WEBVTT
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Hello EmacsConf! Hello world!
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Today I will talk to you about
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how Emacs made me appreciate
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software freedom.
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My name is Protesilaos, also known as "Prot".
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I am joining you from the mountains of Cyprus.
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Cyprus is an island
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in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
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So let's remove this header
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from the top of the presentation
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and proceed with today's talk.
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In that header, you can find a link
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to my website, protesilaos.com .
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My presentation focuses on the intersection
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between software freedom
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and what we find in the Emacs milieu.
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Here "the Emacs milieu"
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encompasses two magnitudes:
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(i) the program we use and
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(ii) the diverse, global community of people
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that has grown organically around it.
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I will talk to you about
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how Emacs made me appreciate
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software freedom
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and helped me exercise it
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to its full potential.
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Personal anecdotes are not
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the main focus of this talk.
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Rather, they serve the ancillary role
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of making certain insights more relatable.
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The presentation is theoretical in nature
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and targeted at a general audience.
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No knowledge of programming is required.
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It is assumed, however,
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that you are familiar
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with some basic concepts,
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such as the fact that Emacs is extended
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with the Emacs Lisp programming language,
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or that Emacs is a GNU project
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that champions end-user software freedom.
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Let's start with a few words about me
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before elaborating further.
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I was born in Greece in 1988
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and was raised there.
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As a kid I was not into
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tech-related activities. Not at all.
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All I cared about was playing football
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(association football, also known as soccer)
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and staying outdoors.
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My formal education is in the humanities
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(or else, the liberal arts).
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I had a career in politics.
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I lived in Brussels, Belgium
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where I worked at the
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European Parliament, among others.
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+ After some intense soul-searching,
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I realised I did not want to be
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a political operator any more
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and made radical changes in my life.
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I have since come to terms with the fact
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that I am a philosopher.
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I am not a programmer.
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Neither by trade nor education.
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I code for leisure.
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I was not tech-savvy until my mid-20s.
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I have been using GNU/Linux distributions
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since the summer of 2016.
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While I switched to Emacs full-time
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in the summer of 2019.
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Before that switch, I was running
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a bespoke environment
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that involved several standalone programs
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like Vim, Tmux, and a tiling window manager.
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I am the creator and maintainer
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of the modus-themes package.
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The themes are modus-operandi
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and modus-vivendi,
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but they are grouped together
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in the package called modus-themes.
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These are designed to conform
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with the highest accessibility standard
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for legibility, and optionally
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support the needs of users
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with red-green colour deficiency
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(deuteranopia, as it is known).
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The themes are built into
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Emacs version 28 or higher.
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A section of my website
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is dedicated to them
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as well as to all my other
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Emacs-related contributions.
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For the remainder of this 40-minute talk,
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I will explain how Emacs
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made me appreciate software freedom,
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how it empowers me
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in my day-to-day computing,
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and the lessons I have drawn
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from that liberating experience.
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So let's proceed to the body
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of this presentation,
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and the first section is titled:
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"The inherent Emacs qualities
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for an autodidact."
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Emacs has this reputation
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of being extremely hard to learn
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and difficult to get started with.
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So how does someone like me,
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who was not even tech-literate
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a few years ago,
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go on to use Emacs effectively?
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How do you start from zero,
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with no knowledge of ELisp
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and with only a rudimentary understanding
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of programming,
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to eventually maintain packages for Emacs,
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and even contribute directly to emacs.git
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and other sources?
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The answer to these and related questions
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lies in the very description of Emacs
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as a "self-documenting" piece of software.
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It means that Emacs has a robust Help system
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which informs you about the state
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of a given construct.
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Such as what the original and current values
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of a variable are.
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Or whether some function is being "advised",
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as it is known,
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else, dynamically adjusted,
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by another function,
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and what that advice amounts to.
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The self-documenting nature of Emacs
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is combined with the fact
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that it consists of free software.
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Not only do we get information
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about what Emacs knows,
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but have the underlying code
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readily available to us.
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For example, every Help buffer
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provides a link to the source
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of the item it references.
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We can study that and edit it as we wish.
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Self-documentation and free software
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are blended together
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with a third quality of Emacs:
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its implementation as a Lisp machine,
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or else, its ability to evaluate Lisp code
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and make use of it directly.
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The ubiquity and uniformity
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of the Lisp interpreter,
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together with the immediacy of its results
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help one learn how to use Emacs
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and how to write Emacs Lisp expressions.
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For someone who is self-taught like me
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and who often learns through
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a process of trial and error,
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this is of great value.
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Learning how to use Emacs
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and how to write in ELisp
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is the basic skillset you need
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to also start extending Emacs
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for your own use,
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or even for publishing packages
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and making contributions
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to emacs.git directly.
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That is because the skills you acquire
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by tinkering with your init.el as a beginner
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will always stay with you
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throughout your time as an Emacs user.
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That is empowering in itself.
