Re: Making Emacs more friendly to newcomers (was: "Why is emacs so square?")

[Eduardo Ochs]

There are several different ways of making Emacs more friendly for
newcomers, and we should take a look at all these different ways and
try to connect them somehow.

I gave a presentation about my way at the last EmacsConf. It's here:

  http://angg.twu.net/emacsconf2019.html

and I mentioned briefly in the presentation - in slides 11-13 - how
I've been using it to teach Emacs to lots of beginners. To make a long
story very short:

  0) install Emacs and eev in their machines,

  1) teach them the basics of Lisp _IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES_,

  2) show them how to navigate using the keys M-e, M-j, and M-k,
     and the menu bar and the tool bar.

>From the docs:

  M-e   - to follow a hyperlink.  Mnemonic: "(e)valuate"/"(e)xecute".

  M-j   - to jump to certain predefined places. In particular, M-j
          without a numeric argument takes you to a buffer with basic
          help and a list of jump targets. See:

          http://angg.twu.net/eev-intros/find-eev-quick-intro.html#7.2

  M-k   - to go back.  Mnemonic: "(k)ill buffer".


Cheers,
  Eduardo Ochs
  http://angg.twu.net/#eev
  http://angg.twu.net/emacsconf2019.html


On Sun, 19 Apr 2020 at 07:16, Po Lu <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> ndame <address@hidden> writes:
>
> > Looks good. These are the changes Emacs needs, so it has a nicer first
> > impression for users who come from mainstream tools to give it a try.
>
> I don't think the general goal is for Emacs to imitate popular tools, but
> instead to make it a mainstream tool.  To achieve this, we do need to
> make Emacs more friendly for newcomers, but we shouldn't erase the
> traits that make Emacs unique (such as extreme extensibility and
> customizability).
>
> IOW, everything added to make Emacs more friendly should be optional
> (but easily discoverable), and should not break backwards-compatiblity with
> existing configurations.
>
> Emacs has endured for 40+ years. I doubt that without the Emacsen I
> remember using with squeals of delight (Epoch, XEmacs, Emacs 19), and
> the various improvements they curtailed that Emacs would still be where
> it is now.  Let's help Emacs endure another 40 years.
>