Subject: bug#1305: All code that currently beeps should use visual bellinstead

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:00:27 +0200

> From: "Drew Adams" <[email-masked]>
> Cc: <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
> Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 11:19:43 -0800
> 
> > > This possibility of turning off or down the bell at the 
> > > computer level should not be removed.
> > 
> > I think you are barking the wrong tree: no one suggested to remove the
> > possibility to shut up the bell.
> 
> If the bell is systematically replaced by the visible bell, then turning off the
> sound at the computer level will not remove the distraction. The sound
> distraction, which you can easily turn off outside Emacs, will have been
> replaced by a sight distraction, which you cannot.

No, that's not the intent.  The intent is to make the visible bell the
default.  To turn it off, you turn off visible-bell, which makes Emacs
beep again, and then turn off the speakers.