Emacs website, Lisp, and other

[Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>]

> Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2024 at 11:13 PM
> From: "Eli Zaretskii" <eliz@gnu.org>
> To: "Jeremy Bryant" <jb@jeremybryant.net>
> Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org, rms@gnu.org
> Subject: Re: Emacs website, Lisp, and other
>
> > From: Jeremy Bryant <jb@jeremybryant.net>
> > Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org,  rms@gnu.org
> > Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:09:30 +0100
> > 
> > Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
> > 
> > >> From: Jeremy Bryant <jb@jeremybryant.net>
> > >> Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2024 23:27:39 +0100
> > >> 
> > >> Reviewing the Emacs website, and previous discussions on this list below
> > >> (admittedly not recent, but still relevant).  It seems important to add
> > >> some text on Lisp which is not currently there, as per ideas of RMS and
> > >> Eli summarised below.
> > >
> > > Why is this important?
> > 
> > It appeared to be an outstanding documentation item to add to the
> > website, using the summary text written from RMS.
> > 
> > I personally believe it is important and useful in the context of an
> > introduction to Emacs such as the website.  For new users, or indeed
> > new contributors, Emacs Lisp may appear an intriguing choice, and that
> > summary offers a compelling reason for Lisp.
> 
> It is hard to find a good place there to talk about these aspects.
> The site introduces Emacs as an editor, and describes its important
> features.  Emacs being Emacs, that list is long, but far from
> comprehensive.  We could add a paragraph about Lisp there, but then
> (a) it would be most probably lost in the (quite long) introduction,
> and (b) there are many more aspects of Emacs of the same importance
> that could be added, and we must draw the line somewhere.
> 
> The way the site solves this dilemma is to focus on user-facing
> features.  The fact that Emacs is written in Lisp doesn't fit, IMO.
 
I agree.  Some detail could be added in the introduction to new users
(perhaps in an appendix if things do not fit together well enough).  

For new users, we should mention the immediate benefits.

Customization and Extensibility: Emacs allows users to tailor the editor 
to their specific needs, whether it’s through themes, keybindings, or 
custom commands.

Integration and Efficiency: Emacs integrates various workflows, from code 
editing to project management and even personal organization, offering a 
seamless and efficient experience.

We can also suggest learning paths for users who wish to explore Emacs Lisp 
further, ensuring that this advanced knowledge is available without being a 
barrier to entry.