Remove reference style links (API, Project docs)

What does this MR do?

As our styleguide states, we should not use reference-style links anymore:

OK:

[this is a link](example.com)

Bad:

[this is a link][reference-link]

[reference-link]: example.com

Additonally, this MR fixes some linting problems (latinisms, future tense, long lines) and removes some "Introduced in" notes for GitLab versions 8.x and earlier.

Related issues

Related: #212770 (closed)

Author's checklist

• Follow the Documentation Guidelines and Style Guide.
• If applicable, update the permissions table.
• Link docs to and from the higher-level index page, plus other related docs where helpful.
• Apply the documentation label.

Review checklist

All reviewers can help ensure accuracy, clarity, completeness, and adherence to the Documentation Guidelines and Style Guide.

1. Primary Reviewer

• Review by a code reviewer or other selected colleague to confirm accuracy, clarity, and completeness. This can be skipped for minor fixes without substantive content changes.

2. Technical Writer

• Optional: Technical writer review. If not requested for this MR, must be scheduled post-merge. To request for this MR, assign the writer listed for the applicable DevOps stage.

3. Maintainer

1. Review by assigned maintainer, who can always request/require the above reviews. Maintainer's review can occur before or after a technical writer review.
2. Ensure a release milestone is set.
3. If there has not been a technical writer review, create an issue for one using the Doc Review template.