Coach/tutor on Emacs, Linux, and Life

I provide private lessons or services on Emacs, Linux, and Life in general. My skills as a coach:

  • Patient
  • Compassionate
  • Thoughtful
  • Friendly
  • Disciplined
  • Adaptable

For more details on my competences, you can check the publications on my website, such as (i) my videos on philosophy, (ii) my Emacs tutorials, (iii) the numerous packages I have written and maintain for Emacs, (iv) my custom working environment on Linux, and (v) lots of other writings.

Private lessons

These are done either via video call or email, at your discretion. The standard is one hour per session. Lessons can be up to two hours long, though I recommend the one hour as it helps with knowledge retention. Multiple courses can be spread out throughout the week, depending on what you need.

Some examples of private lessons you may be interested in:

  • Help understand the Emacs Lisp programming language and set up a personalised Emacs configuration file.
  • Customise a Linux working environment centred around a tiling window manager.
  • Clarify the statements of a manual or technical documentation and provide concrete examples.
  • Be a talking buddy to aid in the practice of English or Greek. We can discuss any subject: what really matters is for you to use the language without hesitation.
  • Encourage you to be more spontaneous and talk without a script.
  • Expound on philosophical themes that have practical applications in our everyday life, such as how to deal with self-inhibiting thoughts.

Private lessons are always one-on-one. I will never ask you to be grouped together with another person nor involve a third party.

Services

I accept commissions on a case-by-case basis. I can deliver bespoke solutions to particular problems in any of the topics I cover. This is most likely relevant to Emacs and Linux, though I do not preclude other themes. You are encouraged to email me, explaining your requirements: I will assess them and inform you whether I can produce the desired results.

Work hours

I am available every day of the week. I currently live in Cyprus. The time zone is that of Europe/Athens. Contact me and we will schedule a meeting that suits both parties.

Pricing

  • Private lessons cost 20 EUR per hour. Students are entitled to the discounted price of 15 EUR per hour. I will not ask for proof if you are a student or not: I trust you to be honest.
  • Services vary in price depending on their complexity. We will need to evaluate the requirements. Expect the cost to range between 20 to 60 EUR per hour, which we will agree to in advance together with an estimate of the total effort.

Payments

You are expected to pay after the private lesson is delivered. You never have to do it in advance, unless you absolutely want to. The same is true for common services, though I might ask for 1/3 advance payment in case of a complex/difficult project.

The payment methods are as follows:

  1. GitHub Sponsors one-time donation. GitHub does not charge extra fees and you can make one-off payments of an arbitrary value even though the main method is for small recurring/monthly contributions: https://github.com/sponsors/protesilaos.

  2. Send a payment via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/protesilaos. PayPal takes a small percentage to process the transaction.

  3. Use a direct bank transfer via the International Bank Account Number (IBAN). My IBAN is CY23 0090 0520 0005 2010 0144 6252. Make sure you are specifying my full name, namely, Protesilaos Stavrou, and are using the Euro (EUR) currency. Though you most likely do not need this, the BIC SWIFT code of my bank’s branch is ABKLCY2N. Depending on your country, bank transfers may either be the cheapest option or the most expensive one, so please double-check.

Prospective students

I accept everyone regardless of their cultural background, sexual orientation, lifestyle choices, et cetera. Due to the nature of the topics I cover, I expect students to be adults. In principle, I can tutor younger people as well, provided I receive the express permission of their guardian and after I assess the situation.

Privacy policy

I will not share your details with anyone nor publicise any potentially personally identifying information. You are welcome to use a pseudonym. If/when we do a video call, you are free to not show your face.

Preference for libre software

I want us to rely on free software as much as possible. This includes freedom-respecting file formats like .txt, .md, .org, as well as video call software like Jitsi or Jami:

I understand that sometimes we have to make compromises. Please let me know about the specifics of your case and I will adapt accordingly.

Contact me

I look forward to you message: https://protesilaos.com/contact/. There is no need for formalities such as “Sir”. Call me by my name or nickname: “Protesilaos” or “Prot”.

🪷 This page is also available in Chinese: https://protesilaos.com/cn/coach/. Courtesy of an anonymous volunteer.