Usability of <ins> and <del> elements

Question

How usable is a document which uses <ins> and <del>, compared to seeing the deltas in a two-pane split-screen diff viewer?

Although a command-line diff tool will show its output as one diff after another (in a single vertical column / console window), all the GUI diff tools that I know of tend to show diffs in a two-pane, split-screen UI.

I'd like it if <ins> and <del> were usable but it worries me that, instead, two-pane split-screen diff viewers seem to be the norm.

Secondly, have you seen any sites or software which use the <ins> and <del> elements to show revisions, and if so would you please point them out to me? I'd like to see examples of their being used (in order to make a subjective opinion of how usable they are).

Answer 1

Trac uses this for example on its diff pages and does that even in a two-pane view. You can see an example here.

Answer 2

Stackoverflow shows inline diffs in the its edit history pages. So, if you're comfortable with how that works, its safe to say that its fairly usable.

The <ins> & <del> elements aren't used, <span> tags with a class are, but <ins> & <del> elements could have been used instead.