From xemacs-m  Fri Jan 31 21:36:53 1997
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Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 22:00:19 -0500
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From: Peter Pezaris <pez@dwwc.com>
To: Steven L Baur <steve@miranova.com>
Cc: xemacs-beta@xemacs.org
Subject: Re: html-mode: &nbsp; -> space?!?
In-Reply-To: <m2wwst21hw.fsf@altair.xemacs.org>
References: <199701310844.DAA02979@localhost.interport.net>
	<m2wwst21hw.fsf@altair.xemacs.org>
Reply-To: pez@dwwc.com


    >> At this point the "&nbsp;" has turned to a space.  Bad
    >> html-mode.

    Steve> Only on the screen.  It's saved in the file as &nbsp;.
    Steve> All of the & character codes work this way.
 
I don't understand the motivation behind this.  html-mode is NOT a
WYSIWYG editor.  At all.  It is a _source_ level editor.

Here are the itemized problems I have with this misfeature:

1. It happens only when you save the buffer, not when you visit the
   file.  Why?
2. html-mode is not a WYSIWYG editor save this singular feature
3. It creates serious ambiguities in the display of your HTML buffer
4. It is entirely unobvious how to turn it off
5. It violates the principle of least surprise (WHAT THE FUCK
   HAPPENED TO MY HTML CODE!!!)

I see no reason for this feature to exist, and a lot of reasons for
it not to.  Could someone please explain the purpose to me? Either
I'm totally missing the point of this is just Plain Bad.

-Pez

