Fwd: Re: Changes for emacs 28

[Göktuğ Kayaalp]

[ I’ve originally sent this reply using the reply button on the web
  interface, so it probably ended up as a private reply.  Sending it
  again to the mailing list, hopefully will end up showing up under the
  correct subthread.  Sorry if this somehow inconveniences anybody]

On 2020-09-08 19:22 +03, Göktuğ Kayaalp <self@gkayaalp.com> wrote:
>> The post actually started not for adding new features, but just to
>> change some of our defaults. Actually one thing I don't like about
>> doom or spacemacs is the excessive complexity they add and long
>> configuration sets.
>
> Changing defaults is a new feature, an almost definitely breaking one.
>
>> When I recommend Emacs to any of my students; after a week trying it
>> they finally go for VSCode or sublime and they get the work done in an
>> hour.
>
> And that’s a _very_ healthy thing: let them learn stuff using simpler,
> easier solutions.  Let them explore for themselves.  If they feel the
> need for an extensible editor that is free software, they’ll come to
> Emacs, or Vim, or similar.  And frankly, that "similar" category
> includes VSCode, because it’s damn good at what it does, and a
> legitimate tool for any programmer.
>
> If your students are going for VSCode, tho, one thing you might want to
> do is to direct them to VSCodium instead.  Same thing, no telemetry.
>
>> Actually as mentioned before, the existence of doom emacs, spacemacs
>> and all the other configs (some of them more popular than vanilla
>> these days) is a proof.
>
> Of what, exactly? IMO, it’s a proof that Emacs attracts a diverse
> community of users, and that Emacs provides a good platform to satisfy
> the needs of these users.  IMO, that something like Doom or Spacemacs
> can / does exist is a proof that Emacs is doing something _right_:
> provide a stable, solid, and extensible base for a variety of
> experiences.
>
>
> I concur with every single word of Yoni’s post.  As I said in another
> email, chasing pretend users is a fruitless endeavour that’ll also annoy
> the hell out of your actual users.  If people aren’t coming to your
> project for what you already have, it’s a _very_ unhealthy situation.
> Breakage now implies more breakage later.  Nobody wants software that
> "breaks the userland".  "Never break the userland".


--
İ. Göktuğ Kayaalp / @cadadr / <https://www.gkayaalp.com/>
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