Subject: bug#76870: 31.0.50; server-start with non-nil arg LEAVE-DEAD can write confusing warnings

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2025 12:39:46 +0200

> Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2025 18:27:50 +0100
> Cc: [email-masked]
> From: Jens Schmidt <[email-masked]>
> 
> >>      ⛔ Warning (server): Unable to stop an external Emacs server.
> >>      There is an existing Emacs server, named "server"
> >>      Stop it either in its Emacs session or call M-x server-force-delete to forcibly disconnect it.
> > 
> > This doesn't seem to be very different from the current message.
> 
> Except that I use the word "stop" instead of "start" in its first
> line...

But that is confusing.  This message is for the case when the user
wants to start a server; the fact that the previous one should be
stopped is a side effect.  So talking about "stopping" will confuse,
IMO.

> Do we agree that the following are all equivalent in effect
> 
>   M-: (server-start t) RET
> 
>   C-u M-x server-start RET
> 
>   C-- M-x server-mode RET
> 
> and all should *stop* the server without restarting it?

Yes.

> If yes, then I find it confusing to read that Emacs could not
> *start* the server in the resulting warning.

So you want to have an alternative message about stopping only?  That
could be a good idea, yes.