Re: Icon designer wanted (Aquamacs Emacs)

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

GianUberto.Lauri@eng.it (Gian Uberto Lauri) writes:

>> David Kastrup wrote:
>>> The ability to craft a pretty MacOSX-only thing from Emacs is part
>>> of the value of free software.  Doing so exercises the freedom, but
>>> it does nothing to sustain it.
>
> I used to run Mac OS X for about (then I kicked it out, it doesn't fit
> my needs) and compile CVS Emacs. I  was glad I could use the apple key
> as Meta and Alt as super (i  do the same with those keyboards with the
> flag key). Then a  guy I know pointed out Aqua Emacs.  I don't use Mac
> OS X any more, but gave a look to the site. 
>
> I understand that long time mac users would love it, as does that guy.
>
> But let those customization be something someone activates only if
> he wants them, it's good to put them as default choice, but it has
> to be a choice.  Personally, I would rather use old vi than the Aqua
> Emacs customization, but other people disagrees and everybody must
> be free to use the tool the way s?he wants.
>
> Even if I feel that they loose something not using Emacs the Emacs way.
>
> CUA and Mac OS X interface are too young and stubborn to have the
> wisdom that comes with 30 years of evolution.

It should be pointed out that this thread is not about whether or not
Aquamacs is a good thing in itself.  This is about whether its
development should be done in a manner that precludes it ever becoming
a part of Emacs.

While I agree that it is not a good idea to have different Emacses on
different platforms, this could perfectly well addressed by the use of
themes: every platform would have its default theme, but the user
could tell the Emacs on _any_ platform "please behave like Aquamacs"
or "please behave like the Windows Emacs" or "please behave like X11"
Emacs.  That way, everybody would have platform-specific benefits as
well as a tool that can easily be made to work the same across
platforms, and carry the behavior of the preferred platform
everywhere.

At the current point of time, Emacs' customization theme code are not
usable enough to make this a viable option.  This is likely to change.
When it does, having a separate Aquamacs code base that is not legally
tenable for reintegration into Emacs will preclude the Aquamacs
personality to be available for everyone if he so wishes, even if he
is working on Linux or X11.

I really don't think incompatible forks something which is desirable
in free software.  Aquamacs aims to be more than just a private
adaptation, and it is a pity that its usefulness gets strictly limited
in that manner.

I don't like the idea of a non-standard Emacs that can't be easily
made to behave like the standard one "out-of-the-box": it is
splintering rather than spreading the user base.  That's the reason I
am not particularly fond about Aquamacs, or bound to recommend it (if
people ask me for advice or have problems, I have no clue whether they
are due to Aquamacs or Emacs proper).

But I certainly acknowledge that in particular beginners on a given
platform might be better served with an Emacs version configured to be
more closely to what they expect.  Encompassing customization themes
would appear to be a good way out of that dilemma, giving _everybody_
the option to have Aquamacs-like looks and behavior, regardless of
operating system.

Once custom themes work well, it would be a pity if Aquamacs' behavior
and look could not be made available for everybody on every platform
who desired it.  And that requires being careful about the legal
matter timely.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum