Question

this is in my .emacs can I mess with it or not?

(custom-set-variables
  ;; custom-set-variables was added by Custom.
  ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
  ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
  ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 )
(custom-set-faces
  ;; custom-set-faces was added by Custom.
  ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
  ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
  ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 '(better-fringes-bitmap ((t (:foreground "#00dd44"))))
 '(font-lock-string-face ((((class color) (min-colors 88) (background light)) (:foreground "#113355")))))

so far I am adding everything I want above these lines…

Answer 1

These are lines added to the file when you use the customise system. They’re generated when you use customize-*. By default, the customisation options are stored in the .emacs file. You don’t usually edit these by hand. You have to use the customize-* commands to edit them.