Re: The Problems of TeX

Hallöchen!

Lars Madsen writes:

[...]

I my opinion the main problem here is (1) bad templates, and (2)
using tutorials as their LaTeX bible.

You are absolutely right, with both points.

[...]

We as a community has to acknowledge this, and provide better
tutorials.

The problem is that you have two groups of people: Those who like
working with computers and like to program, and those who don't but
just write documents. The first groups develops LaTeX, writes the
tutorials and textbooks, and gives advice; and the second group is
the much larger one.

So, I'm afraid LaTeX will remain being closer to programming
languages than to desktop applications, especially with its
extremely modular structure. On the other hand, most LaTeX users
think of LaTeX as some sort of odd Word and treat it as such. Yet
it isn't, so they get frustrated.

I've observed a development in other communities (most notably the
Linux desktop environments) away from geek-friendlyness towards the
"ordinary computer user" over the last years. However, the LaTeX
community is way to loose and heterogeneous for such an effort, I'm
afraid.

Tschö,
Torsten.

--
Torsten Bronger, aquisgrana, europa vetus
Jabber ID: bronger@xxxxxxxxxx
(See http://ime.webhop.org for further contact info.)
.

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