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+WEBVTT
+
+00:00:00.000 --> 00:04:44.206
+About me and this talk
+
+00:04:44.207 --> 00:09:17.106
+The inherent Emacs qualities for an autodidact
+
+00:09:17.107 --> 00:14:07.873
+The interconnectedness of the Emacs space
+
+00:14:07.874 --> 00:18:55.039
+The documentation culture of the Emacs community
+
+00:18:55.040 --> 00:23:59.528
+The Promethean Ideal of freeing know-how and expertise
+
+00:23:59.529 --> 00:28:53.139
+The 'killer apps' of Emacs
+
+00:28:53.140 --> 00:33:39.173
+You can't be an Emacs tourist
+
+00:33:39.174 --> 00:33:40.174
+Emacs as a champion of software freedom
diff --git a/2021/captions/emacsconf-2021-freedom--how-emacs-made-me-appreciate-software-freedom--protesilaos-stavrou--main.vtt b/2021/captions/emacsconf-2021-freedom--how-emacs-made-me-appreciate-software-freedom--protesilaos-stavrou--main.vtt
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+WEBVTT
+
+00:11.610 --> 00:13.974
+Hello EmacsConf! Hello world!
+
+00:13.974 --> 00:15.940
+Today I will talk to you about 
+
+00:15.940 --> 00:19.040
+how Emacs made me appreciate 
+
+00:19.040 --> 00:20.900
+software freedom.
+
+00:20.900 --> 00:24.180
+My name is Protesilaos, also known as "Prot".
+
+00:24.180 --> 00:28.430
+I am joining you from the mountains of Cyprus.
+
+00:28.430 --> 00:30.274
+Cyprus is an island 
+
+00:30.274 --> 00:32.940
+in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
+
+00:32.940 --> 00:35.107
+So let's remove this header 
+
+00:35.107 --> 00:37.174
+from the top of the presentation 
+
+00:37.174 --> 00:40.307
+and proceed with today's talk. 
+
+00:40.307 --> 00:41.907
+In that header, you can find a link
+
+00:41.907 --> 00:45.974
+to my website, protesilaos.com .
+
+00:45.974 --> 00:50.207
+My presentation focuses on the intersection
+
+00:50.207 --> 00:52.210
+between software freedom
+
+00:52.210 --> 00:55.890
+and what we find in the Emacs milieu.
+
+00:55.890 --> 00:57.640
+Here "the Emacs milieu" 
+
+00:57.640 --> 01:00.507
+encompasses two magnitudes:
+
+01:00.507 --> 01:03.320
+(i) the program we use and
+
+01:03.320 --> 01:06.740
+(ii) the diverse, global community of people
+
+01:06.740 --> 01:10.530
+that has grown organically around it.
+
+01:10.530 --> 01:12.007
+I will talk to you about 
+
+01:12.007 --> 01:13.707
+how Emacs made me appreciate
+
+01:13.707 --> 01:14.940
+software freedom
+
+01:14.940 --> 01:16.674
+and helped me exercise it
+
+01:16.674 --> 01:19.830
+to its full potential.
+
+01:19.830 --> 01:21.440
+Personal anecdotes are not 
+
+01:21.440 --> 01:23.650
+the main focus of this talk.
+
+01:23.650 --> 01:26.740
+Rather, they serve the ancillary role 
+
+01:26.740 --> 01:31.470
+of making certain insights more relatable.
+
+01:31.470 --> 01:34.574
+The presentation is theoretical in nature
+
+01:34.574 --> 01:38.430
+and targeted at a general audience.
+
+01:38.430 --> 01:42.020
+No knowledge of programming is required.
+
+01:42.020 --> 01:43.840
+It is assumed, however, 
+
+01:43.840 --> 01:45.374
+that you are familiar 
+
+01:45.374 --> 01:47.074
+with some basic concepts,
+
+01:47.074 --> 01:50.707
+such as the fact that Emacs is extended
+
+01:50.707 --> 01:53.507
+with the Emacs Lisp programming language, 
+
+01:53.507 --> 01:56.807
+or that Emacs is a GNU project 
+
+01:56.807 --> 02:02.450
+that champions end-user software freedom.
+
+02:02.450 --> 02:04.574
+Let's start with a few words about me 
+
+02:04.574 --> 02:07.280
+before elaborating further.
