Subject: bug#9908: 24.0.90; Improve mode-line's "flags" section

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:42:55 -0400

> Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:48:41 +0100
> From: Dani Moncayo <[email-masked]>
> 
> I'd like to propose some changes to the mode-line's "flags" section,
> to make it more clear and readable:

I'd like to express an objection.  We already made the mode line look
very differently in the GUI sessions.  It is only prudent to wait for
a while before proposing further changes.  Personally, I hate programs
that change their look and feel every release.  I would not like to
see Emacs catch that particular disease.

> 1. In text-mode, the very first character in the mode-line is always a
> dash.  Since it is adjacent to the "flags" section, users could think
> that it is part of such section, i.e., that conveys some information.
> To avoid such confusion, I propose to write a space in that spot.

See 

  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2010-10/msg00709.html

where the rationale for leaving the dashes in the TTY sessions was
explained.  FWIW, I don't remember any complaints about this, so the
alleged user confusion does not seem to be present in practice.

> 2. The EOL flag is not consistent across platforms[a], and I don't see
> the point of such inconsistency.

The point is to alert the user to the fact that the EOL format of the
buffer or file is not "native" for his or her platform.  At the time,
this was important enough for Richard to explicitly ask for a change
to that effect.  I don't know if the reasons are still valid.  In any
case, these strings are customizable.

> So I propose to use always the same
> convention: ":", "\" and "/" for Unix, DOS, and MAC-type EOL formats.

Actually, a more logical choice would be '/' for Posix platforms, '\'
for DOS and Windows, and ':' for the Mac.  But I guess it's too late
for such changes.

> 3. When the buffer's default directory is local, the corresponding
> flag is a dash, which is very unfortunate, because there can be other
> dashes at both sides of that flag.  So, I propose to substitute the
> dash for a space (the "@" would remain the same, of course).

I don't see why this is unfortunate.  A space doesn't carry more or
less information than a dash: both mean there's nothing to show.  What
is important is not to have the dash signify anything in particular.

> 4. In text-mode, The frame name is always preceded by a dash, which is
> also confusing, because one could think that it means something.  I
> propose either remove it (shifting the frame name 1 position to left)
> or write a space in that spot.

Again, on a TTY we use dashes as a filler.  Please do not lobby for
removing the dashes from a TTY mode line, as the rationale was
explained in the above-mentioned URL.