Julia Evans
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Some terminal frustrations
A survey was conducted to gather information on the most frustrating things about using the terminal, with 1600 people responding. The respondents were mostly experienced users, with 40% having used the terminal for 21+ years and 95% for at least 4 years. The top categories of frustrations included remembering syntax, switching terminals, color issues, keyboard shortcuts, and copy and paste problems. Other common frustrations included discoverability, steep learning curve, history, bad documentation, and scrollback issues. Some users also mentioned feeling uneasy or scared when using the terminal, and others had issues with shell scripting, inconsistent command line arguments, and performance. The survey also revealed that many users have trouble keeping dotfiles in sync across different systems and managing windows with tmux tabs and terminal tabs. Some users mentioned feeling overwhelmed by the terminal's capabilities and wanting a more streamlined experience. The survey results will be used to inform the creation of a zine about the terminal. Overall, the survey highlights the complexities and challenges of using the terminal, even for experienced users.