Re: Default Emacs keybindings

[Miles Bader]

On Mon, May 03, 2004 at 09:32:47AM +0200, Kim F. Storm wrote:
> Why insist on teaching (in the tutorial) new emacs users (which I bet
> don't have a HH keyboard) to use bindings which you just admitted are
> NOT convenient to use with today's standard keyboard layout.  

It's not a boolean.

emacs-bindings + proper-keyboard  >  emacs-bindings  >  standard-bindings

> If those bindings are only superior in a special setup, why waste time
> teaching/learning them?  That time would be better spent on teaching some
> of the _useful_ features of emacs.

In the case of the particular bindings under discussion -- arrow keys
vs. C-f &c., the emacs keys are better bindings even with a suboptimal
control-key placement, because the arrow keys are enormous lose
efficiency-wise.

Whether they are sufficiently important to discuss first in the tutorial [*],
I have no idea, but those bindings are useful, and I think a good thing to
teach.

[*] Historically they were, because often users didn't have any arrow keys!
    Obviously this is not true anymore.

-Miles
-- 
A zen-buddhist walked into a pizza shop and
said, "Make me one with everything."