>
>> Would it not be better to have a "guided tour" (something like C-h t, 
>> but shorter and more "modern") for first-time users (those without a 
>> .emacs / .emacs.d)?  This is quite common in "modern" software, so it 
>> would not surprise anyone.
> [...]
>> (In fact, it would perhaps make sense to create a few guided tours, 
>> with an initial question "Are you a programmer? a scientist? a teacher? 
>> a writer?" with which the set of options could be narrowed.)
>
> Why not instead just have nicer introductory material? E.g. videos that 
> walk through initial customisation for different setups, that discuss 
> and explain things, talk about tangents.
>

That's too complex IMO.  I at least would never have the patience to watch 
N videos to discover such things.  If the target is users who just give 
Emacs a try, as we all do from time to time for programs we don't know, 
expecting that they would first watch videos (or to read introductory 
material) sets the bar way too high.

>
> The wizard idea from another thread is nice, but I¢m not a fan of a 
> whole guided tour.  Most probably people would want to skip it.  A 
> blocker just as your first boot a program is not nice.
>

I was thinking of something very simple, with say five screens.  There are 
at least two examples I have in mind and which I find rather pleasing to 
go through: the Debian installer and the macOS installer.

A rough draft:

Screen 1: Welcome! Please tell us something about you: are you (a) a 
programmer, (b) a teacher, (c) ...

Screen 2: Choose a theme (font + colors).

Screen 3: A few (at most twenty) common options to turn on or off, with a 
short explanation for each option.  "cua-mode" is a good candidate for 
this screen.  A button "Other options" could open another similar screen 
with a few other less common options to turn on or off.

Screen 4: Some basic explanations: what "C-" and "M-" mean, what is the 
minibuffer, ...

Screen 5: Thank you and welcome on board!  You'll find a list of 
extensions that you may find useful in the menu "Extensions".

The menu "Extensions" would be populated depending on the user kind 
selected in screen 1.