Re: Enabling Transient Mark Mode by default

[David Kastrup]

"Mathias Dahl" <address@hidden> writes:

>> IMO, defaults should be choosen, if possible, so the behavior is what
>> most new users would expect. An experienced user will research how to
>> deactivate something that he doesn't like. A newbie will perhaps just
>> give up.
>
> I agree, and this has happened to at least two colleagues, people I
> know would have liked Emacs if they just had hung in there a little
> longer.

How do you know that?

> I have been able to convince one of them that Emacs is the way to go
> by showing him some killer features, and he is now happily Emacsing
> along. The other colleague gave up when C-c/v/x did not do what he
> expected. He said he became to stressed when the app did not behave
> like he was used to, and he felt it interfered with his work.

Emacs would have behaved different from his expectations in a lot of
other respects, anyway.  And never being to tell what C-x is actually
going to do or why it does not work in one or the other manner just when
one expects it is not going to be the ultimate stress reducer, anyway.

> Anyway, I would not go as far as saying that CUA should be on by
> default, because I think that generates other problems. I guess my
> point is that a lot of people give up more easily today so good
> defaults are important.

People that give up easily will not work with complex software of any
kind, anyway.  We need to focus on our target clientele rather than
bothering to keep some people a few minutes longer.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum