phyllis (07/14/82)
It is quite true that we all have LARGE "to-do" lists, and that working in many areas, especially in Computer Systems, is a demanding, often trying, job, where understanding and patience, even under "harsh" conditions, are things that MUST be taken into consideration. Andy's problem was a real source of frustration to him, and there are many more examples of this sort of thing occurring everyday, which never get "noticed" because the users, on the whole, do not complain (mostly because they aren't sure to whom to complain and how to articulate their problems). As a past employee of Computer Systems, I think it is a mistake to brush-off complaints by saying that the difficulty level is too high to consider fixing. There are already too many kludges that we have to put up with on the system. If something doesn't/can't work properly, then it is time to try something new. There are several other very decent macro packages available--even available on this system, e.g. `ms', `me', `mm'. As well, there are other editors available that are easier to learn from scratch than the ones available on our system. To sum up: I think it is time to look at alternatives and additions, not necessarily "replacements", for what exists here. Not all of us are "naive" users, and we should be allowed some choice. End of semi-flame.