Re: Convert README.org to plain text README while installing package

[Kévin Le Gouguec]

Po Lu <luangruo@yahoo.com> writes:

> Kévin Le Gouguec <kevin.legouguec@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> So your paraphrasing ("expecting someone to go through the entire Org
>> manual in order to write and edit README files") struck me as
>> disconnected from (my own understanding of) Tim's argument: AFAIU,
>>
>> * he wasn't saying _Org users_ need to go through the manual,
>>
>> * he was confronting the "784 bindings" argument by saying it was not a
>>   particularly useful heuristic, inviting _us_ (participants of the
>>   present discussion) to check for ourselves what proportion of these
>>   bindings are actually relevant to the discussion.
>>
>> Again though, cannot speak for Tim; I can only explain my undertanding
>> of the discussion, and why I was dumbfounded by your reply.
>
> Going through the key bindings in the Org manual means to essentially
> read the entire manual.

Yes, going through keybindings ≈ reading the entire manual.  My point is
that

    asking _participants of a discussion_ to do X in order to make the
    stakes clearer (my understanding of Tim's position)
≪
    asking anyone who wants to write and edit README files to do X (your
    paraphrasing)

>> If there's been advocating for all documentation to be written in Org,
>> I've (dis)missed that, so sorry for not following closely enough.
>
> That's how this discussion started, with Stefan K asking for all
> documentation to be written in Org mode.

Assuming you are referring to
<CADwFkm=6_xP6zRSkDP1kreMKCXGBmp8Ze2WtUMeqq9-gEuGcxw@mail.gmail.com>?

The actual OP, <87leuca7v7.fsf@disroot.org>, started with something much
more modest: converting Org READMEs to plaintext.

Then, AFAIU, came ideas to (in no particular order, and not mutually
exclusive) (1) render the Org syntax rather than converting it "down" to
plaintext, (2) enable Org wholesale, (3) break down Org into smaller
pieces in order to make it less of a pain to fit the "display a rich
README" use-case.

I admit to focusing on those points of the discussion, forgetting about
StefanK's message, and then getting very confused why Org's complexity
_as an authorship tool_ mattered so much.  Apologies for not paying
enough attention.


Anyway, Philip posted a patch to the effect of what the OP suggested in
<877d5ut6z6.fsf@posteo.net>.  Digging into the ELPA admin branch, I also
see that the machinery for the conversion is exactly what I expected: it
lets Org's export library do the heavy lifting.

So AFAICT reason prevailed; package maintainers who enjoy writing
READMEs in Org can keep doing so without impacting their users; and
despite the forecast for today being pretty rainy over here, I'm
starting my day in a resolutely sunny mood.