bug#1305: Please disable the audible bell by default, to avoid discouraging newbies in crowded offices and elsewhere

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

>> By default, Emacs makes an audible beep every time the user makes an
>> error.  It would be great if you could please change the default either:
>> 1.  To not make any audible or visible bell when the user makes an
>> error.  (This would be best.)
> Many other GUI applications beep under some circumstances that need
> user attention.

Actually, in my experience it's very rare for "modern" GUI applications
to beep.

>> B.  Most apps beep only when something very bad happens.  But Emacs
>> beeps even upon minor mistakes like scrolling past end of buffer, or
>> pressing an unassigned key.  It even beeps on non-mistakes like
>> pressing C-g.  The amount of beeping may make users uncomfortable.

> Maybe we should simply revisit the places where we bitch-at-user, and
> remove the beep from some of them.

> But I don't see anything bad in beeping under extreme circumstances,
> and don't support disabling it entirely.

I agree on the principle to beep in extreme circumstances, but since
these are rare (by definition of "extreme"), we should probably attack
from the other side: use the visible-bell by default, and add a new
function that does an actual beep (additionally to the visual bell) and
then try and find the few places where it's warranted.

>> You might say, "But if not for the beep, users won't notice errors".
>> No.  They will notice.  Human eyes notice significant onscreen changes
>> (perhaps 3 words or more) easily.

> The problem is, without the beep, the screen sometimes does not change
> at all.  And that is BAD, from the HE point of view, at least IMO.

That sounds like a bug to me.  In which circumstances does the
visible-bell fail to work?


        Stefan