[umanwizard]

Modern GNU Emacs isn't really comparable to vim in this respect, since people use it with tons of bells and whistles. Emacs is probably better described as a "framework for building custom IDEs" than as a "text editor". Yes, vim plugins exist but my impression is that using stock vim with no plugins and only a bit of configuration is much more mainstream than doing a similar thing with emacs.

I'm sure people are out there who just use stock emacs, but I'm not sure why you would do so instead of using something simple like nano.

[lotw_dot_site]

I've actually managed to make nano look even simpler, by getting rid of all the interface elements except for a vim-like cursor position indicator in the bottom right. The notes to do it are here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJeBc0mynxR8lrL4u20q4oBc8vQ.... It wouldn't take too much effort do make it a .diff to auto patch the source code. My main issue with nano is its liberal usage of eye-blinding reverse video.

But I am just so utterly addicted to vim's undo/redo that I always feel naked without it at my fingertips!

And yes, emacs is definitely a universe unto its own. The point is that as a standard command line utility, the option to use it as a bare bones text editor is always readily available to end users, without need to do very much digging into things like settings/hamburger menus. I'm sure there are many emacs gurus "at the ready" in order to answer any conceivable unanswered question about emacs posted to stackoverflow.