RE: Emacs Windows barebin distribution

[Drew Adams]

> > Would it be possible to check the access logs to see how many people
> > actually download the barebin files?
> 
> Since I wrote the mail to which you responded, 7 months have passed
> and no one complained.  I think by now it should be clear that no one
> needs this.

No.  Bad reasoning.  Such silence does not at all make that clear.

1. I do not need/use barebin's, myself (to be clear).

2. Poll the _users_, as Richard so often requests in vain.  It means next to
nothing to wait 7 months and not hear any objection on the Emacs _development_
list.  This list does not represent a reasonable cross section of Emacs _users_.

3. Matthias's suggestion is the best approach, assuming it can be done.
Certainly the number of users who actually download barebins is an even more
accurate indication of the need than a user poll would be.

But my reason for chiming in here is to object to the point of view that a
7-month silence on the emacs-devel list is a good indication of what users want
or need.  That's, well, just silly.  And parochial.

Emacs is for its users, not for its developers.  That's the right attitude for
its developers to have, and it's the attitude that will give its developers the
most satisfaction in the long run.

Yes, Emacs has the advantage that many of its users also help develop it, and
its developers are also users.  But there are many other users out there, on
beyond emacs-devel.  And that includes users who download development versions
of the product.