Emacs elevator pitch https://sach.ac/2025-08-31-01

That's the theme for the August Emacs Carnival.

I don't spend much time in elevators these days, and I didn't talk much to strangers even during the before-times.

So let's imagine this is more of, say, a meetup. (Someday I'll get back to going to those.) Could be tech, could be something else. Could be online, could be in person.

I don't have to convince everyone. I don't even have to convince a single person. My goal is to listen for the tinkerers: the ones who like to ask "Why?" and "What if?" and who try things out. They're interesting.

I can find them by:

• watching talks (sketchnotes are a great thank-you gift)
• eavesdropping or asking questions
• sharing what I'm tinkering with

No: Why would anyone do that? Yes: Have you thought of trying xyz?

For tinkerers, the juice might be worth the squeeze. Emacs can be challenging, but it can also pay off. It can even be fun.

Even when I find a fellow tinkerer, the conversation isn't "Have you tried Emacs? You should try Emacs." It'll probably be more like:

"I'd love to keep hearing about your experiments. Do you have something I can subscribe to or follow?" (Side-quest: Try to convince them to blog.)

and then the conversation can unfold over time:

• "Ooh, I like that idea. Here's my take on it."
• "How did you do that? What's that?!"
• "Oh, yeah, Emacs. It's very programmable, so I can get it to do all sorts of stuff for me. Wanna see?"

…and sometimes they fall into the rabbit hole themselves, as tinkerers often do. But even if they don't try Emacs (or don't stick with it), cross-pollination is great. And sometimes Emacs changes their life.