bug#26024: Help with download...

[Stefan Kangas]

Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> writes:

> FWIW I think the point here is that "here's the ftp server, you figure
> out which file you need" is now archaic. The new thing is A Big
> Button that you press that defaults to the "right" file for you, and a
> small "other versions" link. See eg firefox.com.
>
> Also, one normally skips to the end to get the latest version, but on
> ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/windows, "emacs-25.1-2" sorts before "emacs-25.1",
> which doesn't help.
>
> Perhaps MS Windows users are additionally confused to not get an .exe
> file that they Just Click to start installing. There's a 200 line README
> file that explains what to do, but no-one reads the README. :)

It seems like there are some basic instructions in place here now:

    https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#nonfree

But perhaps the Windows link should simply point to the latest available
zip file, with a link to the FTP server saying "you can find old
versions here".  Someone would need to be in charge of updating that
link when a new Windows version is uploaded.

Presumably the best candidate would be Philipp, who is in charge of
releasing Emacs for Windows.  So I guess this comes down to what Philipp
thinks about this, and if updating such a link is something he is
willing to take on.