# Emacs

Standing (still-up). Founded 1976-03-01.
Site: [gnu.org/software/emacs](https://gnu.org/software/emacs)

Original Emacs at MIT in 1976. GNU Emacs 1985. The clock is older than most of its users' parents' careers.

## Why it lasted
- It is a Lisp machine that happens to edit text, so every generation reimplements their life inside it.
- The Church of Emacs is a real distribution channel. Jokes keep it staffed.
- Nothing else lets you rewrite the editor while it is running without asking permission.

## Near deaths
- Vi won the Unix wars of taste. Emacs survived by becoming an operating system instead of a faster editor.
- VS Code ate the casual market. Emacs kept the people who would rather write a package than install one.

## What would finish it
- A generation that never learns Lisp and never needs a 50-year config.
- A legally hostile FSF that makes contributing feel like a deposition.

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