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It rewards your investment
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in time and effort.
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The more you learn,
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the more capable you become
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to enact change,
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to configure things to your liking
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and develop the exact workflow that you want
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without making any compromises.
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Compare that to, say,
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my tiling window manager.
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I can configure it with a shell script.
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So I learn POSIX shell or, let's say, Bash.
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But my knowledge of the shell
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does not extend to modifying
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the behaviour of the window manager as such,
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because that is not implemented
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as a shell script,
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but in another language.
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So for an autodidact like me,
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it is more difficult to learn
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yet another paradigm
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before I can achieve what I want.
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How do you make that extra step
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without self-documentation
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and the immediacy as well as transparency
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that you get from
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the Emacs Lisp interpreter?
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It is more demanding,
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which makes Emacs comparatively easier
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when we account for
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the longer-term effort involved.
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Let's move to the next section:
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"The interconnectedness of the Emacs space."
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As I already mentioned,
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Emacs rewards you
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for the investment in time and effort
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you put into it.
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In my experience,
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this makes it easier to master
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than a combination
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of otherwise disparate tools,
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each with its own paradigm
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of interaction and particularities
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of implementation.
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Before switching to Emacs,
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I was using a combination
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of standalone programs
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as part of a bespoke computing environment
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that I had pieced together.
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The program called "Mutt"
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would handle my emails,
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Newsboat dealt with my RSS feeds,
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the Music Player Daemon
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took care of my music collection,
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while I was doing work
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inside of a terminal emulator
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which was running a multiplexer (tmux)
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and Vim for on-the-fly text editing.
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Each of these, and others related to them,
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are fine in their own right.
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But their gestalt, their combined form,
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leaves something to be desired.
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Their lack of homogeneity
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meant that I could not develop
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portable skills between them.
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There is no inter-operability.
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What holds true in Vim
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does not apply to the multiplexer.
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The prevalent methods in the email client
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cannot be used in the RSS reader, and so on.
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Whereas everything
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that is implemented in ELisp
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partakes in the same environment
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automatically.
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If, say, you know how to
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use keyboard macros to edit code,
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you already know how to
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use the exact same skill to,
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for example, create and delete windows
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in a process that involves text editing
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and some elaborate
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file management operations
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with Emacs's directory editor program,
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or file manager, Dired.
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If you have a command
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that scrolls down half a screen,
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it immediately works in all your buffers,
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regardless of whether their major mode
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is about reading emails, editing text,
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enqueuing songs to a playlist, and so on.
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Emacs provides a level of integration
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that I consider peerless.
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Everything the user deals with
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is implemented in ELisp.
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And all the user edits
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is ultimately done with ELisp.
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As such, the environment itself
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provides the conditions for drawing
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linkages between different,
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yet [consubstantial],
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modes of interaction.
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For example, I use bongo.el
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to play back songs
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from my music collection.
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My ~/Music directory
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is configured to have a special minor mode,
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so when I access it with dired,
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it has commands that allow me
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to enqueue albums/songs
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to a playlist,
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create playlists, et cetera.
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Also, I have an org-capture template
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which lets me store the details
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of the currently playing track
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and tag it accordingly.
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Continuing with the example of Bongo,
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I make it interface
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with my RSS reader, elfeed.el,
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by having the latter add
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podcast and video links
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to the former's playback queue.
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All this is done
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by simply re-using
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the same Emacs Lisp skills I learnt
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while configuring and extending Emacs.
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The interconnectedness of the Emacs space
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empowers the end-user.
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It makes such emergent workflows possible.
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And the best part is
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there are no dirty hacks involved:
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it is an innate feature of the system.
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You are leveraging the freedom
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that Emacs gives you
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in a way that confers agency on you.
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You assume the initiative.
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It gives you confidence
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to continue honing your skills
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in anticipation of further optimising---
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and controlling in full---
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your own integrated computing environment.
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Next section:
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the documentation culture
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of the Emacs community.
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If what I have mentioned thus far
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was all there was
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to the Emacs experience,
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there would still be
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something to be desired.
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Because while self-documentation is great,
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it is meant to draw from---
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and be a complement to---
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some hand-written material.
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Both new and existing users
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must be able to read
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what something is supposed to do,
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what its main points of entry are,
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how it relates to other parts, and so on.
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This is about the human aspect of Emacs,
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the strong documentation culture
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of its community,
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rather than an irreducible feature
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of the program we use.
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As a matter of packaging etiquette,
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every non-trivial form in an Elisp library
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must have a documentation string.
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What a variable or function does
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needs to be spelt out in clear terms.
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Furthermore, the best
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and most well-maintained packages,
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whether those are built into Emacs
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or distributed via
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an Emacs Lisp Package Archive,
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also known as ELPA,
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come with their own Info manual.
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Unlike a generic README,
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those manuals are more like
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fully fledged books,
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with a table of contents, cross-references,
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and indices for concepts, functions,
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variables, key bindings...
