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Who is the youngest emacs user? (lemmy.wtf)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/emacs@programming.dev
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The idea for this post started today when I saw in #emacs-til on libera.chat:

  • [2026-01-17 22:30:19] TIL emacs is just not for old boomers lol
  • [2026-01-17 22:31:53] also for younger boomers
  • [2026-01-17 22:33:10] haha that's me!
  • [2026-01-17 22:33:17] lil baby baby boomer
  • [2026-01-17 23:25:18] the Youth of Today love Emacs
  • [2026-01-17 23:25:29] I asked one of them back in... uh...
  • [2026-01-17 23:25:31] 1991?

So I did a websearch for the youngest emacs user, and, the websearch results couldn't help but all be about how old emacs users are.

So I ask Lemmy...

Who is the youngest emacs user?

[And no, before anyone thinks otherwise, that image is not real. I just put that together for whimsical illustration, from an image search or 3, with a relevant comment, an image from an article about a 2 year old who self-taught the alphabet, and an image of an emacs welcome screen pasted together with the help of the GIMP.]

Who is the youngest emacs user?

Anyone younger than 40? In 20s? Teens?? Younger??!

all 15 comments

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[–] 8 points 6 months ago

I've started in twenties, now in early thirties. I think it's just niche no matter old or young.

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    [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    I used emacs for school back in 2017… I was 33 at the time!

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    [–] 5 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I didn't use emacs much until around 2014, but I remember playing the Emacs Adventure around 2006 when I was 11.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 6 months ago*

    I didn’t use emacs much until around 2014,

    Heh. I started using emacs in 2014, when an irc friend who had been using it for a decade were moving parts of their 10 year old config to a new one (iirc, they were moving to org-mode config), and then in 2024, I did the same, moved my 10 year old config over to an org-mode config.

    Anyhoo,

    but I remember playing the Emacs Adventure around 2006 when I was 11.

    1. Can we count that as the youngest yet?
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    • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I use Emacs and I am not old. I am only.... Oh no... I am old...

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    • [–] 3 points 6 months ago*

    Emacs: ... old brain compatibility...
    Vim: Brain? Beep-beep-beep...

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    [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    I use vim, and in under 40

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    [–] 2 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    This guy doesn't look that old.

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    • [–] [S] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    Some other young ones in irc:

    • [2026-01-18 17:01:33] I've used emacs since I was 13/14, 20 now
    • [2026-01-18 17:02:11] My girlfriend also used it for a solid while, she's 22
    • [2026-01-18 17:02:19] so I used Emacs when I was ~15-16 but really never learned it well, then didn't touch it for 7-8 years

    11's still the number to beat, if we're counting "playing the Emacs Adventure" (which of course we should).

    13/14's a solid young use.

    I think we're starting to show emacs is not just for "old brain".

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