EmacsConf 2026 community panel comments I made
The following is my recollection of comments I made during the recording of the EmacsConf 2026 community panel (the Q&A session will happen live during the conference): https://emacsconf.org/2026/talks/community/.
It is not a transcript though it is true in spirit.
We had 1 minute per answer.
Starting with Emacs
1 What made you start using Emacs, and what kept you using it?
It is the potential of interconnectedness. With Emacs I can draw linkages between different parts of my workflow, such as from the email client or RSS feed reader to the agenda. It also is the transferability of skills: when I write a custom function that works, say, for programming then that same function can be used while writing emails (e.g. a “focus mode” that also enlarges the font size and switches the cursor from a box to a bar shape). Software freedom is another important consideration because it empowers me to do my personal computing as I want and Emacs is by far the best in this regard.
Contributing to Emacs
2 What took you from using Emacs to actively contributing to the community - participating in forums, writing Elisp, organizing meetups, answering questions?
One is organic. By using Emacs, I configure it by programming it. The more I do that, the more I learn how to write Emacs Lisp. I eventually reach a point where I can produce patches for existing libraries and also develop my own packages. This organic growth blurs the lines between user and developer as well as passive user and active contributor. The other part is a sense of stewardship. I am inspired to give back to the commons. I recognise that I benefit from the freedom I receive and thus assume the duty of empowering others to do the same.
Emacs in daily life
3 How does Emacs show up for you in real life - colleagues, meetups, friends? How did those connections form?
I talk to Emacs users on video calls. I have even met a few in person who wanted to visit me for other reasons as well (one case was a funny story about “a Greek philosopher who is actually alive”). Those connections form naturally over time. I find that there is concordance of spirit. People who use Emacs have some character traits in common. I can see a little bit of myself reflected in them and a little bit of them reflected in me. Each person has their individuality. Though we all answer a certain call that compels us to explore the depths and the lengths.
Learning from other communities
4 If you know other software communities, what’s one thing Emacs could learn from them?
I think this is not specific to software. What is true for the Emacs community is true for communities in general. It is about the potential for participation. People must feel that they are part of something greater than themselves; something that will be there even after they are gone. Thriving communities create involvement through a variety of means and thus engender the belief that one can move from the notional periphery to the centre, from observer to member. Concretely, livestreams, bug squashing events, social gatherings, virtual or in-person conferences, and even face-to-face meetings, all help create a sense of belonging and togetherness.
What to change for next year
5 What’s one concrete thing you wish existed in the Emacs community a year from now?
Uphold the standard of excellence. Keep doing what we do and increase it in intensity and/or frequency wherever possible. Those who chase fads have a spectacular rise followed by an equally spectacular fall. What has made Emacs—and communities in general—stand the test of time is unflinching commitment to their core tenets. Those are the qualities that made them interesting in the first place. In practice, this is about focusing on quality and letting the quantity come about organically. People come and go. To prioritise quantity is to attract opportunists and, in the process, to erode the soil we stand on.