Re: Enhancements to options menu (was Re: Reveal mode)

[Thien-Thi Nguyen <ttn@glug.org>]

"Stefan Monnier" <monnier+gnu/emacs@RUM.cs.yale.edu> writes:

   I'm not sure whether those users were novices, but even if they were,
   that's not relevant.  My point is that fringes are good and if a
   novice removes them because she thinks she doesn't need them, she'll
   probably hit problems later on because of it.  We don't break Java's
   memory safety just because some novice Java programmers might ask
   "how do I do pointer arithmetic".

hmmm, you make it sound like turning off fringes incurs some kind of
threat to emacs' structural integrity or design, which would shock me if
it were true.  [insert console-freak rantings here.]

in any case, to get back on topic, i suggest looking at the "separate
demo program" approach when it comes to these kinds of "what should be
DEFAULT?" decisions.  emacs now has (more) mature network capabilities,
so might as well go all the way and define a "standard listener protocol
for configuration" to shift these questions to userland, where tastes
are properly fickle and fluid.

this way, even the configuration style can be user-configured (via
guile-gtk frontend, or sawfish, or dotfile generator, etc).  we would no
longer need to sketch a composite user to target, but let users describe
themselves (through their preferred way of expressing themselves).

in the end, the demo is maintained by users for themselves.  its
simplistic modeling of "preference" extends as users learn to program
more, to take advantage of its underlying expect(1)-nature (and API!).
all users participate in programming emacs.

demos can be a fine thing full of art and craft, with cool Change at its
core.  emacs as next p2p virus -- woo hoo!

thi