Subject: bug#32959: 26; Emacs manual index entry `C-SPC C-SPC disabling Transient Mark'

From: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2018 00:04:56 +0000 (UTC)

This index entry seems to be misnamed.  Compare, for example, the index
entry for `C-u C-x C-x' (which goes to the same node).  The latter entry
is named just `C-u C-x C-x', not `C-u C-x C-x disabling Transient Mark'.

Why would `C-SPC C-SPC' be associated with disabling transient-mark
mode, since it in fact activates the mode temporarily.  What's more,
something that did, in fact, disable `transient-mark-mode' should be
called "disabling transient mark mode', not "disabling transient mark"
(which doesn't mean anything, AFAIK), let alone "disabling Transient
Mark" (no reason to capitalize).

Seems like the entry name should just be `C-SPC C-SPC'.

Beyond the name of this entry, this doc seems confusing to me.

Should it talk about turning the mode on/off, or about
enabling/disabling the mode, or about activating/deactivating the mode.
The node uses all three, which only confuses.

We do identify turning a mode on/off with enabling/disabling the mode,
so using both of those, or even a mix, is not a problem.  But I don't
think the doc should speak of activating the mode: "you an activate it
temporarily using...".  You don't activate a mode.  You can activate the
region or activate the mark, but not a mode.  And in terms of the index
entry in question, you do not disable (or enable) a transient mark.

This subject is already difficult enough - even just the notion of an
active region/mark and the notion of transient-mark mode.  Adding
temporarily enabling that mode makes things even more complicated -
difficult to understand.  This doc needs to be clear and
straightforward, to set these things straight.

Please consider somehow clarifying things in this node, in addition to
renaming index entry `C-SPC C-SPC, disabling Transient Mark'.  Whatever
you come up with is fine by me - I'm sure it will be an improvement.

In GNU Emacs 26.1 (build 1, x86_64-w64-mingw32)
 of 2018-05-30
Repository revision: 07f8f9bc5a51f5aa94eb099f3e15fbe0c20ea1ea
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 10.0.16299
Configured using:
 `configure --without-dbus --host=x86_64-w64-mingw32
 --without-compress-install 'CFLAGS=-O2 -static -g3''