From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Alan Mackenzie Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Honoring traditional defaults - how to do it. [was: Transient Mark Mode on bydefault] Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:12:45 +0000 Message-ID: <20080331211245.GA5911@muc.de> References: <87myopnj0l.fsf@stupidchicken.com> <874pavg45t.fsf@uwakimon.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp> <004d01c88e01$0f93b8f0$c2b22382@us.oracle.com> <20080325213859.GB1641@muc.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1206997175 6355 80.91.229.12 (31 Mar 2008 20:59:35 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:59:35 +0000 (UTC) Cc: stephen@xemacs.org, paul r , drew.adams@oracle.com, emacs-devel@gnu.org To: Richard Stallman Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Mar 31 23:00:06 2008 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1JgR6n-0005sM-TJ for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:00:04 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1JgR64-0005Qx-VL for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:59:17 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1JgR4C-0004CB-T8 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:57:20 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1JgR4B-0004BD-BZ for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:57:20 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1JgR4A-0004B7-Qp for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:57:18 -0400 Original-Received: from colin.muc.de ([193.149.48.1] helo=mail.muc.de) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS-1.0:DHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1:32) (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1JgR48-00071k-TY for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:57:18 -0400 Original-Received: (qmail 14676 invoked by uid 3782); 31 Mar 2008 20:57:06 -0000 Original-Received: from acm.muc.de (p57AF5931.dip.t-dialin.net [87.175.89.49]) by colin2.muc.de (tmda-ofmipd) with ESMTP; Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:57:03 +0200 Original-Received: (qmail 6554 invoked by uid 1000); 31 Mar 2008 21:12:45 -0000 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.9i X-Delivery-Agent: TMDA/1.1.5 (Fettercairn) X-Primary-Address: acm@muc.de X-detected-kernel: by monty-python.gnu.org: FreeBSD 4.6-4.9 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:94067 Archived-At: 'Evening, Richard! On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 12:24:42PM -0400, Richard Stallman wrote: > > "You are running an Emacs configuration designed to be easy to > > _learn_. When you have become somewhat proficient in its use, > > you may wish to switch to a standard Emacs setup, which is > > optimised for ease of _use_ rather than ease of learning." > I like how you formulate the difference between ease of learn and > ease of use. > Making Emacs easier to learn is an improvement, in general. But what > use is there in having a different Emacs configuration which is easier > to learn, if it is not the recommended mode of use? It is useful if it makes it easier to get to the final result, getting there in two stages rather than going straight there - a bit like first teaching skiers to turn by skidding their skis on the snow, to give them confidence, then in the advanced classes getting them to edge their skis and get proper carved turns. > That seems like telling people a shortcut leading to somewhere other > than their destination. The "somewhere else" should be regarded as an intermediate stepping stone. -- Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).