The Great "Hard Return" Debate

[Ralph Cohen]

On Thu, 4 Nov 1999 20:19:32 -0800, Steve Lamb wrote:

>...
>...
>
>    If you don't understand after that, nothing will get you to understand
>because you are too used to mediocrity in all things you do that you won't
>grasp this very basic and simple concept.  You'd rather fight each author for
>the same things over and over and OVER instead of being able to take it all
>with you.
>

I appreciate your impassioned and detailed response, Steve, and I do
understand the allure of assembling several well honed and polished
tools to accomplish the task at hand.  A collection of single purpose
specialized tools will almost always outperform integrated applications
except in one area that's critical for most people using PMMail and
other integrated email programs - simplicity.  You, and most of us here
on this mailing list, are completely atypical of the average computer
user in terms of computer experience and knowledge.  Most computer
users wouldn't know a subdirectory from a CDROM, or a text editor from
a wordprocessing program.  Integrated programs like PMMail offer these
users a simple solution to perform a particular task.  Perhaps you view
the composition of email as being outside the 'job function' of an
email program, but I can assure you that yours is a distinction that
would be completely lost on 99.99% of the people using these programs. 
Email is a task like creating a spreadsheet.  People using email
programs don't expect to have to download, install, configure, learn
and integrate a text editor into their email programs just to perform a
basic email function like responding to a message or creating a new
one.  Likewise, they wouldn't expect to have to download, configure,
learn and integrate a graphics program just to create a simple graph of
their spreadsheet data.  

Even though there are a myriad of functions included in separate text
editors and graphics programs that are not included in integrated email
and spreadsheet programs, they are functions that are of little or no
use to the vast majority of the people using the integrated packages. 
I have four different text editors that I use for various purposes on
my system, but none of my employees do.  Not only don't they need them,
but I don't need the headache of trying to support their use by people
whose total understanding of computers is limited to the GUI the see in
front of them on the screen.  Most people want a single integrated
email package that performs all the basic email functions - including
composition - and which requires the least amount of handholding.  So
while idea of being able to assemble the ideal email program from
collection of single purpose specialized tools is attractive to many on
this list, it is a non-starter for the vast majority of email users. 
PMMail includes a text editor in tacit acknowledgment of this fact. 
Currently, it probably satisfies the needs of about 95% of its users. 
With just a little bit of work, that number could be increased to 99%+.
 

Ralph

rpcohen@neurotron.com