Re: Emacs Newbie Info Pages

[Juergen Fenn <jfenn@gmx.net>]

Am 13.09.24 um 09:39 Uhr schrieb Summer Emacs:
>
> Well, since I keep hearing “Emacs is for everyone” and “Free software is
> for everyone”, I’m imagining some of my friends: people who use their
> phones and iPads, Tik Tok, iMessage, WhatsApp, and who don’t ever look
> at a computer unless they have to at work or in class. People like me
> who didn’t know how to do much of anything other than open a file, write
> in it, click a few buttons, and send it off in an Email. Those people.
> Regular people. People who don’t know what a function or a variable is.
> People who don’t know what a computer language is and think that your
> use of Emacs makes you a genius. My people. =) You know, “Everyone”
> that’s left  outside of the community. =)

Well, I taught people like your friends for some ten years how to use
computers. This worked out well because I am not a developer myself, but
I also struggle to get going with operating systems and applications.

You can explain to a newbie how to install, start, and work with Emacs.
But what you probably can't do is to convince someone who prefers mobile
apps to desktop systems that it would be better for him to use the
latter. Emacs and other fine pieces of software are not for people that
do not find its advantages to be obvious for all the world to see. When
I discovered Emacs sometime around 2000, it was love at first sight. :)

So, an introduction to Emacs and Emacs Lisp for the 21st century would
not mind to address the vast majority of mobile app users and preach
them to show repentance and to finally join the church of Emacs.

Rather, it would avoid the Emacs-specific vocabulary no one outside our
own bubble understands right away. It would use plain words that anyone
who knows how to use a computer understands anyway. And it would explain
some differences between platforms, such as what is Meta key on the Mac.
This isn't much, but it is probably where most new users fail.

YMMV.

If time permits, I could provide such an introduction for new Emacs
users on the Mac.

Regards,
Jürgen.