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PaperclipPerfector  2yr ago (text post)   36361 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 26, 2023

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text is the universal interface

I have often assumed that you are the reincarnation of Erik Naggum:

The natural urge of people is to point, the mouse is the interaction tool that allows the user to do this.

do you actually believe this "natural urge" stuff? my "natural urge" (if I have any that exceed sex and hunger in complexity) is to speak or write. [...]

you live in your graphical user interface world with colors and idiots for users. I prefer people who can communicate and think in words. I have been to France once (Aix-en-Provence, a lovely little town, and Marseilles, a not so lovely city). I had to point at things because my French wasn't up to speed. I made an intense effort to learn to speak French, and after two weeks, I could speak it well enough to discuss the best packaging to send home a bunch of books I had bought in one of the excellent bookstores in Aix, after having spent a day in delighted (albeit patient) discussion with the bookstore owner. the thrill of being able to speak a new language was just exhilarating. unfortunately, I can't speak French, I can't even write French, anymore, but I can still read French, and I read German, as well. reduced to pointing, I feel like an illiterate moron. that feeling carries over into computing. pointing is for people who have yet to discover thought. in my view. you obviously disagree, but you won't see me agree to your "natural urge" bullshit any time sooner than you stop universalizing that bullshit to include me and millions of other people who feel disenfranchised by the now point-and-click "interaction" you want to make the universal mode of communication with a computer.

this has nothing to do with any Emacsen, anymore, but I just want you (and others) to know your "natural urge" nonsense is disputed by individuals who don't actually like your "interaction for dummies". and for those who are inclined to point and not think: this is an example of how one person (namely, I) think and have preferences, not a universalizable argument about what Emacs users prefer over what XEmacs users prefer. however, I'm still inclined to believe that XEmacs users (not the least after reviewing the comments I have received), are less verbal and more visual than Emacs users, are less interested in studying manuals and learning languages (case in point: XEmacs calls its Lisp an "API", Emacs calls its Lisp a programming language). David Hughes felt insulted by this, for God knows what reason. observation it is, and it has been confirmed by this debate, and in no way disputed.

a word says more than a thousand images.

exercises for the visually inclined: illustrate "appreciation", "humor", "software", "education", "inalienable rights", "elegance", "fact".

(Er, well the timeline doesn't match up at all for you to be his reincarnation, but you could be his brother or something.)

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