Backspace at beginning of list item converts to paragraph in Chrome

Phenomenon

When pressing Backspace at the beginning of the first list item in Chrome, the list item is deleted and converted to a paragraph element. This behavior differs from Firefox and Safari, which may delete the entire list or create unexpected structures.

Reproduction example

1. Create a list with at least one item: <ul><li>Item 1</li><li>Item 2</li></ul>
2. Place cursor at the very beginning of “Item 1” (before the text)
3. Press Backspace

Observed behavior

• The first list item is removed from the list
• The list item content is converted to a <p> paragraph element
• The remaining list items stay in the list structure
• If it was the only item, the list may be removed entirely

Expected behavior

• The list item should be deleted and merged with previous content (if any)
• Or the list item should be removed while maintaining list structure
• Behavior should be consistent across browsers

Browser Comparison

• Chrome/Edge: Converts list item to paragraph
• Firefox: May delete entire list or create nested structures
• Safari: May create empty list items or unexpected structures

Notes and possible direction for workarounds

• Intercept beforeinput events with inputType: 'deleteContentBackward'
• Check if cursor is at the beginning of a list item
• Implement custom deletion logic that maintains expected behavior
• Consider converting to paragraph only if there’s previous content to merge with