There's now a thread, currently at 50 posts, at gnu.emacs.help :
http://groups.google.com/group/gnu.emacs.help/browse_frm/thread/5b81fcfd40d1f4ca/

The thread got into discussion about using Alt+‹key› notation instead
of emacs's M-‹key› notation.

as a side effect of the thread, i wrote a detailed account for my
argument here:

http://xahlee.org/emacs/modernization_meta_key.html

plain text version follows:
----------------------------------

Emacs's M-‹key› Notation vs Alt+‹key› Notation

Xah Lee, 2008-07

Here're some reason i think emacs should adopt the Alt+‹key› and Ctrl
+‹key› notation throughout its documentation. (as opposed to emacs's
M-‹key› and C-‹key› notation)

UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD

No, thank you. I'm fine calling the M-x commands "emacs", not
"altex". Got a ring to it.

On Jul 30, 12:13 am, "xah...@gmail.com" gmail.com> wrote:

Do people really discuss this kind of trivia? get a life.
Alternatively, if you want to actually argue about it, note that Ctrl-
x is twice a many keystrokes as C-x, and Alt-x is almost twice as many
as M-x.

On Jul 29, 5:30 pm, Tim Bradshaw tfeb.org> wrote:

LOL.

Do people really discuss all sort of trivia in comp.lang.lisp like
where lisp's parens should be placed in source code? Get a life??

Yeah. u should use like u = you n c = see n r = are n n = and.
Humanity, let's save keystrokes!

Saving keystroke isn't the main issue about it. Good point to bring it
up though.

I hope i don't have now to start patiently answering every post here
too. Quite tasking on my nerves.

In article
<7ab50623-d91a-4dd5-a5c9-a1f2ec6058bd@z6g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,
"xahlee@gmail.com" gmail.com> wrote:

What does this have to do with Lisp or functional programming? Please
don't cross-post articles that have nothing to do with programming, and
are just about Emacs.

Tim Bradshaw wrote:

Oh, cool! The long sought key chord to put Emacs into "argument mode"
where it would demand to know why I was rolling the dice by coding
nconc!!!...

....twice a many keystrokes as C-x, and Alt-x is almost twice as many

:(

kenny

Xah Lee wrote:

Barry Margolin wrote:

Dear Barry,

I wrote a essay, posted to comp.lang.lisp, 8 years ago, titled
“Philosophies of Netiquette”, available at
http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/phil_netiquette.html

in that article, i discussed 2 styles of using newsgroups. One is
conversational, where people post freely and sloppily, all considered
good as long as they are polite and sing alone with the group's
political agenda, such as promoting lisp in comp.lang.lisp. The other
style, judges post by inherent quality, but does not necessarily
follows the orthodox views.

On Jul 30, 1:39 am, "xah...@gmail.com" gmail.com> wrote:

I believe they still may do that. Also whining on about how they
can't use Lisp because x, for x being, frankly, almost anything.

All these people should get lives: quit whining about trivia and just
DO SOMETHING. I did: it turns out not to involve Lisp, which is sad,
but it sure is better than discussing indentation or the names of
keystrokes.

On Jul 31, 7:13 am, Tim Bradshaw tfeb.org> wrote:

LOL.

So you did get a life? What? Second Life? LOL.

Btw, if you joined Second Life, let's meet. I'm Xah Toll there. We can
voice chat about the importance of functional programing in humanity's
future.

"xahlee@gmail.com" gmail.com> writes:

[...]

[...]

The social things you presumably have learnt there are indeed
incredible.

Whether that's a sign of intelligence is debatable. The dolphins would
likely disagree.