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In short, there is a tradition
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around programming with Emacs Lisp
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which values informative,
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high-quality guidelines
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intended for end-users.
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Apart from what
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each individual package does,
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Emacs itself ships with
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a helpful tutorial for newcomers,
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a comprehensive manual,
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a book targeted at non-programmers
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titled "An Introduction to
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Programming in Emacs Lisp",
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as well as a reference manual
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for Emacs Lisp itself.
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All this material,
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all that wealth of knowledge,
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is readily available to the end-user
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through the built-in Info reader.
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The details on how to access the Info reader
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are already explained
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in the initial learn-by-doing tutorial.
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For people like me who are self-taught,
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the documentation culture of the community
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ensures that we are not left behind.
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It gives us the chance
16:56.840 --> 16:59.011
to learn from the experts
16:59.011 --> 17:03.639
and to become better ourselves.
17:03.639 --> 17:06.340
Writing concise and clear documentation
17:06.340 --> 17:09.474
is also beneficial for those who do it:
17:09.474 --> 17:10.707
it helps them clarify their ideas
17:10.707 --> 17:17.250
and improve their communication skills.
17:17.250 --> 17:19.868
These contribute to fostering
17:19.868 --> 17:22.399
a more humane social element.
17:22.399 --> 17:25.774
In my experience, the Emacs community
17:25.774 --> 17:30.646
has a propensity against
17:30.646 --> 17:32.149
becoming elitist.
17:32.149 --> 17:34.907
It helps integrate new members
17:34.907 --> 17:37.732
by not hiding anything from them,
17:37.732 --> 17:39.040
on top of Emacs' inherent
17:39.040 --> 17:43.470
emancipatory qualities, as described before
17:43.470 --> 17:46.374
(self-documentation, Elisp interpreter,
17:46.374 --> 17:47.960
free software).
17:47.960 --> 17:49.807
At the same time,
17:49.807 --> 17:52.899
the community strives for excellence,
17:52.899 --> 17:54.840
so it expects newcomers
17:54.840 --> 17:56.940
to do their part in reading
17:56.940 --> 18:00.680
what is generously offered to them.
18:00.680 --> 18:01.940
There is a difference between
18:01.940 --> 18:03.240
sharing knowledge
18:03.240 --> 18:06.740
and spoon-feeding it to users.
18:06.740 --> 18:09.140
The latter method, that of spoon-feeding,
18:09.140 --> 18:11.499
keeps users dependent on it
18:11.499 --> 18:14.574
and is thus detrimental to them
18:14.574 --> 18:15.940
in the long run.
18:15.940 --> 18:18.374
The Emacs community
18:18.374 --> 18:20.507
disseminates what it knows
18:20.507 --> 18:23.974
and wants newcomers to assume agency
18:23.974 --> 18:26.907
and be responsible for doing their part
18:26.907 --> 18:30.740
in learning how things work.
18:30.740 --> 18:33.307
The community's documentation culture
18:33.307 --> 18:36.074
and uncompromising standards
18:36.074 --> 18:37.674
ensure that even
18:37.674 --> 18:41.174
once-unskilled users like me
18:41.174 --> 18:43.707
can become productive with Emacs
18:43.707 --> 18:46.574
and unleash its full potential.
18:46.574 --> 18:50.488
What newcomers need is commitment
18:50.488 --> 00:18:55.039
and an open mind to study what they have.
18:55.040 --> 18:58.269
Next section:
18:58.269 --> 18:59.707
"The Promethean Ideal
18:59.707 --> 19:05.230
of freeing know-how and expertise."
19:05.230 --> 19:06.807
The documentation culture
19:06.807 --> 19:08.074
of the Emacs community
19:08.074 --> 19:10.307
springs from a consideration
19:10.307 --> 19:12.840
of practicality.
19:12.840 --> 19:15.351
When you explain what your program does,
19:15.351 --> 19:16.505
it is more likely
19:16.505 --> 19:19.477
that others will show interest in it
19:19.477 --> 19:22.450
and incorporate it in their workflow,
19:22.450 --> 19:24.674
whereas freed source code
19:24.674 --> 19:26.085
that is distributed
19:26.085 --> 19:29.309
without any accompanying documentation
19:29.309 --> 19:32.300
will most likely only attract
19:32.300 --> 19:35.690
a handful of enthusiastic hackers.
19:35.690 --> 19:39.460
Still good, but could be better.
19:39.460 --> 19:41.640
Apart from its practical use though,
19:41.640 --> 19:44.407
writing documentation for the end-user
19:44.407 --> 19:47.140
shows a spirit of altruism,
19:47.140 --> 19:50.274
an ethos of caring for others
19:50.274 --> 19:52.540
and wanting to empower them
19:52.540 --> 19:55.130
in their endeavours.
19:55.130 --> 19:57.774
It essentially is the same
19:57.774 --> 19:58.674
as helping someone;
19:58.674 --> 20:02.607
helping them escape from the ignorance
20:02.607 --> 20:03.907
that contributes
20:03.907 --> 20:07.810
to their sense of powerlessness.
