RE: Summary and next steps for (package-initialize)

[Drew Adams]

> > There could be a link (and perhaps keybinding) on the splash
> > screen/tutorial, where Emacs could ask the user a few questions and
> > create an init file for the user. Possible questions include:
> >
> > Would you like this file in ~/ or ~/.emacs.d (.emacs vs init.el)?
> >
> > Would you like to change some defaults? (This could help out with the
> > (IMO correct) notion that Emacs has some poor defaults while leaving
> > those alone for users that don't use this template.)
> >
> > Would you like to use a separate file for `custom-file'?
> >
> > Would you like to set up the package system?
> >
> > I believe that this would be a step forward in accommodating new users.
> 
> This amounts to asking the new user to perform customization up front.
> A new user will not have enough knowledge to answer these questions.
> Further, he or she may feel intimidated and choose a different editor,
> one that works out of the box.
> 
> It is better to have reasonably sane defaults and let the user
> customize when he or she is ready.

+1 - what Yuri said.

And this is not just about new users.  Such an interrogation
is not friendly for new or old users, even if old users might
have a better chance of understanding what is meant.

There must be a way to make package.el behavior failsafe,
simple, and without gotchas, for users.  That should be
the goal.

Whether that can be done in a backward-compatible way is,
IMHO, less important than making sure the new behavior is
solid.

Using the package system should be opt-in, and it should
be simple and unintimidating.

(Just one opinion.)