On Mon, 25 May 2026 10:38:22 -0400 (EDT) "D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk" <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
From: Evan Leibovitch via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
I personally would not demand anyone new to Linux use a tool simply because I like it, no matter how good I think it is. It's staring off that person's entire entry journey with a handicap.
Clearly the original request was a joke. Demanding that one start with VI was the first hint. The second hint (if you needed one) is that the list of required reading was a SED and AWK book.
(I've used Linux and and UNIX since before there was a VI and I still don't know it. I mostly know SED and AWK from when they were born but rarely write a SED or AWK script.)
Hugh, I learned vi when I took UNIX administration training, and I am now addicted to it. If I need to do gross copying and pasting, I will switch to emacs-lucid. I am working on a 500KB LaTeX document here and vi is the only way to navigate it efficiently. If you are an efficient touch typist, you should learn vi. Everyone else should run away screaming. Peeing yourself is optional. I have GNU/Linux install instructions on my website and I have been recommending nano as a user-friendly command line text editor. This is the text editor from pine/alpine, configured to not automatically wrap text. Once you are in it, there is a menu across the bottom of the screen telling you what to do. -- Howard Gibson hgibson@eol.ca http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson