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> I was also forcing myself into improving my usage. I can understand that people "force" themselves to go to the gym because there are obvious benefits to it

> I was also forcing myself into improving my usage. I can understand that people "force" themselves to go to the gym because there are obvious benefits to it, but I keep wondering why developers "force" themselves to use Vim. It's like playing and mastering a very hard videogame, except it's not a game and it's not that much fun to learn.

jamesrcole 14y ago
I'd see it as akin to "forcing" yourself to learn a foreign language. You might think it is worthwhile but at the same time not find it a pleasant process. (I'm of course not implying that everybody will find either of those tasks unpleasant).
goldfeld 14y ago
Except millions of people do master very hard videogames, which has little benefit once you stop playing that game. Vim is a game I keep on playing eight plus hours a day throughout the years (at my day job then on my side projects.) Oh, and I find it a lot of fun to force limitations to improve my usage. Maybe you should only really get into vim if you find the whole thing fun in the first place.
danielbarla 14y ago
I like to think there are obvious benefits to Vim, too. Why do developers force themselves to touch-type? Because hopefully it will increase your productivity, in the long run.
pekk 14y ago
It's a power tool, not a game. Realistically it isn't much harder than completely learning Eclipse. If you are only learning editors for fun, you are weird.
gbog 14y ago
Don't know for the OP, but for me discovering vim corners is fun, just as some videogames, except it is actually useful. Reading a vim tutorial is like reading a game walkthrough.
jaimebuelta 14y ago
Well, like learning anything new, it has a point where is simply more comfortable to go give up and go back to the old way of doing things... You can also say the same thing about playing an instrument. It is hard, and at the beginning you can't get any pleasant sound of it. You have to stick to it a little, keep practice, and everything starts working eventually!

jamesrcole 14y ago

I'd see it as akin to "forcing" yourself to learn a foreign language. You might think it is worthwhile but at the same time not find it a pleasant process. (I'm of course not implying that everybody will find either of those tasks unpleasant).

goldfeld 14y ago

Except millions of people do master very hard videogames, which has little benefit once you stop playing that game. Vim is a game I keep on playing eight plus hours a day throughout the years (at my day job then on my side projects.) Oh, and I find it a lot of fun to force limitations to improve my usage. Maybe you should only really get into vim if you find the whole thing fun in the first place.

danielbarla 14y ago

I like to think there are obvious benefits to Vim, too. Why do developers force themselves to touch-type? Because hopefully it will increase your productivity, in the long run.

pekk 14y ago

It's a power tool, not a game. Realistically it isn't much harder than completely learning Eclipse. If you are only learning editors for fun, you are weird.

gbog 14y ago

Don't know for the OP, but for me discovering vim corners is fun, just as some videogames, except it is actually useful. Reading a vim tutorial is like reading a game walkthrough.

jaimebuelta 14y ago

Well, like learning anything new, it has a point where is simply more comfortable to go give up and go back to the old way of doing things... You can also say the same thing about playing an instrument. It is hard, and at the beginning you can't get any pleasant sound of it. You have to stick to it a little, keep practice, and everything starts working eventually!