Why is 'Body' text formatted differently than normal text?

[StoneFace]

So, first to define my terms…
Body text - is the text that one can create under a header by indenting normal text.
Normal text - the default text format that exists everywhere unless indented under a header.

In the picture below, the headers ‘new tasks’ and ‘old tasks’ have what I’m calling normal text. The header ‘very old tasks’ has what I’m referring to as Body text.

I have three questions really:

1. What is the purpose of ‘Body’ text that’s different from normal text?
2. Why is it formatted to look so differently than normal text?
3. Why is it that I can indent just the first line of Body text but not normal text?

I appreciate anyone’s insight.

[StoneFace]

And I’ll add a bonus for any overachievers

Can anyone give me a CSS snippet that will make Body text look like normal text. That way, I’ll still be able to indent just the first lines of my paragraphs but have the text stay looking normal!

Thanks in advance.

[Hampton]

Indenting creates a code block:

You can also create a code block by indenting the text using Tab or 4 blank spaces.

Basic formatting syntax - Obsidian Help

A paragraph is simply one or more consecutive lines of text, separated by one or more blank lines. (A blank line is any line that looks like a blank line — a line containing nothing but spaces or tabs is considered blank.) Normal paragraphs should not be indented with spaces or tabs.

https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax

[StoneFace]

But why can’t I create a code block unless its under a header? If I try to using tab or 4 blank spaces on text that is not under a header, it simple indents the entire paragraph.

[ariehen]

@StoneFace

But why can’t I create a code block unless its under a header?

You can – the paragraph needs to be on its own (first example). The second example is the odd one out. If you switch to Reading view or keep a Reading view tab open, you’ll have a better idea of what’s happening. Where the code blocks are, what white space is collapsing, etc.

Source mode | Live Preview | Reading view

---

I personally don’t use a tab / 4 spaces much for code blocks but rather a fenced code block (in the link above from Hampton). For example:

```css
.cm-active:not(.cm-gutterElement) { 
    background-color: rgb(72 61 139 / 0.1); 
}
```