I’ve noticed that a lot of people treat their editor like a car. Some people like to have more than one and others feel like they should trade them in every couple years. I don’t understand either group but especially not the second.
I understand the need to replace an editor that’s not meeting your needs, of course. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about those folks who are always chasing the new and shiny. Perhaps they’re motivated by FOMO; I don’t know because, as I said, I don’t understand it.
One such person wrote to Protesilaos Stavrou (Prot) saying that even though he loved Emacs and its community, he wondered if he should move to Neovim. The reasons he gave for the prospective move was that Neovim was maybe a bit faster and (like Emacs) had a strong user community. Perhaps, he said, Lua/Neovim was the “right side” to be on. That seems to me to be a bit like being buffeted by an unceasing wind as in the second circle of hell (and for the same reason).
Regardless, Prot’s answer is a beautiful and well reasoned exegesis of why he came to Emacs and why he stays here. There are several aspects to his answer but the two main ones are:
- Emacs represents a real, not hypothetical, freedom to it users
- Emacs provides a unified user interface for all of the tools you use.
Take a look at Prot’s post for the details. It’s not long and will ensure you that you’ve made the right decision by choosing Emacs and will make you happy that you made that decision.