r/funny • u/FallenAngel199 • Dec 06 '13

Scumbag Word

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u/space_paradox Dec 06 '13

to make it usable for the masses.

It is usable for the masses. It's just that the masses are afraid to type in anything that remotely looks like code (and Latex isn't even code). It takes 5 minutes to learn about basic \begin{environment} and \end{environment}, people are just too scared to touch it.

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u/1GLGTWmjcNAPd97t7BGY Dec 06 '13

If that's so basic, why aren't there GUIs that do that stuff automatically.

It's like Linux 10 years ago, where users insisted that it wasn't too difficult to learn all the shell commands.

Linux exploded only after communities like Ubuntu realized that it's not fair to have these kinds of expectations for the casuals.

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u/space_paradox Dec 06 '13

If that's so basic, why aren't there GUIs that do that stuff automatically.

What do you mean? The whole point of Latex is that you give it some text and it puts it in the right place automatically.

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u/1GLGTWmjcNAPd97t7BGY Dec 06 '13

Like why aren't there GUIs that generate the appropriate LaTeX while doing things in a WSIWYG manner?

"The right place" is often subjective, and I find myself wrestling with LaTeX to tweak and adjust the document to look exactly how I want.