+
+02:07.280 --> 02:11.540
+I was born in Greece in 1988 
+
+02:11.540 --> 02:13.379
+and was raised there.
+
+02:13.379 --> 02:16.307
+As a kid I was not into
+
+02:16.307 --> 02:19.207
+tech-related activities. Not at all.
+
+02:20.480 --> 02:22.973
+All I cared about was playing football
+
+02:22.973 --> 02:26.440
+(association football, also known as soccer) 
+
+02:26.440 --> 02:29.840
+and staying outdoors.
+
+02:29.840 --> 02:33.074
+My formal education is in the humanities
+
+02:33.074 --> 02:35.690
+(or else, the liberal arts).
+
+02:35.690 --> 02:38.040
+I had a career in politics.
+
+02:38.040 --> 02:41.107
+I lived in Brussels, Belgium 
+
+02:41.107 --> 02:42.840
+where I worked at the 
+
+02:42.840 --> 02:46.050
+European Parliament, among others.
+
+02:46.050 --> 02:49.774
++ After some intense soul-searching, 
+
+02:49.774 --> 02:52.607
+I realised I did not want to be 
+
+02:52.607 --> 02:55.040
+a political operator any more 
+
+02:55.040 --> 02:59.950
+and made radical changes in my life.
+
+02:59.950 --> 03:02.207
+I have since come to terms with the fact 
+
+03:02.207 --> 03:04.709
+that I am a philosopher.
+
+03:04.709 --> 03:07.640
+I am not a programmer.
+
+03:07.640 --> 03:10.709
+Neither by trade nor education.
+
+03:10.709 --> 03:13.140
+I code for leisure.
+
+03:13.140 --> 03:17.370
+I was not tech-savvy until my mid-20s.
+
+03:17.370 --> 03:20.740
+I have been using GNU/Linux distributions
+
+03:20.740 --> 03:24.180
+since the summer of 2016.
+
+03:24.180 --> 03:26.374
+While I switched to Emacs full-time 
+
+03:26.374 --> 03:30.190
+in the summer of 2019.
+
+03:30.190 --> 03:31.840
+Before that switch, I was running
+
+03:31.840 --> 03:33.774
+a bespoke environment
+
+03:33.774 --> 03:36.907
+that involved several standalone programs
+
+03:36.907 --> 03:41.360
+like Vim, Tmux, and a tiling window manager.
+
+03:41.360 --> 03:44.874
+I am the creator and maintainer 
+
+03:44.874 --> 03:47.340
+of the modus-themes package.
+
+03:47.340 --> 03:50.707
+The themes are modus-operandi 
+
+03:50.707 --> 03:52.440
+and modus-vivendi,
+
+03:52.440 --> 03:53.874
+but they are grouped together
+
+03:53.874 --> 03:57.007
+in the package called modus-themes.
+
+03:57.760 --> 03:59.274
+These are designed to conform
+
+03:59.274 --> 04:01.840
+with the highest accessibility standard 
+
+04:01.840 --> 04:05.007
+for legibility, and optionally 
+
+04:05.007 --> 04:07.007
+support the needs of users 
+
+04:07.007 --> 04:09.269
+with red-green colour deficiency
+
+04:09.269 --> 04:12.307
+(deuteranopia, as it is known).
+
+04:12.307 --> 04:14.940
+The themes are built into 
+
+04:14.940 --> 04:17.579
+Emacs version 28 or higher.
+
+04:17.579 --> 04:19.574
+A section of my website 
+
+04:19.574 --> 04:21.307
+is dedicated to them
+
+04:21.307 --> 04:23.840
+as well as to all my other 
+
+04:23.840 --> 04:27.620
+Emacs-related contributions.
+
+04:27.620 --> 04:30.274
+For the remainder of this 40-minute talk,
+
+04:30.274 --> 04:31.907
+I will explain how Emacs 
+
+04:31.907 --> 04:34.240
+made me appreciate software freedom, 
+
+04:34.240 --> 04:36.374
+how it empowers me 
+
+04:36.374 --> 04:38.924
+in my day-to-day computing,
+
+04:38.924 --> 04:40.374
+and the lessons I have drawn 
+
+04:40.374 --> 00:04:44.206
+from that liberating experience.
