[[!meta title="Mentoring VS-Coders as an Emacsian (or How to show not tell people about the wonders of Emacs)"]] [[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2023 Jeremy Friesen"]] [[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/mentor-nav)" raw="yes"]] # Mentoring VS-Coders as an Emacsian (or How to show not tell people about the wonders of Emacs) Jeremy Friesen (he/him) - Pronunciation: JERR-im-EE FREE-SEHN, https://takeonrules.com, [[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/mentor-before)" raw="yes"]] Join me as I share some anecdotes and approaches for mentoring other developers who use tools different from mine; all in service of furthering a shared understanding, sharpening my own toolkit, and hopefully helping others grow their capabilities. Most everyone I mentor has chosen VS Code as their editor; yet I don’t use VS Code. Our pairing and mentoring sessions are about me being curious about their habits and modes of operation. I use my journeyman knowledge of what Emacs can do to help these VS Coders navigate pathways towards sharpening their skills. I also learn a few editor tricks from them. I’ll talk about remote pairing sessions, one-on-one sessions, and larger show-and-tell efforts; each with the purpose of revealing potentially different approaches. The idea being that asking questions and showing alternate approaches can begin to illuminate previously unknown pathways. The underlying goal is to ignite in folks a desire to improve their understanding and usage of their preferred tools; and show alternatives that might peek further interest in learning and exploration. About the speaker: Jeremy Friesen is a long-time software developer but only recently an Emacs convert (as of May 2020). For most of his career he has been writing open source software for educational institutions such as universities, libraries, archives, and museums. He’s mentored several dozen developers at his places of employment as well as through volunteer efforts. He strives to meet people where they are, learn how they are looking to grow, then working with them to grow; often by nudging folks to practice and explore their tools. [[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/mentor-after)" raw="yes"]] [[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/mentor-nav)" raw="yes"]]