I was about to jump ship to VSCode, but lsp-mode (despite minor hiccups) has extended my Emacs' expiration date.
So if I almost gave up, after having lived in Emacs for the last 12 years, can we really expect much popularity with those that are new to computing?
In 2020, Emacs is mostly just for people that love to build or customize their tools, or for folks that want a better Vim (i.e. Doom Emacs). And to customize Emacs you have to have a basic understanding of modes, hooks, keymaps, etc -- as well as at least rudimentary knowledge of elisp. Getting good at that stuff is a multi-year-long process. Emacs will never be "popular" for the same reason that if you want to have a fun night with friends, (statistically) chances are you'll choose to play Rock Band as opposed to learning real instruments. But as is the case with many niche and challenging things, it's hella fun and rewarding once you've spent a few years doing it.
So if I almost gave up, after having lived in Emacs for the last 12 years, can we really expect much popularity with those that are new to computing?
In 2020, Emacs is mostly just for people that love to build or customize their tools, or for folks that want a better Vim (i.e. Doom Emacs). And to customize Emacs you have to have a basic understanding of modes, hooks, keymaps, etc -- as well as at least rudimentary knowledge of elisp. Getting good at that stuff is a multi-year-long process. Emacs will never be "popular" for the same reason that if you want to have a fun night with friends, (statistically) chances are you'll choose to play Rock Band as opposed to learning real instruments. But as is the case with many niche and challenging things, it's hella fun and rewarding once you've spent a few years doing it.