+
+04:44.207 --> 04:47.174
+So let's proceed to the body
+
+04:47.174 --> 04:48.407
+of this presentation,
+
+04:48.407 --> 04:51.740
+and the first section is titled:
+
+04:51.740 --> 04:54.807
+"The inherent Emacs qualities 
+
+04:54.807 --> 04:56.860
+for an autodidact."
+
+04:56.860 --> 05:00.440
+Emacs has this reputation 
+
+05:00.440 --> 05:02.774
+of being extremely hard to learn 
+
+05:02.774 --> 05:06.469
+and difficult to get started with.
+
+05:06.469 --> 05:08.140
+So how does someone like me, 
+
+05:08.140 --> 05:10.607
+who was not even tech-literate 
+
+05:10.607 --> 05:11.907
+a few years ago,
+
+05:11.907 --> 05:15.120
+go on to use Emacs effectively?
+
+05:15.120 --> 05:16.640
+How do you start from zero,
+
+05:16.640 --> 05:19.140
+with no knowledge of ELisp
+
+05:19.140 --> 05:22.174
+and with only a rudimentary understanding
+
+05:22.174 --> 05:23.474
+of programming, 
+
+05:23.474 --> 05:25.974
+to eventually maintain packages for Emacs, 
+
+05:25.974 --> 05:29.430
+and even contribute directly to emacs.git
+
+05:29.430 --> 05:32.710
+and other sources?
+
+05:32.710 --> 05:35.207
+The answer to these and related questions
+
+05:35.207 --> 05:37.974
+lies in the very description of Emacs
+
+05:37.974 --> 05:41.539
+as a "self-documenting" piece of software.
+
+05:41.539 --> 05:45.574
+It means that Emacs has a robust Help system 
+
+05:45.574 --> 05:48.207
+which informs you about the state 
+
+05:48.207 --> 05:50.930
+of a given construct.
+
+05:50.930 --> 05:53.574
+Such as what the original and current values
+
+05:53.574 --> 05:56.430
+of a variable are.
+
+05:56.430 --> 05:58.574
+Or whether some function is being "advised",
+
+05:58.574 --> 05:59.640
+as it is known,
+
+05:59.640 --> 06:02.440
+else, dynamically adjusted, 
+
+06:02.440 --> 06:04.074
+by another function,
+
+06:04.074 --> 06:08.939
+and what that advice amounts to.
+
+06:08.939 --> 06:10.907
+The self-documenting nature of Emacs 
+
+06:10.907 --> 06:12.407
+is combined with the fact 
+
+06:12.407 --> 06:16.319
+that it consists of free software.
+
+06:16.319 --> 06:18.040
+Not only do we get information 
+
+06:18.040 --> 06:19.540
+about what Emacs knows, 
+
+06:19.540 --> 06:22.009
+but have the underlying code
+
+06:22.009 --> 06:24.099
+readily available to us.
+
+06:24.099 --> 06:26.840
+For example, every Help buffer 
+
+06:26.840 --> 06:29.107
+provides a link to the source 
+
+06:29.107 --> 06:31.490
+of the item it references.
+
+06:31.490 --> 06:37.960
+We can study that and edit it as we wish.
+
+06:37.960 --> 06:39.340
+Self-documentation and free software 
+
+06:39.340 --> 06:41.307
+are blended together 
+
+06:41.307 --> 06:45.007
+with a third quality of Emacs: 
+
+06:45.007 --> 06:48.174
+its implementation as a Lisp machine,
+
+06:48.174 --> 06:52.440
+or else, its ability to evaluate Lisp code
+
+06:52.440 --> 06:56.129
+and make use of it directly.
+
+06:56.129 --> 06:58.774
+The ubiquity and uniformity 
+
+06:58.774 --> 07:00.307
+of the Lisp interpreter,
+
+07:00.307 --> 07:04.007
+together with the immediacy of its results 
+
+07:04.007 --> 07:06.580
+help one learn how to use Emacs
+
+07:06.580 --> 07:10.360
+and how to write Emacs Lisp expressions.
+
+07:10.360 --> 07:13.474
+For someone who is self-taught like me
+
+07:13.474 --> 07:15.307
+and who often learns through 
+
+07:15.307 --> 07:17.507
+a process of trial and error, 
+
+07:17.507 --> 07:20.589
+this is of great value.
