I think the number of non-programmers who think 'I want to learn to program; I'll start with common lisp but emacs is too difficult!' is so small it is not a group worth considering. It's probably MIT & Stanford undergrads?
It's their IDE and they can design it how they want, but that's a weird goal for a CL IDE.
1. It is a potential first step on the way from non-programmer to programmer.
2. "Easy enough for a non-programmer" may also say something about how easy it is for a programmer.
I think the number of non-programmers who think 'I want to learn to program; I'll start with common lisp but emacs is too difficult!' is so small it is not a group worth considering. It's probably MIT & Stanford undergrads?
It's their IDE and they can design it how they want, but that's a weird goal for a CL IDE.
You haven't seen the Lisp subreddit then, there is a post complaining about having to learn Emacs at least once every week or so.