make ‘li’ and ‘a’ tags a parameter instead of default

I often feel like the WordPress devs are second guessing us designers. I think it’s presumptuous to assume that really useful template tags like the_category and the_pages should always be enclosed with li and a tags. Just because we don’t know php well doesn’t mean we don’t know html and css on an expert level.

As an example, my latest problem: I am using WP as a CMS for a graphic design company. The client wants a list of projects (posts as far as WP is concerned), showing the category the project falls under without a link or an a tag.

Now, most people would point me in the direction of the get_the_category function, but I think this defeats the purpose of the_category, not to mention adds complexity that is a little above my head. the_category has some GREAT things going for it! Aside from being simple to apply, separating characters is a dream come true —as far as I can tell, there is no way to not echo a separating character on the last category listed using get_the_category without writing a conditional statement (which I am too stupid to do).

My proposed solution is to make encapsulation in a li or a tag a parameter of the the_category template tag. Something like the_category(‘a=true&ul=true’). This would give a lot more power to mid-level theme designers, no?

Additionally, I feel like the HTML post input is a little misleading. Why does it always parse my line breaks as p tags? If I write a line break into the theme, it’s not going to show up unless I use p or br tags, HTML mode should function this way too.

I would be appreciative of any WP dev out there listening.