Re: "Why is emacs so square?"

[Po Lu]

Bob Newell <address@hidden> writes:

> But keep in mind that I'm old and grumpy and have used Emacs for
> literally decades. When I started on Emacs back in the 80s, I knew
> nothing. All I had used up to that point was a series of line-oriented
> editors similar to 'ed'. Now (the question of graphics put aside in
> that pre-graphics era), how did I learn Emacs? I went through the
> tutorial carefully and fully. By the end of that I was a fledgling
> Emacs user. It was enough for me to be able to do actual work.

I'm also old and grumpy, and I pretty much learned Emacs the same
way (and only about a decade after you did).
It would still be nice if we had a way for making Emacs easier for
today's lazy people to learn though.

> Then, as I needed new things, I learned them. There was no internet so
> I relied upon the Emacs manuals, which were and are very good
> references. I picked up elisp as necessary. And it all worked out. Did
> I jump right in and use Emacs out of the box? No. I knew I was making
> a long-term investment in doing the tutorial, etc.

I mostly agree, but the problem is a lot of people aren't willing to
make said investment due to prior prejudice, and you need a way to clear
that prejudice up.

> So here's the grumpy old man part: I sometimes think that today,
> software is expected to fall into the instant gratification category.
> A lot of users don't want to have to learn anything, they just want a
> perfect out of the box experience. But I think those are conflicting
> expectations.

Yes.
> Yes, make Emacs appealing and user friendly. But don't forget that a
> masterful tool in the end requires mastery, which can't come for free.
> I certainly draw the line at saying Emacs is for everyone. I'm not
> saying it's only for some sort of snooty "elite" but I am saying that
> it's for those who are willing to learn, seeing some extra work as the
> aforementioned long-term investment, and who have the patience reach a
> worthy goal a little later rather than right this very minute.

I'll keep that in mind.