Re: Enabling Transient Mark Mode by default

[Sascha Wilde]

Bastien <address@hidden> wrote:
> Stefan Monnier <address@hidden> writes:
>> For people who use the mark(s) for navigational purposes, pushing the
>> mark is an operation comparable to saving point to a register.
>> So the fact that TMM starts to highlight the text between that mark and
>> point is just a hassle.
>
> What about this:
>
>   C-SPC  set the mark and temporarily turn on Transient Mark mode
>     C-@  only sets the mark
>
> C-SPC C-SPC would be used to temporarily negate transient-mark-mode.
> (For now it does not *negate* it, it turns it on temporarily.)

Veto.

I think the current behavior is quite convenient and fits the needs of
those who don't want a permanent transient-mark-mode best.

> The benefits of such a small change would be:
>
> - for the ordinary use of the mark (C-SPC), it is a bit like setting
>   transient-mark-mode on by default;

And therefor for people like me it wouldn't be a benefit but an
obstacle.

> - it makes a clear distinction between using the mark for navigating
>   purposes (C-@) and using the mark for selecting and highlighting a
>   region (C-SPC);
> - people could use C-SPC or C-@ depending on what they locally need, 
>   not on the basis of some unsteady global preference.

This is clearly a change to the worse.  The old semantics are perfectly
good, they differ from what users of nowadays GUI-editors expect, but
they are perfectly consistent and highly usable.  Please don't change
them!  (FWIW C-@ is even harder to type than C-SPC)

cheers
sascha
-- 
Sascha Wilde
"Structure is _nothing_ if it is all you got.  Skeletons _spook_ people if
 thwy try to walk around on their own.  I really wonder why XML does
 not."            -- Erik Naggum <address@hidden> in comp.lang.lisp