Re: [RFC] Moving "manual.org" into core

["Thomas S. Dye" <tsd@tsdye.com>]

Nicolas Goaziou writes:

>> I don't have strong opinions on this issue.
>
> I read it otherwise.

So do I.

Some history.  When I worked on this project several years ago, I 
concluded that Bastien was hostile to it, but there was nothing in 
his communication that was particularly negative.  When I 
suggested on the list recently that Bastien did not like the 
project, I was scolded a bit by others who found mildly supportive 
statements from him in the archives.  Yesterday, in Bastien's 
response to Glenn Morris, was the first time I read that he 
thought the project was a "bad idea".  I wish I'd known that at 
the time!

I'm fine with Bastien holding an opinion different from mine.  My 
point is that he did not speak his mind when I worked on the 
project, so it is valid today to disagree with his statement about 
the strength of his opinions.

>> Do you agree with the one I suggested?
>
> I disagree. My motivation is not to attract more contributors. I 
> don't
> think this was Thomas and Jonathan's motivation when they 
> started the
> project either, but I may be wrong.

I can only speak for myself here.  At the time, I thought the Org 
manual was a stylistic mess and I thought I could use my 
experience as a writer and editor to improve the situation.  I had 
lots of experience writing in LaTeX, but found texinfo clunky and 
obtrusive.  When I discovered Jonathan's texinfo exporter and 
found that it worked nicely, I thought I had an opportunity to 
contribute two ways to Org: 1) I could create a document that 
would challenge the texinfo exporter and lead to its development 
and improvement, and 2) I could edit the manual using the same 
lightweight markup language that I was now using in my academic 
work, having switched from LaTeX to Org mode for its reproducible 
research capabilities.

Of course, I figured the Org mode developers who write the manual 
would also appreciate the switch, and was pleased that Carsten 
pitched in with the memorable comment about Org eating its own dog 
food.

Many thanks to Nicolas for his efforts on this project.

All the best,
Tom

--
Thomas S. Dye
http://www.tsdye.com