RE: Is Emacs very alive, active and improving?

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> You always tell me I should report all problems as bugs.

No, I do *not* tell you or anyone else that.

Use your *judgment*.  If *you* think something is not as it could be
& should be in Emacs, then *you* can think about whether or not *you*
might want to make an enhancement request or report a bug.  That's
the point.

I only point out to people that `report-emacs-bug' is one way (a
good way; a recommended and expected way) to communicate change
requests to Emacs Dev.

> I don't think that is a good attitude, I rather examine how to fix
> the problem myself.  So you don't need to repeat that all the time.

Good for you.  You are a big boy now; it's clear.

But I am not trying to help only you, Emanuel.  I have found that
reminding readers of this list of the possibility of reporting to
Emacs Dev can be helpful - for Emacs and for Emacs users generally.

IOW, for me it is not just about getting you an answer to your
little problem.  If what I say happens to help you too, so much the
better.

> Only if I find really obvious bugs, I'll report them, and
> you don't need to tell me to.

I don't need to read or reply to your emails at all.  I reply
to messages when I think what I have to say might help someone.
It's not about you.

> I stopped go on and on about the mouse, remember?  So relax. 
> But I appreciate the other info you provided. Or, put it like
> this: Thanks for the -- help.

You're welcome.  Now, because Emacs is a self-documenting editor,
you can also *just ask Emacs*.  That's the point in pointing people
to the doc instead of just providing an answer: learn to fish.
Emacs is a fertile fishing ground.

My recommendation - for anyone - is to ask Emacs first (e.g., check
doc and source code).  Ask `help-gnu-emacs', or stack overflow, or
whatever else only after asking Emacs itself.

In the long run, doing that will be the most helpful, IMHO.  Emacs
knows more and usually explains better, when it comes to questions
about Emacs.

(Yes, asking Emacs can be harder for someone for whom English is
not so easy.  And yes, anyone is free to ignore my advice and ask
a help list first - no problem.)