RE: Emacs terminology (not again!?) [was: Apologia for bzr]

[Drew Adams]

> Beyond trying to remember, using current terminology is sends
> the message that Emacs is old, stubborn, and crufty, which is a
> problem when trying to introduce new users to Emacs.

No, it does not.  If Emacs were invented from scratch today, it
would still need its own jargon.  Some of the particulars would
no doubt be different, but Emacs would still stand apart in both
behavior and terminology.

Emacs happens to be old.  And it happens to be different.
Being different does not send a message that Emacs is old, or
stubborn, or crufty.  Being old means that it is, well, old.
But that too does not send a message that it is stubborn or
crufty.

You are sending that message, by proposing that the terminology
be updated etc.  Someone new to Emacs and aware of this kind of
discussion can be forgiven for getting the mistaken impression
that Emacs behavior is just the same as other apps but the
terminology is out-of-date and so makes learning it unnecessarily
difficult.  That's the wrong message entirely - quite misleading.

The right takeaway for a new user is that learning Emacs is
learning something new and different - it is not your momma's
editor.  And it rightfully has its own terminology, which you
had better learn also.

The Greek philosopher Proclus records that when Ptolemy asked
if there wasn't perhaps an easier way to learn Emacs than Emacs,
Euclid replied, "Sire, there is no royal road to Emacs."