Question

What is the proper way to indicate something like an example given a list of definitions?

In the following example (hah) I’m using

<aside><h4>Example:</h4><code>

to indicate that the italicized text is an example, is this the most syntactically accurate way to do so?

(Also, I know I should be using the dl tag, but that’s another step)

<ul>
    <li>
        <h3>Recipients</h3>
        <p>Comma-delimited list of the roles that will receive notification emails</p>
        <aside><h4>Example:</h4><code>bz,zba,admin,readonly,dept_zoning</code></aside>
    </li>
    <li>
        <h3>Trigger</h3>
        <code>Can be null</code>
        <p>Relative-pathed Url that initiates the notification action with bracketed parameters</p>
        <aside><h4>Example:</h4><code>/permits/SetApproval/{id}?approved={approvalstate}</code></aside>
    </li>
    <li>
        <h3>Message</h3>
        <p>The message that recipients will receive upon notification action.  Bracketed dynamic parameters will exist as specified in the trigger condition</p>
        <aside><h4>Example:</h4><code>This notification has been sent to inform you that Case Number: {id} has been {approvalstate}</code></aside>
    </li>
</ul>

Answer 1

Strictly, no, though it wouldn’t be the worst use of <aside> either.

The spec says of the <aside> element:

The aside element represents a section of a page that consists of
content that is tangentially related to the content around the aside
element, and which could be considered separate from that content.

The key words are “tangentially related” and “considered separate”, neither of which holds for examples of the definition that precedes it in the document.

I would suggest that the <figure> element would be most appropriate.

The figure element represents some flow content, optionally with a
caption, that is self-contained and is typically referenced as a
single unit from the main flow of the document.

The element can thus be used to annotate illustrations, diagrams,
photos, code listings, etc, that are referred to from the main content
of the document, but that could, without affecting the flow of the
document, be moved away from that primary content, e.g. to the side of
the page, to dedicated pages, or to an appendix.