From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.emacs.gnus.general/88775 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED.blaine.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Eric Abrahamsen Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.gnus.general Subject: Re: Proposed new introductory section to the Gnus manual Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 10:51:43 +0800 Message-ID: <87y2ypdkcg.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> References: <87o90mm4x2.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <87blwmuh6j.fsf@dick.i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me> <87mug6klq3.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <87mug5bpuh.fsf@ucl.ac.uk> <87y2zojwbz.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <871rxggj9l.fsf@gmail.com> <87d0g9q44t.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <87a7bdelf4.fsf@gmail.com> <87tv9lmhzt.fsf@bobnewell.net> <875zm1w8sf.fsf@gmail.com> <87d0g8khcw.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <87pnk7vr51.fsf@gmail.com> <87k1afiucn.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <87d0g4k0z5.fsf@ericabrahamsen.net> <709dc4a4-e915-09cc-0fc2-6aea44b3e082@opensuse.us> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Injection-Info: blaine.gmane.org; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:195.159.176.226"; logging-data="89633"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@blaine.gmane.org" User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/27.0.50 (gnu/linux) To: ding@gnus.org Original-X-From: ding-owner+M36979@lists.math.uh.edu Mon Sep 16 04:52:58 2019 Return-path: Envelope-to: ding-account@gmane.org Original-Received: from lists1.math.uh.edu ([129.7.128.208]) by blaine.gmane.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.89) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h8M-000NAn-CX for ding-account@gmane.org; Mon, 16 Sep 2019 04:52:58 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.math.uh.edu) by lists1.math.uh.edu with smtp (Exim 4.92.2) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h7Z-000749-Nv; Sun, 15 Sep 2019 21:52:09 -0500 Original-Received: from mx2.math.uh.edu ([129.7.128.33]) by lists1.math.uh.edu with esmtps (TLSv1.3:TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92.2) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h7V-00071K-Hd for ding@lists.math.uh.edu; Sun, 15 Sep 2019 21:52:05 -0500 Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.231.51]) by mx2.math.uh.edu with esmtps (TLSv1.2:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92.2) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h7T-0003oo-IV for ding@lists.math.uh.edu; Sun, 15 Sep 2019 21:52:05 -0500 Original-Received: from 195-159-176-226.customer.powertech.no ([195.159.176.226] helo=blaine.gmane.org) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.89) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h7O-0001tN-OT for ding@gnus.org; Mon, 16 Sep 2019 04:52:00 +0200 Original-Received: from list by blaine.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.89) (envelope-from ) id 1i9h7N-000MCH-RC for ding@gnus.org; Mon, 16 Sep 2019 04:51:57 +0200 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Cancel-Lock: sha1:n+w2YsSytDDCBnDEsV5I4p7t8SE= List-ID: Precedence: bulk Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.gnus.general:88775 Archived-At: Michael writes: [...] >> For instance, what part of my intro (and the other links posted in this >> thread) was most useful? >> >> Thanks! >> Eric >> >> > Ok, here are some thoughts while reading the intro and comments: > > I actually laughed, and liked, the "DON"T PANIC", but how about adding > one sentence with something like, "Here is some brief help to get you > started using Gnus". Something brief and easy, before delving into the > origin of Gnus? The Info format allows for subheadings, so this could be something like "Don't Panic:\tYour First Twenty Minutes With Gnus" or something like that. > "tick" is mentioned a couple of times, but what is a "tick"? At this > point, would a more generic term suffice, such as "mark" or "flag" > since this is the intro? I agree "flag" is likely to be more generally understood. > I like the improvement comments that others have mentioned and that > you have agreed with, so no need to add anything to them :) > > > I am very glad for the part mentioning what to type when Gnus has > started. I do have a "code" comment/question about this. When I start > Gnus, I see the menu bar and Gnus mascot/icon/whatever it's called. > So, how about a line under the menu showing different keyboard keys to > type, such as "q", "L", "AA", "r or R", "f" and what each means? It > could be a line that could be removed via customization when the > experienced user didn't need it there? > > A number of times when I would start, I couldn't figure out how to get > out of where I was at to get back to beginning screen (or wherever). > So, I would just just quit gnus/emacs and wait some time before trying > again. A line similar to above might help newbies when first starting > if/when they start and get confused and don't know what to do :) A sort of "quick keys" popup sounds like a great idea. Gnus already provides a "H" keymap prefix for help-related things, so "H h" could always pop up the quick keys tips. Then we could have a customization option to always display the popup. [btw, "q" is almost always the key you want to "back out of" wherever you've gotten. This is what I meant by "vim-style tutorial": the most important information is always how to quit!] > Thanks for allowing my input. All input is allowed, but not all input is processed :)