I’d like actual examples instead of “I work faster”, something like “I can move straight to the middle of the file with 7mv” or “I can keep 4 different text snippets in memory and paste each with a number+pt, like 2pt”, things that you actually use somewhat frequently instead of what you can do, but probably only did once.
Where editors usually have editing shortcuts, vim has an editing grammar.
So you can copy (or select, or replace, or delete, or any other editing verb) N arguments or blocks or lines or functions or any entity for which vim has an editing noun, or around or inside either of these, and you only need to remember a few such editing verbs and nouns and adjectives in order to immediately become much more effective.
It’s so effective that switching back to a regular editor feels annoyingly clunky. (I guess that’s why many offer vim plugins these days.)
Better: you can record entire editing sentences and replay them. Ever had to make the same change on dozens of lines? Now you can do it in seconds.
Now of course, replaying a sentence, or several sentences, is also a sentence of its own that you can replay in another file if you want.
It’s neat. :)
I think my first experience with that kind of macro recording/replay was with Dwarf Fortress, of all things.
I had no idea DF had macros but it makes so much sense.
This would be a big advantage… except multiple cursors were invented so I can easily do that without having to memorize a whole new editing language.