Using GNU Screen can make life much easier, but how often do you start a job and then realize "I wish I'd started screen first"? I used to do it all the time, then I configured things so screen starts by default when I log into my server. Why do I want screen to start automatically when I log in? Like many folks, I work from more than one computer. I like to be able to SSH into a machine and pick up where I left off from another system. Many admins and other users like to run their IRC sessions with a combination of GNU Screen and irrsi, just so they can have a persistent session.