Re: Basic orgmode tutorial

[Dan Davison <davison@stats.ox.ac.uk>]

Russell Adams <RLAdams@adamsinfoserv.com> writes:

> Carsten,
>
> I discussed this with a few users off an on.
>
> In the manual there are items required to setup org, keybindings, etc.
>
> The idea would be to include:
>
>  - An Agenda file, which loads by default
>  - Init file which
>    - Preconfigured keybindings
>    - Remember keybinding for basic todo to agenda file
>    - Configured auto-mode-alist
>    - Recommended Global key maps

I think this sort of approach, perhaps as part of an org-mode emacs
distribution, sounds like a very good idea.

>
> They are all basic items to an experienced emacs user, but a new user
> doesn't understand why they have to go edit the config file and make
> changes. Their emphasis is on they want to run "Org-mode", not "Emacs
> with Org-mode".

Yes, exactly. I want to counter some of the recent pessimism on this
topic. Org-mode is very attractive to people in its own right, and as it
happens it is implemented in emacs. I know one person who has used
org-mode constantly for a couple of years now, purely for the agenda and
todo lists, without ever aquiring any ability or interest in using emacs
per se. She knows the keys to change TODO states, set timestamps and
call up the agenda and that was all that was needed. Although only
scraping the surface of what org-mode can do, the fact that someone who
otherwise only uses MS Word and firefox is still using org-mode after
two years says something *extremely* positive about org-mode.

So I don't think it is true that org-mode is hard to learn, *once* it is
configured. And I don't think it's true that org-mode users have to know
anything about emacs. Certainly I don't think org-mode newbies should go
anywhere near the emacs tutorial (I don't use any of those navigation
commands, what on Earth's wrong with up, down, left, right, page down
etc?[3])

That also brings up the question of org-CUA-compatible -- would that be
set in this putative newbie org configuration?

Regarding the idea of an org-specific emacs distribution, the Emacs
Speaks Statistics (ESS) project is in a similar situation in that many
of its new users come to it not having used emacs previously. On their
download page[1], they link to an easy-to-set-up Emacs installation for
Windows and OS X maintained by Vincent Goulet[2] which is kept
up-to-date with the current version of ESS.

So what I am saying is that org-mode is sufficiently attractive that we
should expect non-emacs users to be attracted to it, and that we should
be optimistic about the ability of such people to start using
org-mode. And that yes, we need to work on the configuration for them.

Dan

Footnotes:

[1] http://ess.r-project.org/index.php?Section=download

[2] http://vgoulet.act.ulaval.ca/en/ressources/emacs/

[3] Maybe it makes more sense if you can touch type, something which is
common among college-educated people in the USA but not in the UK.

>
> Perhaps an install script which sets the file association for .org in
> whatever OS they are installing to. Option icon to load straight to
> agenda view...
>
> Just a few idea that have been bantered around, I suspect all of those
> could be performed with a script as opposed to redistributing emacs.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 11:52:41AM +0100, Carsten Dominik wrote:
>> Hi Russel,
>>
>> this is also a valuable idea.  There are two avenues in this direction.
>>
>> 1. Make the org-mode defaults already set all this stuff up.
>>
>> 2. Offer a blind set of configurations and tell users,
>>    if you don' know nothing yet, use these.
>>
>>
>> In either case, what would the improved defaults be that
>> help beginners get a better start?
>>
>> - Carsten
>>
>> On Mar 23, 2010, at 11:07 PM, Russell Adams wrote:
>>
>>> The idea of a tutorial is great, but has anyone considered a
>>> pre-configured out-of-the-box Org customized Emacs distribution?
>>>
>>> I've had to help several new users get things like basic agenda, emacs
>>> initialization, and remember templates setup and it seemed very
>>> repetitive.
>>>
>>> The Emacs learning curve really holds back Org adoption in that sense,
>>> they can't just open Emacs and use Org immediately as anything other
>>> than an outline editor.
>>>
>>> Perhaps just a script to enact default customizations, that the
>>> tutorial could then build upon?
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 07:59:11PM +0100, Alexander Poslavsky wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> lately there is some talk about a basic org-mode tutorial. Something 
>>>> simpler then the documentation, that will help a person new to emacs 
>>>> and org-mode start using org. I would like to put the following on 
>>>> worg, if people would think something like this would fit the bill. 
>>>> What do you think? If the response is positive then I would add more 
>>>> chapters to it.
>>>>
>>>> greetings,
>>>>
>>>> alex
>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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>>
>> - Carsten
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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>
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