Re: RTFM Was: M-x goto-line binding

[Jari Aalto+mail.emacs]

* Sun 2001-01-07 Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> mail.emacs
| In general, the idea of making Emacs's defaults better for new users
| is a good one.  After all, experienced users can handle the job
| of changing the defaults.

Yes, that what I was after.

| However, the specific idea of using text mode for the initial buffer
| is not really good for beginner users, and would actually encourage
| bad usage habits for those who don't know any better.  That is why we
| have not done this change years ago.
| 
| The point is that you should not type any important text into the
| Emacs *scratch* buffer.  Instead you should visit a file and type the
| text into the file buffer.

I agree that the name could be "*scratch*", with surrounding asterisks.
But how do you feel about changing the non-intimidating lisp-mode, where
lisp probably is not the think users does first?

Even if he starts writing in *scratch*, he may want to press TAB 
and wonder why it does not "tab" forward. Some users start Emacs just
to record something and keep this "clipboard" for copying the text
elswhere and making notes. They do't even necessarily 
associate it to any file.

A text-mode might be a better start mode for the buffer.

| I put the current initial message into the *scratch* buffer to help
| discourage using it for typing in some text.

If you still decide to keep the buffer as lisp, at least for now,
please place standard lisp comment markers ";; " to the beginning of
initial message.

Jari

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