bug#40774: Error messages shouldn't be hidden when the user is idle

[Drew Adams]

> If a message is printed in the echo area then it can be hidden in two ways: 
> either the user uses some command and the echo area is cleared automatically 
> or an other message comes which replaces the previous one.

> I use several timers which perform recurring or background tasks, e.g. 
> fetching things from the network. When there is an error in such a timer then 
> often I only know about it by noticing that the task does not produce the 
> usual results, e.g. fails to update something, because other progress 
> messages hide the printed errors.

> A better way can be if error messages can't be hidden if the user is idle. 
> When I'm using emacs then I usually notice the error, but if I'm in an other 
> app and the error occurs in the meantime then often it's hidden by a progress 
> message by the time I switch back to emacs.

> So when the user is not idle then things should work as today. But if the 
> user is idle (e.g. uses an other app or is away from the computer) then error 
> messages should not be hidden by other messages, rather they should all be 
> shown in a multiline echo area, so when the user gets back to emacs he can 
> see all the errors which happened while he was away.

My suggestion would instead be this:

As an _option_ (i.e. one can easily turn it off), have buffer `*Messages*' be 
displayed on an idle timer.

You can do this yourself, now, BTW.  But it might be good for Emacs to offer 
this out of the box.