Re: Auto Fill Comments

[Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>]

> Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 at 11:15 PM
> From: "Michael Heerdegen" <michael_heerdegen@web.de>
> To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> Subject: Re: Auto Fill Comments
>
> Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com> writes:
>
> > Agreed.  But telling users that one does not work for them is
> > excessive, to say the least.
>
> Taking care of this manual is excessive.  I have much respect for
> the work Eli is doing.
>
> You can never write a manual that fits everyone's expectations.  It fits
> mine quite well.  Yours not, obviously.
>
> But guess you are working on that manual over years, for thousands of
> hours probably.  Say, 90% of people like it, and 10 % don't like it.
> What you get is that these 90% post, "hey, I've read that manual, it was
> great" and eh - no, ehm, they say... nothing, you seldom hear from them;
> and 10% don't like it and are frustrated and tell you it sucks, please
> rewrite.  They didn't really read it and don't really know what they are
> talking about because they can't estimate what it covers and why.
>
> And if you ask for help everybody is suddenly quiet.

Yes, that can be problematic.  I am the founder of an Official
Gnu Package myself.  So I'm not here just to rant.  I will write
an emacs lisp manual for users who know some lisp and would like
something to chew on that they can manage.  Somehow, freedom
respecting software must became part of formal work.  The fact
that after all these years it has not means we are basically doing
things wrong.  Yet, on the International Space Station, it has became
formal work.  I know because I worked with the Solar Dynamics
Observatory back in 2010 and now in Submarine Surveillance.

> I would be pissed
> off.  I don't know where Eli's motivation comes from.
>
> Michael.
>
>
>