Re: delete-selection-mode as default (WAS: Some developement questions)

[Phil Sainty <psainty@orcon.net.nz>]

*Personally* I dislike `delete-selection-mode'; but FWIW I also
don't have a big issue with disabling it in my init file -- at
the end of the day it's an easy change to make to get back to
the behaviour I prefer.

I can't imagine that many users who use the current default
behaviour would continue to use the default if the default were
*changed*; so either way a sub-set of users will always be forced
to set `delete-selection-mode' in their init files -- which means
it's a question of whether we're more interested in minimising
friction for existing users who still prefer the current default,
or for new users who are probably used to the behaviour of other
text-editors.


I think what I'd be most in favour of would be a new link on the
splash screen which invited users to customize some of the most
fundamental aspects in which the default Emacs behaviours
conflict with the typical behaviour of newer applications with
which the user may be more familiar.  I think this would be one
of those options.  CUA mode would be another.

This set of options could be added to over time (as and when new
user options were added to provide compatibility with the way that
other editors and applications work), such that new Emacs users
can always have a smoother introduction offered to them, without
interfering with the upgrade experience of existing users.

Such a feature would be like an improved/interactive alternative
to the "Migrating to Emacs" section of the "Emacs Guided Tour"
web page.

Of course that entails someone spending their time implementing
a feature which doesn't benefit them in any way -- because *they*
already know how to set all the options in question.

User options can belong to multiple groups though, can't they?
Perhaps an initial implementation is as simple as identifying
such options, adding them to a common group, and linking to that
group from the splash screen?


On 2018-09-07 18:47, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> Feel free to start a user poll, though: if it turns out I'm the
> only one who thinks delete-selection-mode is inappropriate in
> programming modes, we can make it the default; I can easily
> turn it off in my configuration.  Though I would urge people to
> actually try this in programming modes before responding, and
> in any case the poll should request to provide the major modes
> used with the responses.

I am quite surprised by the notion that there are users who are
using `delete-selection-mode' in some modes and not others?!  My
instinct is that that would be extremely confusing, so I wouldn't
be in favour of any default behaviour where the mode was sometimes
on and sometimes off.  I think the default should be consistent
one way or the other.


-Phil