+
+07:20.589 --> 07:23.074
+Learning how to use Emacs 
+
+07:23.074 --> 07:25.007
+and how to write in ELisp 
+
+07:25.007 --> 07:27.707
+is the basic skillset you need
+
+07:27.707 --> 07:30.474
+to also start extending Emacs 
+
+07:30.474 --> 07:32.140
+for your own use, 
+
+07:32.140 --> 07:34.807
+or even for publishing packages 
+
+07:34.807 --> 07:36.607
+and making contributions
+
+07:36.607 --> 07:40.490
+to emacs.git directly.
+
+07:40.490 --> 07:42.840
+That is because the skills you acquire 
+
+07:42.840 --> 07:46.974
+by tinkering with your init.el as a beginner 
+
+07:46.974 --> 07:49.207
+will always stay with you 
+
+07:49.207 --> 07:53.550
+throughout your time as an Emacs user.
+
+07:53.550 --> 07:56.210
+That is empowering in itself.
+
+07:56.210 --> 07:58.593
+It rewards your investment 
+
+07:58.593 --> 08:00.270
+in time and effort.
+
+08:00.270 --> 08:01.374
+The more you learn, 
+
+08:01.374 --> 08:03.340
+the more capable you become 
+
+08:03.340 --> 08:06.007
+to enact change, 
+
+08:06.007 --> 08:08.074
+to configure things to your liking 
+
+08:08.074 --> 08:11.974
+and develop the exact workflow that you want 
+
+08:11.974 --> 08:16.569
+without making any compromises.
+
+08:16.569 --> 08:18.507
+Compare that to, say,
+
+08:18.507 --> 08:21.449
+my tiling window manager.
+
+08:21.449 --> 08:24.479
+I can configure it with a shell script.
+
+08:24.479 --> 08:29.689
+So I learn POSIX shell or, let's say, Bash.
+
+08:29.689 --> 08:31.804
+But my knowledge of the shell
+
+08:31.804 --> 08:34.072
+does not extend to modifying 
+
+08:34.072 --> 08:37.593
+the behaviour of the window manager as such, 
+
+08:37.593 --> 08:40.471
+because that is not implemented 
+
+08:40.471 --> 08:42.140
+as a shell script, 
+
+08:42.140 --> 08:44.250
+but in another language.
+
+08:44.250 --> 08:46.942
+So for an autodidact like me, 
+
+08:46.942 --> 08:49.634
+it is more difficult to learn 
+
+08:49.634 --> 08:51.430
+yet another paradigm
+
+08:51.430 --> 08:54.860
+before I can achieve what I want.
+
+08:54.860 --> 08:57.342
+How do you make that extra step 
+
+08:57.342 --> 08:59.437
+without self-documentation 
+
+08:59.437 --> 09:02.605
+and the immediacy as well as transparency 
+
+09:02.605 --> 09:04.307
+that you get from 
+
+09:04.307 --> 09:06.850
+the Emacs Lisp interpreter?
+
+09:06.850 --> 09:10.029
+It is more demanding,
+
+09:10.029 --> 09:12.843
+which makes Emacs comparatively easier
+
+09:12.843 --> 09:14.274
+when we account for 
+
+09:14.274 --> 00:09:17.106
+the longer-term effort involved.
+
+09:17.107 --> 09:21.410
+Let's move to the next section:
+
+09:21.410 --> 09:24.640
+"The interconnectedness of the Emacs space."
+
+09:24.640 --> 09:27.607
+As I already mentioned, 
+
+09:27.607 --> 09:28.874
+Emacs rewards you 
+
+09:28.874 --> 09:31.374
+for the investment in time and effort 
+
+09:31.374 --> 09:33.649
+you put into it.
+
+09:33.649 --> 09:34.891
+In my experience, 
+
+09:34.891 --> 09:36.707
+this makes it easier to master
+
+09:36.707 --> 09:38.007
+than a combination 
+
+09:38.007 --> 09:40.434
+of otherwise disparate tools,
+
+09:40.434 --> 09:42.649
+each with its own paradigm 
+
+09:42.649 --> 09:45.440
+of interaction and particularities
+
+09:45.440 --> 09:48.350
+of implementation.
