[rescue] Re: nuking from orbit

[BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> >> I also prefer to use VI for running off short memos - but I usually don't
> >> bother with fancy formatting.  If plain text dont get teh word across-
> >> nothing will!
> >
> >For longer than I can recall I have kept boilerplate memos in n/troff
> >that I can pull up in vi, add in what I need in a memo, and pipe it to
> >a ps printer with our letterhead.  I still do that on my dos laptop
> 
> I've never used troff, or TeX, for that matter.  It sounds like you have to
> manually insert formatting tags into the text, correct?

Yes, they are markup rather than WYSIWYG.  The roff side of the family
is basically a terse 3 character markup regime.  TeX and friends can
be a bit more verbose in their markup, but are easier to read through on
the fly, in many cases.

> I think one reason you'll have a hard time convincing casual users (not
> geeks) to switch is that you're asking them to give up a WYSISYG
> enviroment.  Seems like a lot of people can't do the mental visualization
> required to predict what something will look like on paper without seeing
> it rendered on the screen.  

It is all in how you think about documents.  I have found that if you
don't have to worry about positioning everything WYSIWYG, you can write
input and think clearer on the fly, in raw text mode.  If you are a touch
typist, you don't have to do much to add in the markup.  If you are not
a touch typist, then it can be hectic.  The markup does the positioning.
It does it at the end after the input is created.  You don't worry with it.
In WYSIWYG, you are constantly doing the positioning as you go.  That may
not be so bad on small docs, but on long manuscripts and complex books,
etc., it can be a nightmare (e.g., the hair pulling our secretaries do).

You are right, though, it is an entirely different thinking process.
I always say, ``You have to think like a troffer.'', to get the most
out of it.   When Gatesware came long, folks forgot how to think that
way.  That can be a problem.  Markup does not require you to be a
visual sculptor on the fly, as WYSIWYG does.  You tell markup what
to do, and it does it all for you.  Very convenient, and, the UNIX
way, traditionally.  It generally does that very well.  If you put
output from troff/TeX up against your typical Word kind of output,
you can readily see the difference.  The troff/TeX usually always
has a more polished and professional look, compared to the Word.

The funny part of WYSIWYG is that What You See on the screen, Is Not
Always What You Get on the printer (WYSINAWYG).....(:+}}...  It is
getting better, though...(:+}}...

OK, mebbie we best get back to rescuing than preaching to the choir.
(:+}}...

Bob