Re: A proposal for a friendlier Emacs

[Jean Louis]

Configuration wizard is good for database setup, or network related setups, and 
situations where software as such is not usable without configuring it. Key me 
mention email software, it would be good to have such wizard for email or Gnus 
within Emacs. For connection to PostgreSQL it would be good as it would ask 
user fit username, hostname, ports, etc. For Tramp or for setting up some list 
of Tramp servers with some usernames and passwords it would make sense.

Emacs as such is usable without any configuration, thus wizard would do nothing 
good but irritate Emacs users, in my opinion, it would be programmer's 
capricious control over users, to force them to configure Emacs.

If beginner is considered new user, why a person new to Emacs should be forced 
to configure Emacs?! Especially if software functions as it is without any 
configuration. It is waste of time and would bring beginners into new 
misunderstandings. 

To include some general AI audio-video interactive assistant that helps with 
any function in Emacs, within Tutorial or outside, or to improve present 
describe- functions would be good, but not as force at first run.

In general it is bad to change the long standing policy that user need not have 
.emacs configuration, or to force the user to have such, and to undermine and 
tell the user and Emacs that such cannot be used without configuration.

Even worse is changing the established policy that Emacs launched without 
.emacs is run by beginners. Why would authors need to make such assumptions?

Is it established in the editor software in the world that if there is no 
editor configuration that user is beginner who need teaching on how to 
configure software that functions anyway fine without being configured? I don't 
think so and it is not logical.

We empower users by bringing better understanding to them and wizard idea is 
one such attempt, I just don't agree that it should be forced onto user by 
assuming that user is beginner who needs teaching if that person does not have 
Emacs configuration.

And myself I have used Emacs for years without any configuration and still use 
that way on 5 computers at home, and 4 servers on internet, and remote 
computers in other countries.