20:07.810 --> 20:09.974
I experienced this myself:
20:09.974 --> 20:12.007
by reading the docs,
20:12.007 --> 20:13.450
I was able to go from
20:13.450 --> 20:15.274
an unskilled rookie
20:15.274 --> 20:17.909
to a competent Emacs user.
20:17.909 --> 20:20.839
Part of that competence consists in
20:20.839 --> 20:23.037
maintaining Elisp packages
20:23.037 --> 20:25.480
and contributing code directly
20:25.480 --> 20:28.760
to emacs.git.
20:28.760 --> 20:29.740
Writing documentation
20:29.740 --> 20:31.207
is about disseminating
20:31.207 --> 20:34.015
knowledge and expertise,
20:34.015 --> 20:36.707
not keeping it an exclusive right
20:36.707 --> 20:39.919
of some elite.
20:39.919 --> 20:42.928
Allow me then to liken this
20:42.928 --> 20:47.120
to the ancient Greek myth of Prometheas
20:47.120 --> 20:48.559
(Prometheus).
20:48.559 --> 20:52.972
Prometheas was a titan, or else a deity,
20:52.972 --> 20:54.988
who decided to teach
20:54.988 --> 20:57.772
the know-how of handling fire
20:57.772 --> 20:59.020
to humanity.
20:59.020 --> 21:00.447
The art of fire
21:00.447 --> 21:04.192
is an allegory about know-how in general,
21:04.192 --> 21:06.840
not specifically pyrotechnics.
21:06.840 --> 21:11.571
So Prometheas liberated that key knowledge
21:11.571 --> 21:13.215
by taking it away
21:13.215 --> 21:16.231
from the exclusivity of the gods
21:16.231 --> 21:17.693
and bringing it
21:17.693 --> 21:21.512
into the domain of humankind
21:21.512 --> 21:24.390
as a libre resource.
21:24.390 --> 21:26.507
This act of altruism
21:26.507 --> 21:30.029
propelled humanity to new heights.
21:30.029 --> 21:32.590
Every field of expertise
21:32.590 --> 21:35.255
is about handling "fire",
21:35.255 --> 21:38.681
in the figurative sense
21:38.681 --> 21:43.679
of implementing essential know-how.
21:43.679 --> 21:47.123
Why would Prometheas, an exalted being,
21:47.123 --> 21:48.586
ever bother with
21:48.586 --> 21:52.250
the fallible and frail humanity?
21:52.250 --> 21:56.007
Why did a god want to empower humans
21:56.007 --> 22:00.077
instead of, say, making them dependent
22:00.077 --> 22:02.970
on the know-how of "fire"?
22:02.970 --> 22:05.747
If we look at the world around us,
22:05.747 --> 22:07.970
we witness how its overlords
22:07.970 --> 22:10.186
are unscrupulously trying
22:10.186 --> 22:12.274
to enclose the commons
22:12.274 --> 22:16.076
and take advantage of expertise
22:16.076 --> 22:18.809
in order to exploit us.
22:18.809 --> 22:22.700
Why would Prometheas not do the same thing
22:22.700 --> 22:27.570
and enslave us for the rest of eternity?
22:27.570 --> 22:29.343
The answer is that
22:29.343 --> 22:32.891
unlike this world's aspiring tyrants,
22:32.891 --> 22:36.842
Prometheas represents a higher conscience,
22:36.842 --> 22:40.640
one that is not corrupted by egocentrism
22:40.640 --> 22:45.510
and the greed of short-term profiteering.
22:45.510 --> 22:47.490
This higher conscience
22:47.490 --> 22:50.332
makes sense of the bigger picture
22:50.332 --> 22:51.710
and can foresee
22:51.710 --> 22:54.260
that the distribution of know-how
22:54.260 --> 22:56.960
empowers those who access it freely
22:56.960 --> 23:00.530
to reach their potential.
23:00.530 --> 23:04.650
It is no coincidence that the ancient sages
23:04.650 --> 23:09.320
used the name "Prometheas",
23:09.320 --> 23:16.659
meaning the "prescient one", the "foreseer".
23:16.659 --> 23:19.765
This is a lesson on the outlook
23:19.765 --> 23:21.791
we ought to maintain,
23:21.791 --> 23:25.330
where we aspire to our highest.
23:25.330 --> 23:28.501
We want to be the best version of ourselves,
23:28.501 --> 23:31.710
by being more like Prometheas.
23:31.710 --> 23:33.940
We want our actions to be guided
23:33.940 --> 23:36.674
by this Promethean Ideal
23:36.674 --> 23:39.097
of liberating know-how,
23:39.097 --> 23:42.307
of making expertise readily available,
23:42.307 --> 23:44.507
and of providing others
23:44.507 --> 23:48.350
with the chance to prosper.
