From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Carson Chittom Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: What's an even easier explanation how to setup gnus ... Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:58:27 -0500 Message-ID: <8761v9fp6k.fsf@abbey.wistly.net> References: <5i61va9u7p.fsf@fencepost.gnu.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1376416929 16360 80.91.229.3 (13 Aug 2013 18:02:09 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 18:02:09 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Aug 13 20:02:10 2013 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iv3-0007qR-Rq for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 20:02:09 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:46633 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iv3-0000t7-Ht for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:02:09 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:51833) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iuo-0000sh-6P for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:01:59 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iuh-0004ZY-Uh for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:01:54 -0400 Original-Received: from plane.gmane.org ([80.91.229.3]:41010) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iuh-0004ZF-Oc for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:01:47 -0400 Original-Received: from list by plane.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1V9Iug-0007Xl-5r for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 20:01:46 +0200 Original-Received: from adsl-108-131-107-160.jan.bellsouth.net ([108.131.107.160]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 20:01:46 +0200 Original-Received: from carson by adsl-108-131-107-160.jan.bellsouth.net with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Tue, 13 Aug 2013 20:01:46 +0200 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Original-Lines: 32 Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: adsl-108-131-107-160.jan.bellsouth.net User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.2 (berkeley-unix) Cancel-Lock: sha1:jZQjm++ulabUXWS76wK6t58e6Zc= X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 80.91.229.3 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:92856 Archived-At: Don Saklad writes: > Please explain the instructions for folks completely unfamiliar with > computers, for complete novices how to setup gnus... for example for > grandparents unfamiliar with computers. Absent some other compelling fact of which I am not currently aware, I don't think "grandparents unfamiliar with computers" should be using Gnus for mail. I don't say this from some elitist conviction that they should already know how to use it or any such nonsense. But Gnus' defining feature is its configurability, and therefore complexity: because it's so complex it's *hard* and you have to be able to read the instructions, by and large, to do much that's useful. Just to pick what is to me the obvious example, when you start Gnus by default it does not show you mail you've already read. To say that nearly all other email clients behave differently is not a complaint, just an observation that Gnus is more complicated. You cannot make these theoretical grandparents put up with an excess of complexity and still expect them to actually *use* the software, unless you're willing to act as technical support all the time; and even then the barrier may be unsurmountable. I've learned that you cannot (not should not, but *cannot*) make people accept complexity except to the extent to which they are willing. For nontechnical users like you posit, I would recommend either Thunderbird or, on a Microsoft platform, Windows Live Mail (or whatever they're calling it these days). Thunderbird in particular does a pretty good job of getting in the server info right just by putting in your email address in the initial startup wizard. Of course, if they're willing to read docs and spend some time, that's a different question altogether.