GNU nano is my editor of choice (2021)
There is a very simple, end-of-discussion type argument why shipping Vim as the <i>default</i> editor is a terrible idea: Because its user interface differs significantly from how every other program on the system works.<p>You can have all kinds of fruitful or fruitless debates about whether there is some deeper sense in which Vim is a "superior" editor, but there is no sensible reason for it to be the default, ever. Conventions matter. Don't surprise me. That's literally UX design 101. If a single program sticks out like a sore thumb because every keyboard shortcut suddenly means something different than it does in all other programs installed by default, that program is the problem.<p>Replacing Vi(m) with Nano in the standard install was one of the most important UX decisions made by the major distros in recent years, and I can only attribute to blatant arrogance from some of the decision makers that it took so long in the first place.