I think a macro implies something that can be executed, and (rightly) ought to cause security-minded folks to double-take.
Conref isn't something we invented, it's straight out of DITA: http://dita.xml.org/arch-conref
Conref isn't something we invented, it's straight out of DITA: http://dita.xml.org/arch-conref
That isn't true... Traditionally a macro just refers to a substitution, maybe (but not necessarily) with parameter replacement, rescanning, etc. I'd say that lisp-style macros which can execute arbitrary code are actually rather rare historically....