Is "I use Emacs" the "I am vegan" of IDEs?

#emacs #alsoyouvim

I recently switched to Emacs (--no-window-system). I've been a GUI-editor user since I started as a software developer in 2000 with Dreamweaver and Visual Basic. The biggest reason for switching is GUI resource consumption (memory, etc) when you have all your plugins configured, particularly on low-spec hardware. I just felt that editing text shouldn't crash your editor or your machine.

I'm still getting the hang of the shortcuts but it feels weirdly satisfying to work in a Text-based UI. Especially since I never learned touch-typing. I'm a slow thinker so typing fast wouldn't really be helpful. Which brings me to the title of this post. It has to do with how I got introduced to Emacs.

Vegans are disliked for not just making a point of announcing to everyone that they're vegan (and then reminding everyone every time), but giving everyone lessons on the benefits of veganism. In 2017 I worked at a company where everyone was using Emacs. I can't remember what I was using at the time, probably Atom, but I was told that "it's okay to use a GUI for now, but we want you to experience Emacs at least for a while and get used to it." Everyone was convinced that touch-typing and using only a keyboard made you more productive. Faster coding was also a selling point, but as I mentioned earlier I'm not a "speed-coder". I quit before my probation ended, for other reasons, but I never used Emacs during my time there since I was under pressure to finish my assignments on time and didn't have the head space to struggle with memorising shortcuts or customising a new editor.

Emacs was the one thing from that job that stuck in the back of my mind. And now after years of one disappointing IDE after the other and finally having enough breathing room to actually setup Emacs properly, I feel really happy with the change. I started my first project. Jumping to the docs frequently, but the shortcuts are quickly becoming second nature.

I am a vegan by the way, but people usually only learn that fact about me when we have a meal together. So, can developers shut up a bit about how "[this] makes you better at coding" when it has nothing to do with coding itself. You too Vim users.