23:48.350 --> 23:49.927
When we all do so,
23:49.927 --> 23:52.500
we are collectively better-off.
23:52.500 --> 23:56.340
Free software is a microcosm
23:56.340 --> 00:23:59.528
of that principle.
23:59.529 --> 24:02.940
So let's move on to the next section:
24:02.940 --> 24:08.020
"The 'killer apps' of Emacs."
24:08.020 --> 24:10.860
Let's be a bit more practical now.
24:10.860 --> 24:13.789
Many new users are attracted to Emacs
24:13.789 --> 24:16.066
because it has one or a few
24:16.066 --> 24:18.858
immensely useful applications
24:18.858 --> 24:21.000
they would like to use.
24:21.000 --> 24:23.019
This typically covers Org
24:23.019 --> 24:27.090
and/or one of its numerous accoutrements,
24:27.090 --> 24:33.023
though there are other excellent packages
24:33.023 --> 24:34.760
like Magit.
24:34.760 --> 24:36.107
The fact that Emacs has
24:36.107 --> 24:38.870
such killer apps is good.
24:38.870 --> 24:41.535
It shows that its extensibility
24:41.535 --> 24:44.200
is not some theoretical upside
24:44.200 --> 24:46.340
of the Lisp interpreter.
24:46.340 --> 24:49.816
It has tangible utility to a wide user base,
24:49.816 --> 24:51.940
including those who do not
24:51.940 --> 24:54.850
write Elisp themselves.
24:54.850 --> 24:57.927
Furthermore, those killer apps are good
24:57.927 --> 25:00.418
as they help bring newcomers
25:00.418 --> 25:04.370
and potential contributors to the fold,
25:04.370 --> 25:06.968
while they provide real value
25:06.968 --> 25:10.519
to the existing members of the community.
25:10.519 --> 25:12.339
The more people we have
25:12.339 --> 25:15.330
and the happier they are with Emacs,
25:15.330 --> 25:18.726
the higher the chances that we receive
25:18.726 --> 25:21.600
some new ideas or code from them.
25:21.600 --> 25:26.305
The notion of a killer app does, however,
25:26.305 --> 25:29.519
come with a latent downside
25:29.519 --> 25:32.040
when targeted at outsiders
25:32.040 --> 25:34.470
to the Emacs milieu.
25:34.470 --> 25:36.307
And that is because
25:36.307 --> 25:39.362
packages like Org and Magit
25:39.362 --> 25:42.000
do not have a standalone presence.
25:42.000 --> 25:46.770
They are always used in Emacs or, rather,
25:46.770 --> 25:50.840
together with the rest of Emacs,
25:50.840 --> 25:54.470
which means that the user has to know
25:54.470 --> 25:57.120
what to expect from Emacs.
25:57.120 --> 25:59.986
You may be aware of the type of user
25:59.986 --> 26:02.680
who proclaims that they want to
26:02.680 --> 26:04.785
boost their productivity
26:04.785 --> 26:08.070
but who also expects immediate results.
26:08.070 --> 26:11.152
When you bring the "killer app" rhetoric
26:11.152 --> 26:12.581
to such a crowd,
26:12.581 --> 26:15.608
you run the risk of misleading them
26:15.608 --> 26:18.720
into a false sense of self-confidence
26:18.720 --> 26:24.330
and concomitant expectations of success.
26:24.330 --> 26:26.655
Such users may be tempted
26:26.655 --> 26:29.249
to try Org, Magit, and others
26:29.249 --> 26:32.470
but are most likely going to endure
26:32.470 --> 26:36.179
a frustrating experience overall.
26:36.179 --> 26:39.834
The reason is that they are oblivious
26:39.834 --> 26:41.598
to what Emacs is
26:41.598 --> 26:44.874
and what is required
26:44.874 --> 26:46.540
to get started with it
26:46.540 --> 26:47.820
on a sustainable basis.
26:47.820 --> 26:50.874
Org, Magit, and friends
26:50.874 --> 26:54.899
are fantastic tools in their own right.
26:54.899 --> 26:57.399
But they still are part of Emacs.
26:57.399 --> 26:59.406
To use them effectively,
26:59.406 --> 27:01.109
you have to develop
27:01.109 --> 27:04.090
at least a modicum of understanding
27:04.090 --> 27:06.340
on what Emacs does.
27:06.340 --> 27:07.692
You must be patient
27:07.692 --> 27:09.519
and approach this endeavour
27:09.519 --> 27:12.500
with an open mind.
27:12.500 --> 27:14.372
Go through the tutorial,
27:14.372 --> 27:18.939
familiarise yourself with the Help system,
27:18.939 --> 27:23.401
make a habit out of reading Info manuals,
27:23.401 --> 27:26.820
and take things slowly.
