Re: usability problem of emacs describe-mode

["B. T. Raven" <nihil@nihilo.net>]

Xah Lee wrote:
> Xah Lee wrote:
> • Usability Problems Of Emacs's Mode Documentation
>  http://xahlee.org/emacs/modernization_mode_doc.html
> 
> On Feb 24, 9:41 am, "B. T. Raven" <ni...@nihilo.net> wrote:
>> Did you look at Andreas' defun?
> 
> The issue is a criticism, not about how can i do this or that.

I was going to say, I'll take that as a no, but I see that you have 
responded to his posting, after a fashion.

> 
> imagine Roger Ebert gives 2 thumbs down on a movie, and you say: “why
> don't you watch other movies instead?”.

Metaphors be with you, Luke.

> 
>> There is a constant tension between an application's power and usability
>> and the default behavior of Emacs seems to me to manage the
>> combinatorial explosion of functionalities better than what you have
>> proposed, with a few exceptions.
> 
> You have to give reasons Raven.

No, I only have to give testimony. You said that an Emacs feature that I 
had never bothered with before was "really unusable." After spending 5 
or 10 minutes with it I find that it is eminently usable, but maybe not 
by your fictional novice user who has experience only with MS Windows 
programs. Who cares? What's the point of nitpicking over Emacs minutiae? 
Creative people who aren't satisfied with the way Emacs handles certain 
tasks don't endlessly whine about it; they make something, which, if the 
powers that be think can be elegantly incorporated into a future 
version, is seamlessly added. Instead you sound like you want to stage a 
coup or something after your sowing of discontent reaches a critical mass.

> 
> Let's focus on this issue, let's not generalized or philosophize.

The issue is still so murky that the only sensible thing to do is 
philosophize until we know what we are talking about.

> 

>   Xah
> ∑ http://xahlee.org/
> 
> ☄