Ask HN: Vim, Emacs and the time spent configuring
Mood
skeptical
Sentiment
negative
Category
ask_hn
Key topics
Productivity
Text Editors
Configuration
Learning
Time Management
I'm proposing this question since I've come the realization that your tools aren't as important as the internet people make it believe, at the cost of countless wasted hours.
Sure, I may be faster than average at editing code and I can customize any aspect of my programming environment, but what if the time spent learning this knowledge was invested in actually useful knowledge.
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
22m
Peak period
2
Hour 1
Avg / period
1.3
Based on 4 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM EST
19h ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 23, 2025 at 7:54 AM EST
22m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
2 comments in Hour 1
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 23, 2025 at 12:14 PM EST
14h ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
These folks don't want to avoid the details and minutia and eccentricities of applications, they want to wallow in them.
Their appetite for this sort of "knowledge" borders on addiction. They program the computer but the computer has also programmed them.
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