I found that out because I was trying to start using org mode but I'm new to emacs. That was one of many issues I ran into trying to get it to work. (First was that the emacs that comes with OS X is ancient and doesn't have org-mode, so I had to use brew to get a good version).
Next is none of the tutorials actually match the shortcuts that org-mode actually uses on my system.
I recently switched from Vim (still using it through plugins in some IDEs) and decided to not start with Evil mode but give Emacs keybindings a proper go. Switching the capslock key to CTRL has been crucial. This switch is a built in feature in OS X and Gnome. Downloaded a third party app in windows for my corporate pc.
LShift UP::Send, ( RShift UP::Send, ) LShift & F13:: RShift & F13::
As a Clojure and JavaScript dev I think I am going to like this mapping quite a bit, so thanks for the tip!
Karabiner is pretty good though, and you can select certain keybindings to only work in emacs.
I've also remapped CONTROL to CAPS LOCK, a more common re-binding to save one's left-hand from endless torture and mutilation!
Karabiner https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/index.html.en On GitHub https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner
It's also pretty simple to extend Karabiner with XML scripts.
That works in all my terminals — I suspect something's awry with your settings.
One issue is that if you use gnome-terminal under Ubuntu, I think by default it steals alt for its own menus. There's a setting to disable that, and I always selected it when I used gnome-terminal, because who uses GUI menus with a terminal? Nowadays I just use st.
Another tip is to set your caps lock key to control. This is one of those 'how did I ever live without this?' things (I actually buy keyboards where the control key is physically where caps lock is on most; it's that vital).
And if you write any Lisp or code, you might like to swap parentheses & square brackets. For me, at least, it's another one of those 'how did I ever live without this?' things. I type parens all the time, and now I don't have to hit shift. It's … wonderful.