RE: Transient Mark Mode on by default

[Drew Adams]

> I have to state that I'm very skeptical about that "new users"
> argument.

I agree. Such an argument can only go so far, and it needs context.

> Granted: it will help people coming from usual gui-driven
> editors to "feel at home" -- but on the other hand I suspect that many
> of this "oh I know this" features prevent new users from learning the
> "Emacs way" of things, which IMNSHO is at least worth knowing it.
> 
> Further more, I recall from my newbie times, that being forced to look
> at the manual for some rather basic features I expected from an editor
> like Emacs to have, actually helped me, as it made me come across some
> of the less obvious features early.
> 
> In short: a user who quickly believes to know how an elaborated tool
> works is likely to miss something important.

I agree.

Personally, I'm in favor of TMM mode or delete-selection mode as the default
because I feel they are (1) close to what newbies are used to, but also (2) good
for many (most?) experienced users as well. 

It is #2 that makes me not be in favor of CUA selection mode or PC selection
mode as the default: my impression is that TMM and delete-selection mode fit the
rest of Emacs better. (I am no expert on the various selection modes, however.)

We should hold out a hand to newbies, but we should also nudge them along the
path to some of the best ways of doing things with Emacs. We should not just
emulate inferior environments that newbies might be used to. We can disagree
about some of those "best ways" to use Emacs, but we might also agree about
some.