+
+09:48.350 --> 09:50.035
+Before switching to Emacs, 
+
+09:50.035 --> 09:51.507
+I was using a combination 
+
+09:51.507 --> 09:53.640
+of standalone programs 
+
+09:53.640 --> 09:56.274
+as part of a bespoke computing environment 
+
+09:56.274 --> 09:58.860
+that I had pieced together.
+
+09:58.860 --> 10:00.507
+The program called "Mutt" 
+
+10:00.507 --> 10:02.140
+would handle my emails, 
+
+10:02.140 --> 10:06.440
+Newsboat dealt with my RSS feeds, 
+
+10:06.440 --> 10:08.407
+the Music Player Daemon 
+
+10:08.407 --> 10:10.907
+took care of my music collection, 
+
+10:10.907 --> 10:12.207
+while I was doing work
+
+10:12.207 --> 10:14.507
+inside of a terminal emulator 
+
+10:14.507 --> 10:17.707
+which was running a multiplexer (tmux) 
+
+10:17.707 --> 10:22.959
+and Vim for on-the-fly text editing.
+
+10:22.959 --> 10:25.707
+Each of these, and others related to them,
+
+10:25.707 --> 10:29.290
+are fine in their own right.
+
+10:29.290 --> 10:32.507
+But their gestalt, their combined form, 
+
+10:32.507 --> 10:35.680
+leaves something to be desired.
+
+10:35.680 --> 10:38.174
+Their lack of homogeneity 
+
+10:38.174 --> 10:40.800
+meant that I could not develop
+
+10:40.800 --> 10:43.240
+portable skills between them. 
+
+10:43.240 --> 10:45.740
+There is no inter-operability.
+
+10:46.329 --> 10:48.140
+What holds true in Vim
+
+10:48.140 --> 10:50.210
+does not apply to the multiplexer.
+
+10:50.210 --> 10:53.240
+The prevalent methods in the email client 
+
+10:53.240 --> 10:59.140
+cannot be used in the RSS reader, and so on.
+
+10:59.140 --> 10:59.940
+Whereas everything 
+
+10:59.940 --> 11:02.207
+that is implemented in ELisp 
+
+11:02.207 --> 11:04.440
+partakes in the same environment 
+
+11:04.440 --> 11:05.540
+automatically.
+
+11:05.540 --> 11:08.574
+If, say, you know how to 
+
+11:08.574 --> 11:10.174
+use keyboard macros to edit code, 
+
+11:10.174 --> 11:12.274
+you already know how to 
+
+11:12.274 --> 11:13.507
+use the exact same skill to, 
+
+11:13.507 --> 11:19.221
+for example, create and delete windows 
+
+11:19.221 --> 11:23.219
+in a process that involves text editing 
+
+11:23.219 --> 11:25.107
+and some elaborate
+
+11:25.107 --> 11:27.340
+file management operations
+
+11:27.340 --> 11:30.607
+with Emacs's directory editor program, 
+
+11:30.607 --> 11:33.107
+or file manager, Dired. 
+
+11:33.107 --> 11:35.307
+If you have a command 
+
+11:35.307 --> 11:38.374
+that scrolls down half a screen, 
+
+11:38.374 --> 11:40.174
+it immediately works in all your buffers,
+
+11:40.174 --> 11:44.140
+regardless of whether their major mode 
+
+11:44.140 --> 11:46.674
+is about reading emails, editing text, 
+
+11:46.674 --> 11:51.269
+enqueuing songs to a playlist, and so on.
+
+11:51.269 --> 11:55.582
+Emacs provides a level of integration 
+
+11:55.582 --> 11:58.420
+that I consider peerless.
+
+11:58.420 --> 12:00.471
+Everything the user deals with 
+
+12:00.471 --> 12:02.060
+is implemented in ELisp.
+
+12:02.060 --> 12:04.402
+And all the user edits 
+
+12:04.402 --> 12:07.459
+is ultimately done with ELisp.
+
+12:07.459 --> 12:10.463
+As such, the environment itself 
+
+12:10.463 --> 12:13.749
+provides the conditions for drawing
+
+12:13.749 --> 12:15.774
+linkages between different,
+
+12:15.774 --> 12:18.540
+yet [consubstantial], 
+
+12:18.540 --> 12:21.339
+modes of interaction.
