GNU nano is my editor of choice (2021)
There is a very simple, end-of-discussion type argument why shipping Vim as the default editor is a terrible idea: Because its user interface differs significantly from how every other program on the system works.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.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.