Re: How to make Emacs popular again.

[Stefan Monnier]

> I understand the general issue with using services, but in this case
> the server just sends the description of a word taken from a
> dictionary.  Aren't we a tad too radical, perhaps even extreme, in
> this case?

FWIW, I tend to agree: the main reason for using a server is to avoid
having to *store* a local copy of all the dictionaries you might want
to use.  So I see it more like a remote storage than a remote service.

I do value highly having offline access to such info, which is why
I have local copies of some dictionaries, but I think this is more
a practical matter than an ethical one.

This said, it is a slippery slope and given the general current context
where we move every time more in the direction of relying on external
servers that are not under the control of the user, I do think we should
be careful not to encourage the use of such remote servers.

> It's not like the server calculates something that could
> be subverted by a server we don't control.

OTOH, there can be definite value in collecting the set of queries
a particular user performs.

> And how is it different from the command we have that queries an
> Internet search engine (M-s M-w)?

Indeed, the difference is fairly small (tho there's a clear practical
difference in that it's unrealistic to run your own search engine).

> Or from asking an SMTP server to send an email message?

That is quite different, since the whole purpose is to send a message
elsewhere, so there's just no way you could do it locally.


        Stefan