[nollidge]

Is there a "learn you a vim" or "poignant guide to vim" out there? Because the handful of times I tried vi/vim I got some stuff done, but didn't really grok it.

This goes for Emacs, too. I get the feeling I've never really used these tools the way they're meant to be used.

[thristian]

The best way to start with Vim is the included 'vimtutor' command, which opens up a document that guides you through basic editing operations (on itself).

After that, being around other Vim users (in person, on the vim-users mailing list, or subscribing to the !vim group on identi.ca, etc.) is best - being able to ask someone "Is there a better way to do X?" or have someone watching over your shoulder say "I can't believe you're doing that the slow way!" is a great way to learn.

The best long-term solution, I've found, is to remember that laziness is one of the great Programmer Virtues, and pay attention whenever some editing task gets tedious, and take a moment to look for a solution in the (amazing complete and well-indexed) Vim online help (":help") and perhaps the Vim Tips site (http://vim.wikia.com/)

[mun2mun]

you can check out these links http://www.moolenaar.net/habits.html, http://jmcpherson.org/editing.html, http://www.viemu.com/a-why-vi-vim.html. I loved vim after reading these articles.