+
+12:21.339 --> 12:25.040
+For example, I use bongo.el
+
+12:25.040 --> 12:26.406
+to play back songs 
+
+12:26.406 --> 12:29.110
+from my music collection.
+
+12:29.110 --> 12:30.340
+My ~/Music directory 
+
+12:30.340 --> 12:33.440
+is configured to have a special minor mode, 
+
+12:33.440 --> 12:36.440
+so when I access it with dired,
+
+12:36.440 --> 12:38.407
+it has commands that allow me
+
+12:38.407 --> 12:41.140
+to enqueue albums/songs
+
+12:41.140 --> 12:42.074
+to a playlist, 
+
+12:42.074 --> 12:44.999
+create playlists, et cetera.
+
+12:44.999 --> 12:48.307
+Also, I have an org-capture template 
+
+12:48.307 --> 12:51.174
+which lets me store the details 
+
+12:51.174 --> 12:53.274
+of the currently playing track
+
+12:53.274 --> 12:57.189
+and tag it accordingly.
+
+12:57.189 --> 12:59.603
+Continuing with the example of Bongo, 
+
+12:59.603 --> 13:00.810
+I make it interface
+
+13:00.810 --> 13:04.210
+with my RSS reader, elfeed.el, 
+
+13:04.210 --> 13:06.953
+by having the latter add 
+
+13:06.953 --> 13:09.469
+podcast and video links 
+
+13:09.469 --> 13:12.720
+to the former's playback queue.
+
+13:12.720 --> 13:14.131
+All this is done 
+
+13:14.131 --> 13:15.709
+by simply re-using 
+
+13:15.709 --> 13:18.283
+the same Emacs Lisp skills I learnt 
+
+13:18.283 --> 13:23.120
+while configuring and extending Emacs.
+
+13:23.120 --> 13:26.989
+The interconnectedness of the Emacs space
+
+13:26.989 --> 13:29.160
+empowers the end-user.
+
+13:29.160 --> 13:33.149
+It makes such emergent workflows possible.
+
+13:33.149 --> 13:35.359
+And the best part is
+
+13:35.359 --> 13:38.334
+there are no dirty hacks involved: 
+
+13:38.334 --> 13:41.690
+it is an innate feature of the system.
+
+13:41.690 --> 13:43.840
+You are leveraging the freedom 
+
+13:43.840 --> 13:45.107
+that Emacs gives you 
+
+13:45.107 --> 13:49.240
+in a way that confers agency on you.
+
+13:49.240 --> 13:50.970
+You assume the initiative.
+
+13:50.970 --> 13:53.707
+It gives you confidence 
+
+13:53.707 --> 13:55.340
+to continue honing your skills 
+
+13:55.340 --> 13:58.807
+in anticipation of further optimising---
+
+13:58.807 --> 13:59.807
+and controlling in full---
+
+13:59.807 --> 00:14:07.873
+your own integrated computing environment.
+
+14:07.874 --> 14:09.600
+Next section:
+
+14:09.600 --> 14:12.629
+the documentation culture 
+
+14:12.629 --> 14:15.309
+of the Emacs community.
+
+14:15.309 --> 14:17.107
+If what I have mentioned thus far 
+
+14:17.107 --> 14:19.140
+was all there was 
+
+14:19.140 --> 14:20.007
+to the Emacs experience,
+
+14:20.007 --> 14:21.440
+there would still be
+
+14:21.440 --> 14:24.209
+something to be desired.
+
+14:24.209 --> 14:26.721
+Because while self-documentation is great, 
+
+14:26.721 --> 14:28.808
+it is meant to draw from---
+
+14:28.808 --> 14:30.741
+and be a complement to---
+
+14:30.741 --> 14:32.829
+some hand-written material.
+
+14:32.829 --> 14:35.807
+Both new and existing users
+
+14:35.807 --> 14:37.380
+must be able to read 
+
+14:37.380 --> 14:41.740
+what something is supposed to do,
+
+14:41.740 --> 14:42.774
+what its main points of entry are, 
+
+14:42.774 --> 14:47.279
+how it relates to other parts, and so on.
