Re: Could Emacs Have a Set-up Wizard?

[Jim Porter <jporterbugs@gmail.com>]

On 9/3/2021 12:35 PM, Joost Kremers wrote:
> I also think it's a good idea, but I don't think it's entirely orthogonal to the
> idea of profiles. I don't really see how profiles would make it easier for new
> users to start using Emacs. A wizard, on the other hand, seems to me to be much
> better suited for that purpose. (If done right, of course.)

I agree. While profiles improve upon the current state of affairs in 
some ways, a wizard would (theoretically) make it easier for a user to 
set up a starting configuration that makes sense for them. Rather than 
picking between one of a handful of profiles, the user could 
mix-and-match as needed. Done well, it could even give users a glimpse 
into how to hand-edit their .emacs when they're ready to start 
more-elaborate customization.

Furthermore, a wizard could be useful for upgrading Emacs. Whether a new 
behavior is opt-in or opt-out, there are bound to be some that are so 
significant that it makes sense to notify the user. However, this would 
need some careful thought about how to be both 1) non-annoying and 2) 
maintainable. Making it much harder to add a significant new feature 
would be a bad move.

> In fact, I would even suggest having the wizard run automatically if no init
> file is found (with a button to quit the wizard, of course).

Also agreed (with the caveat that `emacs -Q' shouldn't start the 
wizard). In my experience, Emacs does a great job of guiding the 
moderately-experienced user, but there's an awful lot to get used to a 
brand-new user. Having something that helps get past the first hurdle of 
setting up the basics would go a long way, I think.

In fact, I bounced off Emacs the first couple times I tried it, and 
might not have picked it up at all if it hadn't been the only option I 
had for a time (other than vim, which I had an even harder time getting 
started with). Surely there are plenty of people out there who bounced 
off and never returned.

- Jim