27:26.820 --> 27:30.358
No killer app can ever be a substitute
27:30.358 --> 27:33.132
for commitment to a cause;
27:33.132 --> 27:35.621
no vaunted life hack
27:35.621 --> 27:39.771
will ever provide a direct conduit
27:39.771 --> 27:44.419
to some fountain of wisdom.
27:44.419 --> 27:46.597
With regard to software freedom
27:46.597 --> 27:48.094
and user empowerment,
27:48.094 --> 27:50.024
what I have learnt is that
27:50.024 --> 27:52.240
the impulse for the killer app
27:52.240 --> 27:53.974
ought to emanate
27:53.974 --> 27:56.707
from a position of knowledge.
27:56.707 --> 27:58.974
You need to know what you are searching for,
27:58.974 --> 28:00.107
and you need to know
28:00.107 --> 28:01.840
where you will implement that.
28:01.840 --> 28:06.571
First, we need to temper our expectations
28:06.571 --> 28:10.340
and prefer propitious growth in learning
28:10.340 --> 28:14.159
over instant gratification.
28:14.159 --> 28:17.323
With Emacs, we have a strong foundation
28:17.323 --> 28:19.245
for our computing freedom:
28:19.245 --> 28:21.951
it consists of the inherent qualities
28:21.951 --> 28:23.367
of the program
28:23.367 --> 28:27.051
together with the documentation culture
28:27.051 --> 28:30.169
and creativity of the community.
28:30.169 --> 28:32.670
Once we learn how to benefit from those,
28:32.670 --> 28:34.174
we have everything we need
28:34.174 --> 28:35.893
to become proficient
28:35.893 --> 28:38.592
in all the modes of interaction
28:38.592 --> 28:42.330
that are available to us.
28:42.330 --> 28:46.889
Think of it as choosing Emacs and Org,
28:46.889 --> 28:48.876
Emacs and Magit,
28:48.876 --> 00:28:53.139
Emacs and Org and Magit, et cetera.
28:53.140 --> 28:56.889
Next section:
28:56.889 --> 29:01.899
"You can't be an Emacs tourist."
29:01.899 --> 29:04.521
What I just talked about implies that
29:04.521 --> 29:06.799
you cannot simply switch to Emacs
29:06.799 --> 29:09.960
over the weekend or on a whimsy.
29:09.960 --> 29:12.915
You can't use it opportunistically
29:12.915 --> 29:14.603
to run a quick demo
29:14.603 --> 29:18.901
with which to impress your peers
29:18.901 --> 29:22.940
and win some inane "nerd cred".
29:22.940 --> 29:24.907
Forget about such frivolous
29:24.907 --> 29:26.170
superficialities.
29:26.170 --> 29:29.000
Emacs is a sophisticated tool
29:29.000 --> 29:32.600
intended for some serious work.
29:32.600 --> 29:35.436
It has been around for several decades
29:35.436 --> 29:38.116
and it incorporates the knowledge
29:38.116 --> 29:41.639
of a diverse group of contributors.
29:41.639 --> 29:43.616
Even if you want to use Emacs
29:43.616 --> 29:46.766
just for Org mode or whatever killer app,
29:46.766 --> 29:48.605
you still have to try
29:48.605 --> 29:51.059
to learn things in earnest.
29:51.059 --> 29:52.140
You still need to read
29:52.140 --> 29:54.196
the relevant Info manual,
29:54.196 --> 29:56.663
understand how to make changes
29:56.663 --> 30:00.006
to the plethora of user options on offer,
30:00.006 --> 30:03.117
and generally don't feel lost
30:03.117 --> 30:05.710
while working with Emacs.
30:05.710 --> 30:08.264
This is more so if you use Emacs
30:08.264 --> 30:09.967
to its full potential
30:09.967 --> 30:13.297
as an integrated computing environment;
30:13.297 --> 30:16.127
as your general purpose interface
30:16.127 --> 30:17.460
to the computer,
30:17.460 --> 30:19.633
where you handle uniformly
30:19.633 --> 30:21.726
coding and writing prose,
30:21.726 --> 30:23.820
your email correspondence,
30:23.820 --> 30:25.022
your RSS feeds,
30:25.022 --> 30:26.908
your music collection,
30:26.908 --> 30:30.626
your agenda and to-do lists,
30:30.626 --> 30:31.909
and so on.
30:31.909 --> 30:33.872
The difficulty of Emacs
30:33.872 --> 30:37.144
is much higher for those who approach it
30:37.144 --> 30:38.667
without understanding
30:38.667 --> 30:41.299
what they are getting themselves into,
30:41.299 --> 30:43.711
or for those who are naive enough
30:43.711 --> 30:47.294
to believe that they can cheat their way
30:47.294 --> 30:50.340
out of learning the fundamentals.
30:50.340 --> 30:51.574
The gist is that
30:51.574 --> 30:54.940
you cannot be an Emacs tourist.
