Re: Trying to find the status of auto-fill-mode in a buffer

[Michael Heerdegen]

Robert Pluim <rpluim@gmail.com> writes:

> I just meant that someone starting out with Emacs is unlikely to
> understand what is meant by it (unless theyʼre already versed in
> lisp). So 'value' is probably best, but if we change the text to say
> "look at the value of the variable auto-fill-function", we will then
> get "How do I do that?" :-) (and not everyone realises you can click
> on the variable name or press RET on it)

I see it a bit differently: the current wording in this case uses an
artificial, unnatural language, like "to find out how many people came
to the party, evaluate `3'".  That's also why it's unnecessarily
confusing.

"Value" is something I would avoid, especially in this context where
buffer local bindings are involved.  "Binding of VAR" is a wording we
use all over the place, for example in the manual.  One can could look
it up.  To understand what is going on one has to be a bit familiar with
the basic concepts (like buffer local bindings) anyway, so I see no
reason not to use the language associated with these concepts.

And this sentence is not there to answer all questions.  We just should
avoid directing people in a wrong direction.

Michael.