Re: delete-selection-mode

[Lennart Borgman]

On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 2:26 PM, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> Lennart Borgman <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 10:23 AM, Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden> wrote:
>>
>>> You and a few others, so as to save a single key easy press (<del> or
>>> C-w) want to heap massive inconvenience on others.
>>
>> Not a few. All non-Emacs users (and they are a majority) are used to
>> that typing a character when text is selected will replace a visible
>> region/selection.
>
> So can we please return to the discussion how delete-selection-mode can
> be made to better fit with Emacs' handling of the mark?

Yes. I can of course not propose any details there since I am using
cua-mode to be closer to other applications. My interest is in getting
Emacs close to other applications - without disturbing or destroying
those possibilities Emacs have.

However getting Emacs closer to other apps is in my opinion the most
important. So I am interested in those suggestions that moves a bit
further in that direction.

> Emacs' default settings should reflect a coherent whole that can be used
> without the user needing circumventive measures between one part of the
> keybindings and another.

Yes. And by not using standard from other editing environment this has
becoming more and more difficult.

> As long as any attempt to achieve that is sabotaged, I am not in support
> of "giving in" to the demands for more "standard" behavior.

We are all struggling with this. It is difficult. It is not sabotage.

> One important metric for me is that when handing Emacs to a person
> previously not exposed to computers, every question about Emacs' default
> behavior can be answered without "it's inconvenient, but people are used
> to it from other applications".

Hm. Excuse me but this is a bit amusing. (Mostly because it reminds me
of other areas where similar claims have been made and grossly
disturbs the scientific knowledge in that area.)

Where do you find those? Why is it important?

Please notice that I (probably) do understand what you are trying say.
What I am asking you about is a creative merge of what you said above
and the current situation.

>> Don't you think the way to go is to make suggestions that can both
>> move us towards the common defaults and do what you think is best for
>> old-timers?
>
> Currently, any such suggestion is shouted down and not being discussed.

That is not by intention, at least not by me.