From owner-freebsd-current Fri May 17 07:07:05 1996 Return-Path: owner-current Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id HAA18960 for current-outgoing; Fri, 17 May 1996 07:07:05 -0700 (PDT) Received: from epprod.elsevier.co.uk (epprod.elsevier.co.uk [193.131.222.35]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id HAA18955 for ; Fri, 17 May 1996 07:06:58 -0700 (PDT) Received: from snowdon.elsevier.co.uk (snowdon.elsevier.co.uk [193.131.197.164]) by epprod.elsevier.co.uk (8.6.13/8.6.12) with ESMTP id PAA23130 for ; Fri, 17 May 1996 15:05:51 +0100 Received: from cadair.elsevier.co.uk (actually host cadair) by snowdon with SMTP (PP); Fri, 17 May 1996 15:05:56 +0100 Received: (from dpr@localhost) by cadair.elsevier.co.uk (8.6.12/8.6.12) id PAA06688; Fri, 17 May 1996 15:05:21 +0100 From: Paul Richards Message-Id: <199605171405.PAA06688@cadair.elsevier.co.uk> Subject: Re: /stand/ee To: hsu@clinet.fi (Heikki Suonsivu) Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 15:05:21 +0100 (BST) Cc: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, hsu@clinet.fi, jkh@time.cdrom.com, freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <199605170504.IAA26098@katiska.clinet.fi> from "Heikki Suonsivu" at May 17, 96 08:04:23 am X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] Content-Type: text Sender: owner-current@FreeBSD.ORG X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk In reply to Heikki Suonsivu who said > > > You type and select it from the menu. This is the first thing > > listed in the help region at the top of the screen. > > Really, take a random computer user and try it on him (the less (s)he has > used computers the better). It is worth taking the best available > solution, particularly when a utility which will be used very often is > selected. Uhh, guys please, get this argument in perspective. Take a totally clueless newbie and stick an unix box in front of them, yeah right, an intuitive editor is really important in this situation !!! I'm very much in the camp of make unix nicer/easier for the masses but whether ee or pico are more intuitive alternatives to vi is not exactly the main problem. Let them have a basic editing tool to get themselves installed but if they're *really* new to unix and don't know anything the first thing they're going to have to do is buy a book, something like "Unix in a nutshell" perhaps and it's not going to tell them in there how to use ee or pico, it's got a chapter on vi and emacs since they're "standard" unix editors. Most unix beginner books have a tutorial on using vi rather than anything else. There's a related point, don't gear FreeBSD so much to the non-unix user that it becomes a chore to set it up as an experienced user would expect it to be. -- Paul Richards. Originative Solutions Ltd. (Netcraft Ltd. contractor) Elsevier Science TIS online journal project. Email: p.richards@elsevier.co.uk Phone: 0370 462071 (Mobile), +44 (0)1865 843155