30:54.940 --> 30:57.165
You can't go into Emacsland
30:57.165 --> 30:59.469
thinking that you will spend
30:59.469 --> 31:02.475
a couple of memorable days there
31:02.475 --> 31:04.206
and head back home
31:04.206 --> 31:05.755
to regale others
31:05.755 --> 31:08.580
with stories about your adventures.
31:08.580 --> 31:11.850
It does not work that way.
31:11.850 --> 31:15.250
You commit to Emacs for the long-term,
31:15.250 --> 31:17.990
for the freedom it offers you.
31:17.990 --> 31:20.142
Freedom in the moral sense
31:20.142 --> 31:23.123
but also in the very practical ways
31:23.123 --> 31:25.851
in which you can mould and extend
31:25.851 --> 31:27.907
your personal workflows
31:27.907 --> 31:31.160
with precision.
31:31.160 --> 31:32.773
Now you may wonder
31:32.773 --> 31:35.320
why do I mention those things?
31:35.320 --> 31:39.169
Shouldn't we make Emacs easier for everyone?
31:39.169 --> 31:42.333
Yes, we should make everything
31:42.333 --> 31:44.760
as simple as possible.
31:44.760 --> 31:48.031
Though that still does not refashion Emacs
31:48.031 --> 31:51.460
into something entirely different.
31:51.460 --> 31:52.740
We continue to have
31:52.740 --> 31:55.829
a potent tool at our disposal
31:55.829 --> 31:57.040
that we must treat
31:57.040 --> 32:00.020
with the requisite respect.
32:00.020 --> 32:03.954
Take, for instance, the various frameworks
32:03.954 --> 32:07.571
that set up Emacs in an opinionated way
32:07.571 --> 32:10.465
so that newcomers get everything
32:10.465 --> 32:13.360
set up for them out-of-the-box.
32:13.360 --> 32:14.507
There is nothing wrong
32:14.507 --> 32:16.220
with those frameworks.
32:16.220 --> 32:19.417
In fact, a large part of the community
32:19.417 --> 32:21.690
uses them to great effect.
32:21.690 --> 32:24.105
However, the point stands:
32:24.105 --> 32:26.342
even after every package
32:26.342 --> 32:28.490
has been set up for you,
32:28.490 --> 32:30.174
you still have to put in the work
32:30.174 --> 32:31.507
in making use
32:31.507 --> 32:35.360
of your newfound computing freedom.
32:35.360 --> 32:37.648
But, you may insist,
32:37.648 --> 32:41.789
is that not some sort of gate-keeping?
32:41.789 --> 32:43.750
Are you not being an elitist
32:43.750 --> 32:45.972
by telling people how they must
32:45.972 --> 32:48.009
invest time and effort
32:48.009 --> 32:49.804
in making the best
32:49.804 --> 32:52.639
out of their Emacs experience?
32:52.639 --> 32:56.830
No, I think this is not elitism.
32:56.830 --> 32:59.358
There are no secrets here,
32:59.358 --> 33:02.530
no artificial barriers to entry,
33:02.530 --> 33:06.562
no impediments to making progress,
33:06.562 --> 33:09.409
no tricks and gimmicks.
33:09.409 --> 33:13.460
It just is a statement of fact.
33:13.460 --> 33:16.309
Freedom entails responsibility.
33:16.309 --> 33:20.481
It requires people to take the initiative
33:20.481 --> 33:23.728
and assert control over the factors
33:23.728 --> 33:26.420
that are within their reach.
33:26.420 --> 33:29.267
Freedom ultimately means
33:29.267 --> 33:33.254
that we no longer remain dependent
33:33.254 --> 33:35.419
on being spoon-fed.
33:35.419 --> 00:33:39.173
We assume agency.
33:39.174 --> 33:41.540
And with this, I want to come to
33:41.540 --> 33:44.940
the final section of this presentation.
33:44.940 --> 33:46.407
The title is:
33:46.407 --> 33:52.250
"Emacs as a champion of software freedom."
33:52.250 --> 33:56.272
To my mind, Emacs is the embodiment
33:56.272 --> 33:59.289
of the GNU project's ethos.
33:59.289 --> 34:01.245
Everything you expect from a program
34:01.245 --> 34:02.990
that is underpinned by the values
34:02.990 --> 34:05.342
of software freedom
34:05.342 --> 34:07.460
is found in Emacs.
34:07.460 --> 34:10.962
What you get is not merely an ethical tool,
34:10.962 --> 34:13.032
important though that is,
34:13.032 --> 34:17.405
but also a gift that will keep on giving;
34:17.405 --> 34:20.840
a gift for you to further empower yourself
34:20.840 --> 34:24.020
as a computer user.
34:24.020 --> 34:27.457
I understood that freedom of software
34:27.457 --> 34:31.600
is not about liberating the code itself.
34:31.600 --> 34:34.950
It is about sharing libre code
34:34.950 --> 34:38.410
in order to emancipate the user.
34:38.410 --> 34:40.899
The best way to achieve that
34:40.899 --> 34:43.302
is by emulating Prometheas:
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don't just give people the so-called "fire";
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offer them the underlying know-how.
