Re: Scratch buffer annoyance

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

   > This new behavior is just annoying.
   >
   > Everybody knows what *scratch* means. Why would someone want to
   > save things in scratch? Or why would they put important things in
   > *scratch* in the first place?

   Then the new behavior is not the right solution to a real problem.

   People clearly do not know what "*scratch*" means, which isn't
   surprising, considering that it behaves differently from virtually
   every other text editing interface out there (they'll ask you if
   you want to save unsaved work before exiting).

I sent the following suggestion, which I think is a very good solution
to the problem, but nobody commented on it.

>From ams Sat Jun 23 20:58:50 +0200 2007
From: "Alfred M. Szmidt" <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
CC: address@hidden, address@hidden, address@hidden,
        address@hidden, address@hidden, address@hidden
In-reply-to: <address@hidden> (message from Richard
        Stallman on Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:27:00 -0400)
Subject: Re: A wish, a plea
Reply-to: address@hidden
References: <address@hidden> <address@hidden>
        <address@hidden> <address@hidden>
        <address@hidden> <address@hidden>
        <address@hidden> <address@hidden>
        <address@hidden> <address@hidden>

       Making *scratch* or even something like *unnamed* readonly would
       pretty much defeat its intent.

   The principal intent of *scratch* is to be the current buffer when
   Emacs starts up.  Secondarily, it provides a place to enter notes you
   don't want to save, and eval Lisp expressions.  Making it read-only,
   so you need to type C-x C-q before inserting anything, would not spoil
   the principal intent.  It would slightly inconvenience the secondary
   intent, but that MIGHT be worth while in exchange for making it less
   likely to lose data.

Wouldn't it be smarter to make the initial splash screen the current
buffer when Emacs starts instead?  It would make sense for that to be
read-only, and when one does C-x C-q, it could for example clear it
and toggle the read-only status of the buffer (with a brief note in
the initial splash screen that one can do C-x C-q to convert it into a
"scratch" buffer).

Currently the initial splash screen vanishes really quickly, if you
try to do anything it will vanish.  You cannot copy the URL to the
guided Emacs tour, for example.  If it was the current buffer that
didn't vanish (like *scratch*), then this wouldn't happen.