Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!uwvax!dogie.macc.wisc.edu!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!mailrus!bbn!bbn.com!mesard From: mesard@bbn.com (Wayne Mesard) Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh Subject: Re: support? Message-ID: <41526@bbn.COM> Date: 16 Jun 89 14:19:35 GMT References: <840@csisles.Bristol.AC.UK> <3803@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU> <17537@paris.ics.uci.edu> Sender: news@bbn.COM Reply-To: mesard@BBN.COM (Wayne Mesard) Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA Lines: 38 In article <17537@paris.ics.uci.edu> John Romine writes: >Personally, I think MH is probably too complicated for "novice" users. >For example, we have students who keep every message they've every >received because they don't know the "rmm" command. Supporting users >like these are difficult, but they probably should just be using PC's >instead of UNIX anyway. As they say: "power tools are not toys". > >For those users who know what `backquoting` is, etc., MH seems entirely >appropriate. I must disagree with this argument. I got my department (chock full of UNIXphobes) using MH. And while raw MH (and the supplied MH "documentation") would do them in, a customized MH can be their best friend. "Support" on my part consisted of sending around a memo describing MH basics like folders and the concept not having of a single mail program along with the six or seven essential MH commands (with simple examples). Then I spent an hour or so with each user finding out what kinds of things they might want to do. Automatically keep a copy of outgoing messages? Use aliases? Have one command to delete the current message and move to the next one? Automatically inc messages on login? Search for a message by author? Subject? Etc. All of these can be accomplished by straight-forward changes to .cshrc, .login, .mh_profile, or the like. And they never have to find out about back-quote or even cmd line options for that matter. I completely agree that UNIXland is no place for non-programmers. And it's a shame that so many are getting left there one their own, because with a little support and hand-holding (i.e. hiding the power) they could have a Really Groovy Time. -- unsigned *Wayne_Mesard(); "Matthew X. Williams (Tony) This is Matthew's MESARD@BBN.COM first appearance here on Earth. His hobbies BBN, Cambridge, MA include kick-boxing and arson." -from Vassar's Commencement Musical playbill.