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From: root@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.emacs
Subject: Re: How many copies would YOU buy?
Message-ID: <488@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Jul-85 17:12:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.488
Posted: Sat Jul 13 17:12:38 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 15-Jul-85 02:19:23 EDT
References: <4672@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 31

Well, I sent a message to this effect to RMS directly but now that
someone has suggested upping the price of the Emacs manual to raise $$
for GNU I'll publicize:

First, your heart is in the right place, this is not a flame, just an
opinion.

I find a big nuisance to students here are all the manuals and their
costs. I have worked very hard to try to keep this down for my students
(I generally teach the intro C/UNIX course in CS here, so I see it, easy
to run over $100 for basic manuals for just this course and *then* come
the texts (K&R, K&P, about $50 or so.)  Granted these things are useful
for years, let's have a little sympathy (I know *I* had to raise my own
$$ for books as a student, it was tough sometimes.)

I don't think one student here has ever bought the CCA emacs manual,
it's just too much with the UNIX manuals etc. They manage without it,
and probably not as well (on-line docs, public copy in the room, tribal
info), which I feel bad about cuz I am a manual hound.

Ok, so two good conflicting ideas: The only possible resolution I could
think of would be a "deluxe" and "student" edition, either with
different amounts of info or just different binding (eg. one could just
be a plastic wrapped pack of three-hole and the other would be
professionally bound.) But that's a real administrative hassle to get
started and I bet most people would just buy the cheaper one.

Or maybe there are just better ways to raise $$ that affect the 'right'
people most. Or maybe this isn't an issue: rms?

	-Barry Shein, Boston University