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[141.239.244.209]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id g1sm10936854pgg.27.2019.09.08.10.00.49 for (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256/256); Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:00:49 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <87muffga1t.fsf@tullinup.koldfront.dk> ("Adam =?utf-8?Q?Sj?= =?utf-8?Q?=C3=B8gren=22's?= message of "Sat, 07 Sep 2019 21:50:54 +0200") List-ID: Precedence: bulk Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.gnus.general:88749 Archived-At: Adam Sj=C3=B8gren writes: > It is indeed daunting to get started. (...) > I agree it would be good to have a more friendly/hand-holdey > introduction right there, in the manual. Today, over 10 years into Gnus, it's become something I couldn't possibly live without. But I do remember the initial suffering, back in whatever year it was, transitioning from ViewMail to Gnus on the advice of a colleague (who claimed it was 'easy'). There are a couple of good tutorials on the internet. The one that says it features the 'essential 5%' (or thereabouts) is one I wish I had had when starting out. But information is still scattered in many places, and some of it is misleading. A layered 'official' manual would be a good thing. Start with the concept, then the 5%, then build up into the more complex stuff. Still, 'how low can you go' has its limits. Gnus, like tensor calculus or analysis of Old French texts, is not for everyone, and we don't want it to be. This is not an elitist statement nor is it a call to keep it obscure. It's just a recognition of the fact that a super-powerful and super-flexible tool that can be made to do almost anything comes at a price. That price is learning how to use it and being willing to feel the pain of mental exertion (and exasperation at times) along the way. We should strive to reduce the exasperation but the exertion, I think, will always remain. --=20 Bob Newell Honolulu, Hawai`i * Via Gnus/BBDB/Org/Emacs/Linux *