one argument for spaces &gt; tabs is that with tabs you cannot see if you have (mistakenly) added spaces to indent a particular line (without :set list which can be annoying to some).  If someone else opens the file and their tabstop setting was set to a different number than you, they&#x27;ll see different indentation on those lines.  If everyone uses spaces, everyone will always see the same thing.<p>I think tabs settings as something that should be agreed on by a team or project lead - too easy to screw things up.  Same with line ending settings in version control if you&#x27;re working with a mixed OS team.