+
+14:47.279 --> 14:50.181
+This is about the human aspect of Emacs, 
+
+14:50.181 --> 14:52.280
+the strong documentation culture 
+
+14:52.280 --> 14:53.425
+of its community, 
+
+14:53.425 --> 14:55.589
+rather than an irreducible feature
+
+14:55.589 --> 14:58.839
+of the program we use.
+
+14:58.839 --> 15:02.393
+As a matter of packaging etiquette, 
+
+15:02.393 --> 15:06.552
+every non-trivial form in an Elisp library
+
+15:06.552 --> 15:09.920
+must have a documentation string.
+
+15:09.920 --> 15:12.785
+What a variable or function does
+
+15:12.785 --> 15:16.189
+needs to be spelt out in clear terms.
+
+15:16.189 --> 15:17.788
+Furthermore, the best 
+
+15:17.788 --> 15:20.333
+and most well-maintained packages, 
+
+15:20.333 --> 15:22.507
+whether those are built into Emacs
+
+15:22.507 --> 15:24.440
+or distributed via
+
+15:24.440 --> 15:27.540
+an Emacs Lisp Package Archive,
+
+15:27.540 --> 15:28.674
+also known as ELPA,
+
+15:28.674 --> 15:33.350
+come with their own Info manual.
+
+15:33.350 --> 15:34.944
+Unlike a generic README, 
+
+15:34.944 --> 15:37.112
+those manuals are more like 
+
+15:37.112 --> 15:38.738
+fully fledged books, 
+
+15:38.738 --> 15:42.146
+with a table of contents, cross-references, 
+
+15:42.146 --> 15:45.107
+and indices for concepts, functions, 
+
+15:45.107 --> 15:47.189
+variables, key bindings...
+
+15:47.189 --> 15:49.555
+In short, there is a tradition 
+
+15:49.555 --> 15:52.262
+around programming with Emacs Lisp
+
+15:52.262 --> 15:55.387
+which values informative,
+
+15:55.387 --> 15:58.451
+high-quality guidelines 
+
+15:58.451 --> 16:01.389
+intended for end-users.
+
+16:01.389 --> 16:02.274
+Apart from what
+
+16:02.274 --> 16:04.684
+each individual package does,
+
+16:04.684 --> 16:06.712
+Emacs itself ships with 
+
+16:06.712 --> 16:10.174
+a helpful tutorial for newcomers, 
+
+16:10.174 --> 16:11.374
+a comprehensive manual, 
+
+16:11.374 --> 16:14.940
+a book targeted at non-programmers 
+
+16:14.940 --> 16:17.474
+titled "An Introduction to
+
+16:17.474 --> 16:20.107
+Programming in Emacs Lisp",
+
+16:20.107 --> 16:21.307
+as well as a reference manual 
+
+16:21.307 --> 16:24.290
+for Emacs Lisp itself.
+
+16:24.290 --> 16:25.999
+All this material, 
+
+16:25.999 --> 16:28.699
+all that wealth of knowledge, 
+
+16:28.699 --> 16:31.605
+is readily available to the end-user
+
+16:31.605 --> 16:34.350
+through the built-in Info reader.
+
+16:34.350 --> 16:37.936
+The details on how to access the Info reader
+
+16:37.936 --> 16:40.512
+are already explained 
+
+16:40.512 --> 16:45.080
+in the initial learn-by-doing tutorial.
+
+16:45.080 --> 16:47.440
+For people like me who are self-taught, 
+
+16:47.440 --> 16:51.408
+the documentation culture of the community
+
+16:51.408 --> 16:55.600
+ensures that we are not left behind.
+
+16:55.600 --> 16:56.840
+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: 
+
+34:43.302 --> 34:47.187
+don't just give people the so-called "fire"; 
+
+34:47.187 --> 34:50.907
+offer them the underlying know-how.
+
+34:50.907 --> 34:52.940
+Emacs taught me
+
+34:52.940 --> 34:54.378
+the virtues of software freedom
+
+34:54.378 --> 34:57.362
+in a way that nothing else
+
+34:57.362 --> 35:01.150
+in the GNU/Linux space ever did.
+
+35:01.150 --> 35:04.210
+Here's an example from a few years ago.
+
+35:04.210 --> 35:07.050
+I needed a Markdown editor.
+
+35:07.050 --> 35:09.099
+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, 
+
+35:35.657 --> 35:37.174
+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.