Re: Upcoming merge of adaptive-wrap

[Po Lu <luangruo@yahoo.com>]

Dmitry Gutov <dmitry@gutov.dev> writes:

> Yeah, actually it could be a worthwhile addition. We have commands
> like package-menu-filter-by-description, but what they're actually
> filter by is the one-line summary, nor the full description from
> Commentary. This would require certain changes in the package
> archives, since currently those descriptions are fetched separately
> on-demand.

I won't object to this, but a feature yet to exist should not figure in
our judgement of the package list's usefulness.

> I imagine the adaptive-wrap package will be removed from ELPA sooner
> or later. We might as well discuss the tradeoffs.

There are no plans to remove it from ELPA, since users who don't upgrade
to Emacs 30 won't receive visual-wrap.

> This is another example where the user is supposed to recognize the
> feature by its short summary, right? "Visual Wrap Prefix Mode".
>
> A the "tooltip describing its function" is
>
>   Display continuation lines with visual context-dependent prefix
>
> If you think it describes it well, seems like a good package summary?

Obviously, it's insufficient for users to immediately conclude that it
is the option that satisfies their wishes, but it is easily located and
evaluated, as the number of surrounding menu items is small.

>   Use this command and search the list for keywords
>
> vs
>
>   Open one of these big books and look for the thing you wanted
>
> I wonder what would be considered easier (people go and Google instead).

Nothing on the splash screen suggests the manual is "one of these big
books", or that searching within the manual will be impossible, as it is
in a book.  Nor was my question answered.

> Your group seems to have some particular qualities that go across most
> of my experience, and those experiences I've seen conveyed on the
> web. Perhaps it has to do something with the particular ecosystem (it
> is a company which has SunOS installed somewhere, right?).
>
> The packages list even has a specific feature that highlights the
> packages that have been added recently (since your last viewing). All
> in the name of discovery. And I've taken advantage of it many times
> myself.

Going forward, it would serve you well not to dismiss my experiences on
the basis of backhanded preconceptions of the individuals with whom I
interact.  My words were "instant messenger group", not "my
organization's group", and they were meant literally.

> These seem like words for additional context, but not the terms for
> describing the thing to search for. Or I misunderstand something.

Users whose requirements are best met by adaptive-wrap will search for
text editing concepts it affects, not the precise function of the
package, which they do not understand concretely enough to frame in
words.