Re: Debunking Emacs merits over GUI - Re: package for Email

[Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support>]

* Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> [2023-01-21 10:22]:
> > Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2023 10:05:31 +0300
> > From: Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support>
> > Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> > 
> > I wanted to say that objectively when somebody is looking for e-mail
> > client, it is not good to recommend Emacs in first place.
> 
> Forgive me my bluntness, but that's baloney!  Emacs-based email
> clients are very adequate, and some of them much more than just
> adequate.  I'm surprised to even see this in an Emacs forum, let alone
> coming from such a veteran Emacs user.
> 
> I challenge you to post a list of tasks people do with email clients
> that Emacs-based MUA don't support.

OK I understand that you love Emacs, as you are the one making it.

I also love some girls, but I can't recommend them to others.

What is mine and lovable is not necessary so for other people.

I handle bunch of tasks with rudimentary email functions, the
technical challenge is not what ordinary people are interested in.

What matters is usability.

Do you know that less and less people use e-mail? This is because of
proprietary WhatsApp and other applications that makes it clear to
user that communication may be straightforward.

People tend to use what is straightforward.

If person is in other room, chances to write e-mail to that person are
very low, yelling over or going to talk in that that other room is
more probable.

It is because people want to communicate straightforward.

List of tasks people do with email clients that Emacs-based MUA don't support:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let us compare it from Thunderbid:

Thunderbird Features — Thunderbird:
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/features/

1. Mail Account Setup Wizard (IMHO all accounts should be specified
   straight in main configuration, but programs in packages each ask
   for program specific settings)
2. One-click Address Book (most important lack of feature in Emacs,
   huge subject)
3. Attachment Reminder
4. Notifications of e-mails
5. Quick Filter
6. Search tools (indexing is there in Emacs, but is different concept) this
   refers to straight search without user thinking about indexing)
7. Robust privacy (this is included in Emacs only concidentally and due to lack of
   features)
8. Phishing Protection
9. Automated Update (yes, why should user bother about it?)
10. Cutting Out the Junk
11. Sharing of mail folders
12. Searching messages on IMAP server
13. Synchronization of folders (Emacs uses only external and difficult
    to setup command line tools, this is huge subject)
14. Automated deletion of IMAP message by user's policy
15. Selection of IMAP folders to be searched or not (IMAP offers fast search)
16. Integrated encrypted XMPP chat (jabber.el does not support OMEMO
    yet, I offer US $100 for that.)
17. Integrated calendar (M-x calendar is not integrated to e-mail)
18. Move/copy of e-mails from folder to other folder by using mouse
19. Convert e-mail to event
20. Convert e-mail to task
21. Drag and drop of attachments
22. HTML based e-mail writing
23. Attachment of WWW hyperlinks
24. Publish integrated calendar events/tasks
25. Automatic collection of e-mail addresses

--
Jean

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