Re: "Why is emacs so square?"

[Bob Newell]

> I don't really know the answer, but I'd like to remind all of us that
> there's a lot of "propaganda" out there telling everyone to turn off
> GUI features such as the menu bar and the tool bar.  The network is
> full of personal init files that "proudly" do that, and forums like
> Reddit are full of such advice to every newbie who asks about
> configuring their Emacs.

Well, I certainly turn all that stuff off, but I've been using Emacs
for decades, and I'm comfortable enough now (and I also use Helm). In
earlier days I definitely made good use of the toolbar and menus. They
were not especially pretty (that didn't concern me), but they helped
me learn much more quickly.

I would, however, /never/ recommend to a newbie to turn off the menu
bar etc. You should only get to Emacs "minimalism" (a) after a long
enough time to be quite comfortable and (b) if it suits your style of
work.

-- 
Bob Newell
Honolulu, Hawai`i

Via Linux/Emacs/Gnus/BBDB.