From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.io!.POSTED.blaine.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Richard Stallman Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.bugs Subject: bug#21695: 25.0.50; Change most occurrences of `setq' in Emacs manual to `customize-set-variable'? Really? Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:06:58 -0400 Message-ID: References: <97d3ff2c-9e72-4004-88a9-08130ac99a74@default> Reply-To: rms@gnu.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Utf-8 Injection-Info: ciao.gmane.io; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:116.202.254.214"; logging-data="23966"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@ciao.gmane.io" Cc: ke.vigouroux@laposte.net, 21695@debbugs.gnu.org, larsi@gnus.org To: Drew Adams Original-X-From: bug-gnu-emacs-bounces+geb-bug-gnu-emacs=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Tue Aug 31 05:08:31 2021 Return-path: Envelope-to: geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane-mx.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([209.51.188.17]) by ciao.gmane.io with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu8U-0005za-AR for geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane-mx.org; Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:08:30 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:44606 helo=lists1p.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu8S-000857-EQ for geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane-mx.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:08:28 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:470:142:3::10]:52198) by lists.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu82-00084j-Gx for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:08:02 -0400 Original-Received: from debbugs.gnu.org ([209.51.188.43]:49265) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256:128) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu82-0006p5-9K for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:08:02 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-debbugs by debbugs.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu82-0004vx-4D for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:08:02 -0400 X-Loop: help-debbugs@gnu.org Resent-From: Richard Stallman Original-Sender: "Debbugs-submit" Resent-CC: bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Resent-Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2021 03:08:02 +0000 Resent-Message-ID: Resent-Sender: help-debbugs@gnu.org X-GNU-PR-Message: followup 21695 X-GNU-PR-Package: emacs Original-Received: via spool by 21695-submit@debbugs.gnu.org id=B21695.163037923518904 (code B ref 21695); Tue, 31 Aug 2021 03:08:02 +0000 Original-Received: (at 21695) by debbugs.gnu.org; 31 Aug 2021 03:07:15 +0000 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:60811 helo=debbugs.gnu.org) by debbugs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu7C-0004um-Ku for submit@debbugs.gnu.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:07:15 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([209.51.188.92]:35602) by debbugs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu76-0004uC-Bg for 21695@debbugs.gnu.org; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:07:08 -0400 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([2001:470:142:3::e]:44574) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu70-0005n8-D5; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:06:58 -0400 Original-Received: from rms by fencepost.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1mKu70-0004TX-7D; Mon, 30 Aug 2021 23:06:58 -0400 In-Reply-To: (message from Drew Adams on Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:36:43 +0000) X-BeenThere: debbugs-submit@debbugs.gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.18 Precedence: list X-BeenThere: bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org List-Id: "Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors" List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: bug-gnu-emacs-bounces+geb-bug-gnu-emacs=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "bug-gnu-emacs" Xref: news.gmane.io gmane.emacs.bugs:213072 Archived-At: [[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider ]]] [[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies, ]]] [[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]] There are a few customization options that are not really variables and need to be set with `customize-set-variable'. However, the rest of them are variables and normally set with `setq' and friends. Telling users to set them all with `customize-set-variable' will be a significant hassle. What's more, users will disregard this instruction. `setq' is easy to remember and we all know it. Having a recommendation in the manual which users will generally reject is in itself a problem. I think we should address this some other way. Here are some ideas. * indicate the few customization options which are not really variables. * tell people how to check whether a customization options is really a variable. * warn about setq for a customization option that isn't really a variable. -- Dr Richard Stallman (https://stallman.org) Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org) Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org) Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)