> How the hell did they master this beast? Patience, mostly. Emacs takes a very big up-front investment, but it pays off in the long run. > I got irritated pr

> How the hell did they master this beast? Patience, mostly. Emacs takes a very big up-front investment, but it pays off in the long run. > I got irritated pretty soon and gave it up Yeah, that was my first experience, too. ;-) Don't rush yourself. Come back every couple of months and give it another try. Work your way through the tutorial, and if you feel like it's just too hard, don't listen to yourself. You will be amazed at what you can achieve on determination and persistence. Also, there are IRC channels and discussion boards waiting for your questions. Do not be afraid to ask "stupid" questions. More likely than not, people will be happy to help you. Last but not least, emacs comes with pretty good documentation. Learning how to to use emacs' online documentation, both the texinfo manual and the online help, can get you surprisingly far.