34:50.907 --> 34:52.940
Emacs taught me
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the virtues of software freedom
34:54.378 --> 34:57.362
in a way that nothing else
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in the GNU/Linux space ever did.
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Here's an example from a few years ago.
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I needed a Markdown editor.
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I wanted it to centre
35:09.099 --> 35:12.080
the body of the text on display.
35:12.080 --> 35:15.384
It should have configurable font families
35:15.384 --> 35:17.030
and point sizes.
35:17.030 --> 35:19.646
Spell checking for Greek and English
35:19.646 --> 35:20.990
should be included.
35:20.990 --> 35:25.007
The colours had to be editable as well,
35:25.007 --> 35:26.940
so I could adjust them
35:26.940 --> 35:30.064
to a level of legibility
35:30.064 --> 35:32.760
I was comfortable with.
35:32.760 --> 35:35.657
While there were plenty of libre programs,
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I did not find one
35:37.174 --> 35:39.905
I could control and inspect
35:39.905 --> 35:43.190
to the extent I can with Emacs.
35:43.190 --> 35:46.982
Which made me feel that I had stagnated:
35:46.982 --> 35:49.572
there was an indelible line
35:49.572 --> 35:53.500
dividing users from developers.
35:53.500 --> 35:55.899
Whereas Emacs invites you
35:55.899 --> 35:58.106
to blur the distinction
35:58.106 --> 36:00.590
between user and the developer.
36:00.590 --> 36:03.837
It furnishes the means to become
36:03.837 --> 36:05.510
proficient in it,
36:05.510 --> 36:07.717
while the community complements those
36:07.717 --> 36:10.744
with its documentation culture
36:10.744 --> 36:12.990
and overall creativity.
36:12.990 --> 36:15.679
You start off as a complete ignoramus,
36:15.679 --> 36:19.190
but soon pick up skills that remain useful
36:19.190 --> 36:22.200
for as long as you work with Emacs.
36:22.200 --> 36:23.574
And if you really want to
36:23.574 --> 36:25.150
take it a step further,
36:25.150 --> 36:27.569
you know where to look
36:27.569 --> 36:30.620
for inspiration and guidance.
36:30.620 --> 36:32.722
Before you realise it,
36:32.722 --> 36:35.556
you start writing code in ELisp
36:35.556 --> 36:39.030
and can one day share it with others.
36:39.030 --> 36:42.060
What I have learnt over the past 2.5 years
36:42.060 --> 36:43.331
as an Emacs user
36:43.331 --> 36:45.661
is that if you go from scratch
36:45.661 --> 36:48.442
and are meticulous in your approach,
36:48.442 --> 36:51.379
you will need a few days or weeks
36:51.379 --> 36:54.750
before everything starts to make sense.
36:54.750 --> 36:57.477
After that initial awkward phase
36:57.477 --> 37:00.428
during which you familiarise yourself
37:00.428 --> 37:01.748
with the basics,
37:01.748 --> 37:06.050
everything else will become easier to learn.
37:06.050 --> 37:09.524
It is a matter of gaining more experience,
37:09.524 --> 37:11.060
one step at a time.
37:11.060 --> 37:13.537
As with every field of expertise,
37:13.537 --> 37:15.870
Emacs expects you to work for it
37:15.870 --> 37:19.110
and to earn it.
37:19.110 --> 37:21.240
For me, that is worth it.
37:21.240 --> 37:23.655
In terms of being malleable
37:23.655 --> 37:25.294
in a consistent way
37:25.294 --> 37:28.388
and transparent in what it does,
37:28.388 --> 37:31.390
Emacs is in a league of its own.
37:31.390 --> 37:33.707
In conclusion, folks,
37:33.707 --> 37:36.898
Emacs allowed me to assert control
37:36.898 --> 37:39.260
over a great portion
37:39.260 --> 37:42.780
of my quotidian computing.
37:42.780 --> 37:44.827
It helped me grow out of
37:44.827 --> 37:47.448
the state of ignorance I was in;
37:47.448 --> 37:49.811
a state that rendered me
37:49.811 --> 37:52.528
powerless to use the computer
37:52.528 --> 37:54.430
exactly how I wanted.
37:54.430 --> 37:57.910
For that I am grateful.
37:57.910 --> 38:00.071
I now consider it my duty
38:00.071 --> 38:02.025
to contribute back to
38:02.025 --> 38:04.007
this wonderful project
38:04.007 --> 38:06.390
and this awesome community.
38:06.390 --> 38:09.174
So thank you very much for your attention
38:09.174 --> 38:12.690
in watching today's presentation.
38:12.690 --> 38:13.874
Special thanks to
38:13.874 --> 38:18.207
the EmacsConf organizers and volunteers.
38:18.207 --> 38:20.574
This is all from my side, folks.
38:20.574 --> 38:23.910
Thank you very much. Goodbye.
