Add section with Frequently Asked Questions
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README.org
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@ -1450,6 +1450,87 @@ mutually exclusive.
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If I missed something, please let me know.
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* Frequently Asked Questions
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:PROPERTIES:
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:CUSTOM_ID: h:da2944c6-cde6-4c65-8f2d-579305a159bb
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:END:
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I (Protesilaos) answer some questions I have received or might get. It
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is assumed that you have read the rest of this manual: I will not go
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into the specifics of how Denote works.
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/Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?/
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I wrote Denote because I was using a variant of Denote's file-naming
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scheme before I was even an Emacs user. Note-taking is something I take
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very seriously, as I am a prolific writer (just check my website, which
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only reveals the tip of the iceberg). As such, I need a program that
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does exactly what I want and which I know how to extend.
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The existence of PACKAGE is never a good reason for me not to conduct my
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own experiments for recreational, educational, or practical purposes.
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Whether you should use Denote or not is another matter altogether:
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choose whatever you want.
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/Why not rely exclusively on Org?/
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I think Org is one of Emacs' killer apps. I also believe it is not the
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right tool for every job. When I write notes, I want to focus on
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writing. Nothing more. I thus have no need for stuff like org-babel,
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scheduling to-do items, clocking time, and so on. The more "mental
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dependencies" you add to your workflow, the heavier the burden you carry
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and the less focused you are on the task at hand.
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In technical terms, I also am not fond of Org's code base (I understand
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why it is the way it is---just commenting on the fact). Ever tried to
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read it? You will routinely find functions that are hundreds of lines
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long and have all sorts of special casing. As I am not a programmer and
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only learnt to write Elisp through trial and error, I have no confidence
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in my ability to make Org do what I want at that level.
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Perhaps the master programmer is one who can deal with complexity and
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keep adding to it. I am of the opposite view as language---code
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included---is at its communicative best when it is clear and accessible.
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Make no mistake: I use Org for the agenda and also to write technical
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documentation that needs to be exported to various formats, including
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this very manual.
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/Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?/
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My notes form part of my longer-term storage. I do not want to have to
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rely on a special program to be able to read them or filter them. Unix
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is universal, at least as far as I am concerned. Denote streamlines
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some tasks and makes things easier in general, which is consistent with
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how Emacs provides a layer of interactivity on top of Unix. Still,
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Denote's utilities can, in principle, be implemented as POSIX shell
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scripts.
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Portability matters. For example, in the future I might own a
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smartphone, so I prefer not to require Emacs, Org, or some other
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executable to access my files on the go.
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Furthermore, I might want to share those files with someone. If I make
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Emacs a requirement, I am limiting my circle to a handful of relatively
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advanced users.
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Please don't misinterpret this: I am using Emacs full-time for my
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computing and maintain a growing list of packages for it.
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/Why many small files instead of few large ones?/
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I have read that Org favours the latter method. If true, I strongly
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disagree with it because of the implicit dependency it introduces and
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the way it favours machine-friendliness over human-readability in terms
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of accessing information. You already get what I mean, based on the
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aforementioned.
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Good luck using =less= on a generic TTY to read a file with a zillion
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words, headings, sub-headings, sub-sub-headings, property drawers, and
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other constructs! My point is that notes should be atomic to help the
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user make sense of them. The more program-agnostic your file is, the
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better for you and/or everyone else you might share your writings with.
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* Acknowledgements
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:PROPERTIES:
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:CUSTOM_ID: h:f8126820-3b59-49fa-bcc2-73bd60132bb9
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