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[2023-12-08 14:30]
EmacsStuff CodeJournal SocialOutreach
The 2023 EmacsConf had a talk where JeremyFriesen shared the things he had learned while mentoring VS Coders despite being an Emacs user.
I like the way he has structured his insight into some main categories that reflect commonly performed actions while using any so called 'IDE', and anything related to programming. I could align many of his points to my own experience of using VS Code at work, primarily to pair program with folks without the additional burden of 'emacs'.
It is illuminating to me to consider that one could induce an interest in Emacs by asking the right kind of questions, and refine this using personal observations while following an attitude whereby the goal is to improve the life and workflow of the person opposite instead of being a 'proponent of a tool'.
Some examples JeremyFriesen shared were the impact of orderless, multi repository search, finding code references without using the mouse, switching quickly to a different known project using consult-projectile. Based on my own exploration so far - I want to emphatically agree that these are either not 'easily' possible or available out of the box with VS code. In addition the idea of flexible 'perspectives', bookmarks and including the use of packages like =Burly= to bookmark custom window configurations do not seem available at all.
When I first encountered Emacs, and later became somewhat productive in it - I was often consumed by the naive need to be some kind of vocal proponent of Emacs. Needless to say, there was never much of an impact, though one may argue that is not necessarily all due to the nature of Emacs itself :).
The typical reaction I've encountered is a (stunned?) silence, and something of a passive admiration when I've managed to pull something off in Emacs with a simple command or a few keypresses - something as simple as using M-u to convert a list of variable names into capital letters or a super fast bookmark access to reach a remote location very quickly. I have wondered at times, if folks are simply not used to that kind of 'speed', not being able to follow the movement of a mouse to do 'things'.
Over time, I starting thinking that - Emacs attracts a certain kind of user and tinkerer who has an 'explorer' mindset, and those who do will naturally, eventually find their way to Emacs. However, I think JeremyFriesen's talk opened me to the possibility that it is possible, with the right mindset to provide folks a nudge.
What is even more important is that the nudge is not from the perspective of 'my tool is better than yours' - but with a 'kind curiosity' of the other person's workflow, and inducing them to come out with the deficiencies within it, and then, if possible - showing them a 'better way' in Emacs (if available) which could ease their pain point or burden.