RE: Issues with emacs

[Drew Adams]

> In those days it was completely natural to expect that somebody who
> used a computer read a manual.  Today thats a strange requirement
> to say the least.

And in those days more computer users programmed computers.  "Using a computer"
does not mean quite the same thing now, in general.

> Would a modern kid using a new phone/car expect to read a manual? The
> fact is they dont (whereas oldies like me struggle to find them :-) )

:-D  Indeed we do.

> And so you give them emacs along with a manual and they look at you
> funny.

Or as Henry Corentin put it here, "I don't want to spend time reading and
understanding how emacs works, through pages of documentation (even if it is
well written)!"

Giving the tendency you describe as a reason, there is some argument in the
technical documentation world to de-emphasize in-depth doc and instead emphasize
support for so-called "information snacking".  Tweet-doc, so to speak.

The argument is not just that users now want instant, short help (which would be
an addition, a plus), but that they do not, will not, or cannot read.

Or even that they do not need to or want to understand how something works.
Task-oriented doc can be aligned to this.  Instead of conceptual explanation of
how something works, provide (only) a list of common user tasks.

Did I hear "Gag!?"  On n'arrete pas le progres...

A propos, there was a program on (US) PBS recently about multi-tasking, and one
of the studies indicated that students nowadays (again, in the US) were still
writing more or less coherent paragraphs, but often those paragraphs were
unrelated - there was no overall coherent argument or thread in the student
compositions.  It was as if a single paragraph was the only degree of
composition they would or could muster.