A portrait of the TeX novice/user/hacker/...

Novice:

 * Uses LaTeX because his friends told him to.

 * Creates vertical space via
        \hfil\break\hfil\break\hfil\break\hfil\break
   or   $$ $$  $$ $$  $$ $$      [or the LaTeX equivalent]

 * Lines up tables with \ \ \ \ \ \ .

 * Uses ... instead of \dots, \ldots, and \cdots.

 * Types $log \, x$ instead of $\log x$.

 * Has heard of macros but has never seen one.

 * Uses grouping but doesn't understand why.

 * Responds to every TeX error with `e'.

 * Isn't sure whether Leslie Lamport is a man or a woman.

 * Wonders why everybody thinks TeX is so cool.

User:

 * Likes LaTeX.

 * Religiously inserts ties everywhere Chapter 14 tells him to.

 * Frequently puts punctuation marks on the wrong side of the $ sign.

 * Leaves math mode to get math operators that aren't built in.
   For example, $f \in$ Hom $(A, B)$.

 * Has written small style files that change parameters.

 * Writes a `boldface' macro as \long\def\boldface#1{{\bf#1}}

 * Wonders why \def\thing1{...} \def\thing2{...} \thing1 doesn't work.

 * Immediately asks, ``How can I make TeX larger?'' every time he
   gets a `TeX capacity exceeded' error.

 * Doesn't understand why \verb is so fragile.

 * Has heard of catcodes but has never seen one.

Hacker:

 * Has given up on LaTeX because it's too confining.

 * Has written his own macro packages, but they sometimes produce
   unwanted spaces in the output.

 * Writes a \boldface macro as \def\beginboldface{\bgroup\bf}
                               \def\endboldface{\egroup}

 * Understands catcodes but has trouble changing them.

 * Understands why \verb is so fragile, but doesn't know how to get
   around it.

 * Uses \futurelet, but sparingly.

 * Can produce tables, but has trouble with ruled tables.

 * Has read the single-dangerous bends in the TeXbook and tried to
   read the double-dangerous bends with mixed success.

 * Answers LaTeX questions by reading the LaTeX book.

Wizard:

 * Understands the \tabalign macros in plain.tex.

 * Uses \@ne and \tw@ instead of `1 ' and `2 ' in his macro packages.

 * Omits the `=' from assignment statements.

 * Uses \futurelet and \aftergroup without hesitation.

 * Writes macro packages where nearly half of the punctuation characters
   are \active.

 * Writes macros that define macros.

 * Writes a `boldface' macro via \def\boldface{\bgroup\bf\let\next}

 * Can create ruled tables on the fly.

 * Answers LaTeX questions by typing `more latex.tex'.

 * Has corrected errors in the TeXbook.

 * Has studied the source code to TeX but doesn't understand it all.

Guru:

 * Has fixed bugs in TeX.

 * Debugs other people's macro packages.

 * Writes macro packages for plain text files, so that a simple
    \input macros
    \input file.txt
   produces nicely formatted output.

 * Understands the LaTeX font selection scheme.

 * Answers LaTeX questions before you ask them.

 * Is on a first-name basis with Don and Leslie.
   (and Michael [Spivak]? Barbara [Beeton]?)