@uref{https://savannah.gnu.org/mail/?group=emacs, the Emacs Savannah
page}.
- Messages advocating ``non-free'' software are considered unacceptable
- on any of the GNU mailing lists, except for
- @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss, the
- gnu-misc-discuss mailing list} which was created to hold the extensive
- flame-wars on the subject.
+ The main ones are: @code{help-gnu-emacs}, @code{bug-gnu-emacs},
+ and @code{emacs-devel}.
- ``Non-free'' software includes any software for which the end user
- can't freely modify the source code and exchange enhancements. Be
- careful to remove any GNU mailing lists from @samp{Cc:} when posting a
- reply that recommends such software.
+ Messages advocating ``non-free'' software are considered unacceptable on
-any of the @code{gnu.*} mailing lists (except for @code{gnu-misc-discuss}).
++any of the @code{gnu.*} mailing lists (except for @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss, the gnu-misc-discuss mailing list}).
+ ``Non-free'' software includes any software for which the end user can't
+ freely modify the source code and exchange enhancements. Please
+ remove GNU mailing lists from the recipients when
+ posting a reply that recommends such software.
- @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-gnu-emacs, The
- bug-gnu-emacs list} is a place where bug reports appear, but we
- recommend using the commands @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug} or @kbd{M-x
- submit-emacs-patch} if at all possible (@pxref{Reporting bugs}).
-
- Some GNU mailing lists are gatewayed to (Usenet) newsgroups.
- For example, sending an email to
- @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-gnu-emacs, The
- bug-gnu-emacs list} has the effect of posting on the newsgroup
- @uref{news:gnu.emacs.help}).
+ @cindex newsgroups
+ Some of the GNU mailing lists are gatewayed to newsgroups.
+ The newsgroup @uref{news:comp.emacs} is for discussion of Emacs programs
+ in general. The newsgroup @uref{news:gnu.emacs.help} (i.e., the
+ @code{help-gnu-emacs} mailing list) is specifically
+ for GNU Emacs. It therefore makes no sense to cross-post to both
+ groups, since only one can be appropriate to any question.
Finally, we recommend reading the
@url{https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/kind-communication.html, GNU Kind
archive can be browsed over the web at
@uref{https://lists.gnu.org/r/, the GNU mail archive}.
-Web-based Usenet search services, such as
-@uref{http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?q=gnu&, Google}, also
-archive the @code{gnu.*} newsgroups.
+ @cindex Usenet archives for GNU groups
+ @cindex Old Usenet postings for GNU groups
+Some web-based Usenet search services also archive the @code{gnu.*}
+newsgroups.
@node Reporting bugs
@section Where should I report bugs and other problems with Emacs?
@cindex How to submit a bug report
@cindex Reporting bugs
- The correct way to report Emacs bugs is to use the command
- @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug}. It sets up a mail buffer with the
- essential information and the correct e-mail address,
- @email{bug-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org}.
+ Please see the Emacs manual for information on how to report bugs.
+ @xref{Checklist, , Checklist for Bug Reports, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}.
- Be sure to read the ``Bugs'' section of the Emacs manual before reporting
- a bug! The manual describes in detail how to submit a useful bug
- report (@pxref{Bugs, , Reporting Bugs, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
- (@xref{Emacs manual}, if you don't know how to read the manual.)
+ It is better to report bugs as described there than to ask on the help
+ mailing list. RMS says:
+ @quotation
Sending bug reports to
-@url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs,
-the help-gnu-emacs mailing list} is
-undesirable because it takes the time of an unnecessarily large group
-of people, most of whom are just users and have no idea how to fix
-these problem.
-@url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-gnu-emacs, The
-bug-gnu-emacs list} reaches a much smaller group of people who are
+@url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs, the
+help-gnu-emacs mailing list} is undesirable because it takes the time
+of an unnecessarily large group of people, most of whom are just users
+and have no idea how to fix these
+problem. @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-gnu-emacs,
+The bug-gnu-emacs list} reaches a much smaller group of people who are
more likely to know what to do and have expressed a wish to receive
more messages about Emacs than the others.
+ @end quotation
+
+ RMS says it is sometimes fine to post to the help list:
+ @quotation
If you have reported a bug and you don't hear about a possible fix,
then after a suitable delay (such as a week) it is okay to post on
- @code{help-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org} asking if anyone can help you.
+ the help list asking if anyone can help you.
+ @end quotation
If you are unsure whether you have found a bug, consider the following
non-exhaustive list, courtesy of RMS:
* New in Emacs 22::
* New in Emacs 21::
* New in Emacs 20::
-* Difference between Emacs and XEmacs::
++* What was XEmacs?::
@end menu
@node Origin of the term Emacs
modifying variables without having to use Lisp; and automatic conversion
of files from Macintosh, Microsoft, and Unix platforms.
-
-@node Difference between Emacs and XEmacs
-@section What is the difference between Emacs and XEmacs (formerly Lucid Emacs)?
++@node What was XEmacs?
++@section What was XEmacs?
+ @cindex XEmacs
-@cindex Difference Emacs and XEmacs
-@cindex Lucid Emacs
-@cindex Epoch
+
+ XEmacs was a branch version of Emacs that is no longer actively
-developed. XEmacs was first called Lucid Emacs, and was initially
-derived from a prerelease version of Emacs 19. In this FAQ, we use
-the name ``Emacs'' only for the official version.
-
-XEmacs last released a new version on January 30, 2009, and it lacks
-many important features that exists in Emacs. In the past, it was not
-uncommon for Emacs packages to include code for compatibility with
-XEmacs. Nowadays, although some packages still maintain such
-compatibility code, several of the more popular built-in and third
-party packages have either stopped supporting XEmacs or were developed
-exclusively for Emacs.
++developed. XEmacs last released a new version on January 30, 2009,
++and it lacks many important features that exist in Emacs. Since its
++development has stopped, we do not expect to see any new releases.
+
-Some XEmacs code has been contributed to Emacs, and we would like to
-use other parts, but the earlier XEmacs maintainers did not always
-keep track of the authors of contributed code, which makes it
-impossible for the FSF to get copyright papers signed for that code.
-(The FSF requires these papers for all the code included in the Emacs
-release, aside from generic C support packages that retain their
-separate identity and are not integrated into the code of Emacs
-proper.)
++In the past, it was not uncommon for Emacs packages to include code
++for compatibility with XEmacs. Nowadays, most built-in and third party
++packages have either stopped supporting XEmacs or were developed
++exclusively for Emacs.
+
++XEmacs was initially derived from a prerelease version of Emacs 19.
+ If you want to talk about these two versions and distinguish them,
+ please call them ``Emacs'' and ``XEmacs.'' To contrast ``XEmacs''
+ with ``GNU Emacs'' would be misleading, since XEmacs too has its
+ origin in the work of the GNU Project. Terms such as ``Emacsen'' and
+ ``(X)Emacs'' are not wrong, but they are not very clear, so it
+ is better to write ``Emacs and XEmacs.''
+
@c ------------------------------------------------------------
@node Common requests
@chapter Common requests
the main GNU distribution site, sources are available as
@c Don't include VER in the file name, because pretests are not there.
- @uref{https://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/emacs/emacs-VERSION.tar.gz}
+ @uref{https://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/emacs/emacs-VERSION.tar.xz}
-(Replace @samp{VERSION} with the relevant version number, e.g., @samp{27.1}.)
+(Replace @samp{VERSION} with the relevant version number, e.g., @samp{28.1}.)
@item
Next uncompress and extract the source files. This requires
projects / emacs.git / commitdiff