RE: configurable means hard? [was: ... easier explanation how to setup gnus ...]

[Drew Adams]

> For the record, I do believe that Gnus is "worse" (for lack of a better
> term) than Emacs as a whole.

Sounds like it, in terms of being new-user friendly at least.

> To maybe illustrate what I was getting at before, though, I conducted the
> following thought experiment:
> 
>         I pretended that I have never used Emacs, but I know that in
>         addition to editing text it can do many other things; and I am
>         seated at a machine on which it is installed.  I am a reasonably
>         intelligent person, who has some experience of computers on some
>         platform or platforms.  What questions occur to me just as I
>         browse through the menus?
> 
>         File
>         - Why do I have five print options, and what's the difference?
>         - Why when I click "New Window Below" do I not get a new window?
>
>         Edit
>         - What's a "face"?
> 
>         Tools
>         - Why do I read Net News with Gnus and send mail with Gnus
>           but *read* mail with RMAIL?
>         - Why doesn't encryption work?[1]

Consider suggesting specific improvements for menus:
`M-x report-emacs-bug'.  Seriously.

> I don't mean to suggest these questions don't have answers--clearly they
> do.  But these are things I thought of in the 30 seconds it took me to
> conduct my thought experiment, and I only actually tried to do two
> things: open a new window (i.e., what I "thought" was a window was a frame
> and vice versa) and use the menu to encrypt a file.  I'm sure there are
> more.

Mouseover text can sometimes help describe what a menu item does.  For
`New Frame', for instance, it could say "Open a new frame (window-manager
window)" instead of just "Open a new frame".

But that probably won't help much for an item like `New Window Below'.
I suppose it could add "(frame pane)" or "(pane)" after "window" in the
help, but at some point this becomes too much.

So yes, there is a certain amount of terminological difficulty that only
help (e.g. `describe-key'), the doc (e.g. the manual), the tutorial,
Emacs Wiki, or trial and error will teach.

The terminology is a bit of a special case, however.  Once past the 
basic-terminology hurdle and the how-do-I-access-help hurdle, things go more
smoothly.

> If I try to start from a blank slate (via emacs -Q) and then select Gnus
> (Gnus being what the original question was about in the old thread), I
> get nntp (news) open error: '>>>(error Unknown host "news")'. Continue?
> 
> That has the virtue of telling me what's wrong, but gives me essentially
> no information on how to fix it.

My advice is to file a (usability) bug: `M-x report-emacs-bug'.

> Complexity itself is not a problem, per se; but the presentation of that
> complexity can be, and usually is.  I just think Emacs in general and
> Gnus in particular needs some work in that regard.

I think Emacs is pretty good in that regard, but it could be improved
(and has been improved, in fits and starts over the years).

I cannot speak to or for Gnus.  My impression from hearsay accords
with what you say.

> But managing to understand that complexity is clearly not insurmountable
> by somebody willing to put forth the effort: I'm posting this using
> Gnus, and it's not like I'm some kind of uber-technical user.  Heck, I
> work in HR.
> 
> Anyway, that's my $0.02.

Thanks for it.

> [1] Incidentally, I appear to have discovered what might be a very minor
>     bug in 24.3, as well; when you select a file to encrypt but gpg is
>     not installed, you get a "permission denied" error, not a more
>     accurate "file not found" error.

Please `M-x report-emacs-bug'.  Seriously.