Just Two More Plugins

The Vim initiation ritual – desperately smashing Esc, random key combos, and eventually grabbing your mouse in frustration because you have no idea how to exit . The true programmer's hazing ceremony. Eight years as a developer and I still sometimes open Vim by accident and feel that same panic. The only difference now is I know to yell ":q!" while crying slightly less.

The vi/vim/neovim progression really is the Pokémon evolution of text editors—each one more powerful and unnecessarily complex than the last. You start with vi (barely functional, can't even exit), evolve to vim (now you can customize EVERYTHING), and finally reach neovim (Lua configs and a plugin ecosystem that rivals npm). But the real tragedy here? The yearning for ed/edd/eddy as text editors. For those who don't know, ed is the OG Unix line editor from 1969—so minimal it makes vi look like Microsoft Word. You literally edit files one line at a time with cryptic commands. It's what your grandfather used to write C code uphill both ways. The joke works on multiple levels: it's a Cartoon Network reference, a commentary on the Unix philosophy of evolution, and a sarcastic jab at people who gatekeep text editors. Because nothing says "I'm a real programmer" like pining for a 50-year-old editor that has less features than Notepad.

The classic "networking" experience on Tech Twitter. Guy just wants to connect with fellow developers and instead gets the digital equivalent of someone clinging to his leg begging for mentorship. The rapid escalation from "Hii sir" to "Please guide me, sir" in under 4 minutes is a masterclass in professional desperation. Nothing says "hire me" quite like prayer hands at 6:10 AM after being completely ignored.

Ah, corporate security logic at its finest! Some poor soul clicks a sketchy email attachment, and suddenly management's brilliant security strategy is "if it's free, it's a threat." Imagine telling developers to uninstall Python, Vim, and 7zip because they didn't come with an invoice. Next they'll be requiring receipts for your keyboard shortcuts. The real security threat isn't free software—it's the executive who thinks obscure paid software with three users worldwide is inherently secure because it cost exactly one corporate credit card approval. Meanwhile, the hacker who sent that email is probably using those same "insecure" free tools to plan their next attack. The irony would be delicious if it weren't so painful.

Oh. My. God. The DESCENT into tech purity madness has never been so PERFECTLY captured! 💅 First, you're just an innocent Windows user. Then SUDDENLY you're putting on foundation and diving into Ubuntu because "Windows is bloat" (how dare it have a GUI that works, right?!). But honey, that's just the GATEWAY drug! Before you know it, you're applying full clown makeup and screaming about how even UBUNTU is too mainstream as you frantically install Arch like it's some kind of personality trait! The FINAL transformation? Full rainbow wig, declaring that EVERYTHING is garbage except your precious Rust, which you'll use to rewrite the calculator app that worked perfectly fine before you spent 6 months "optimizing" it. 🤡 The tech elitism to clown pipeline is REAL, people!

Nothing says "I'm a real programmer" like spending 80% of your time frantically Googling "how to exit vim" for the 47th time this week. While normal people worry about finding inappropriate texts, your partner just discovered your deepest, darkest shame: you still can't remember if it's :wq , :q! , or just smashing your keyboard until something happens. The true walk of shame isn't leaving someone's apartment—it's admitting you've been using Vim for 5 years and still need to look up basic commands. At least she now knows why you're always muttering "hjkl" in your sleep.