From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: David Rogers Subject: Re: Org Tutorials need more structure Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:34:17 -0700 Message-ID: <87bo38hgs6.fsf@gmail.com> References: <20130928103048.GO12411@kuru.dyndns-at-home.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:42713) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VR6eN-0007Js-PO for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:34:40 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VR6eF-00051W-Bl for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:34:31 -0400 Received: from mail-pa0-x236.google.com ([2607:f8b0:400e:c03::236]:60270) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VR6eF-00051O-4j for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:34:23 -0400 Received: by mail-pa0-f54.google.com with SMTP id kx10so14182pab.13 for ; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:34:21 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <20130928103048.GO12411@kuru.dyndns-at-home.com> (Suvayu Ali's message of "Sat, 28 Sep 2013 12:30:48 +0200") List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org Suvayu Ali writes: > Hi Joseph, > > On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 09:22:02AM +0200, Joseph Vidal-Rosset wrote: >> >> Example: I am presently mainly interested to see if it is possible to use >> gnus to write a scientific letter with all conveniences of texlive. Of >> course I can open a tex file with letter class and send to my colleague a >> pdf file. But it would be more convenient to write an email and using >> conversions to html and png images to send to him directly this email. I >> guess it is possilbe to do it with gnus. But the documentation is esoteric: >> I hear about links, but how it works concretly with example understanble by >> a newby ... mystery. It is therefore frustrating and quickly discouraging. > > Your example is not beginner's tutorial at all! Nor is it something > that the manual can cover. For esoteric/specific needs like this > "advanced tutorials" are more appropriate. Part of this situation, part of what can be improved about the tutorials, is that a beginner cannot know whether his request belongs in a beginner's tutorial or not. Beginners cannot know ahead of time what's hard and what's easy, and beginners often wonder "Can it do that amazing thing I've been wishing I could do?" when they see a piece of software that's new to them. Face it - Org-mode is ALREADY esoteric in itself, so it's quite reasonable that beginners will continue to expect it to be able to do esoteric things that don't happen to be the ones that are already easy - unless there's a convenient way for them to find out. -- David R