Neil: There's a wealth of amazing Free software out there!
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@neil While I fully support the use of Freeware and Open Source tools, this seems a lot like how people worked before WYSIWYG applications came on the market; e.g Word Perfect vs. Word
> this seems a lot like how people worked before WYSIWYG applications came on the market
Absolutely! And it still works *incredibly* well for me.
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@neil so what you're saying is I should learn vim
@SomeVeganCheeseIsOk That sounds like a curse
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@neil half of what you wrote reads like Chinese to me. Where can I learn more? Where to begin? Thanks!
> Where can I learn more? Where to begin?
Wikipedia, probably. But the gist is that vim is a text editor, and I then use the output of that into various other tools, to get it into the format(s) that I want.
Happy tinkering!
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Neil: There's a wealth of amazing Free software out there! I use loads of it.
Them: What do you use to write documents?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (typst + pandoc)
Them: What about presentations?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (revealjs)
Them: Your website? Blog?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (mkdocs / bssg)
Them: So what about keeping notes?
Me: Oddly enough, I use vim. I write in Markdown... (vimwiki)
@neil
Tnx, I am working same way.
vim - pandoc - pdf
and vimwiki as Zettelkasten -
There are numerous meanings of "gimp", and one is slur for a person with a disability.
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@diraquel Not the original poster, but to get you started:
"vim" is a powerful editor. It can be used in a very simple way, and then you can learn its commands over time. You use it to create and edit files that are "plain text".
"Markdown" : This is a lightweight markup language, a way of indicating in a plain text file that you would like certain formatting to happen.
"typst" : A system for writing and formatting scientific texts and mathematical formulas, designed to be an alternative to LaTeX.
"pandoc" : A system for converting between a gazillion different document formats.
"revealjs" : An open-source HTML presentation framework that allows users to create presentations using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
"mkdocs" and "bssg" : these are tools for taking files in markdown and converting them into a website.
CC: @neil
@ColinTheMathmo thanks for the summary! So, is this similar to using LaTeX? Can we use it on any OS? @neil
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@ColinTheMathmo thanks for the summary! So, is this similar to using LaTeX? Can we use it on any OS? @neil
Markdown? Yes.
# This is a title.
## This is a heading.
Here is a paragraph [and this is a link](http://example.com).
> A quote!
This is **bold**, and this is *italicised*, and so on.
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Markdown? Yes.
# This is a title.
## This is a heading.
Here is a paragraph [and this is a link](http://example.com).
> A quote!
This is **bold**, and this is *italicised*, and so on.
So it is readable as-is, or one can use one of many tools to convert it into a format of your choice (e.g. HTML).
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Turns out that I don't actually use that much Free software after all.
See? Even experts can't quit vim.
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@SomeVeganCheeseIsOk True enough!
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FWIW, I am still using static site generators, because that works for me.
But yes, a simpler conversion tool may well suit your needs.
I moved from hugo to bssg a couple of months back (https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/moving-my-static-site-blog-generator-from-hugo-to-bssg/).
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@FibroJedi @tribactam @freshstart
That's okay - we live and learn!
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Neil: There's a wealth of amazing Free software out there! I use loads of it.
Them: What do you use to write documents?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (typst + pandoc)
Them: What about presentations?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (revealjs)
Them: Your website? Blog?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (mkdocs / bssg)
Them: So what about keeping notes?
Me: Oddly enough, I use vim. I write in Markdown... (vimwiki)
@neil There's always Emacs....
I’ll get my coat. -
Neil: There's a wealth of amazing Free software out there! I use loads of it.
Them: What do you use to write documents?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (typst + pandoc)
Them: What about presentations?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (revealjs)
Them: Your website? Blog?
Me: I use vim. I write in Markdown, then convert it. (mkdocs / bssg)
Them: So what about keeping notes?
Me: Oddly enough, I use vim. I write in Markdown... (vimwiki)
me: hey MkDocs looks neat…
*searching for intel and looking at themes…*
The Slow Collapse of MkDocs
How personality clashes, an absent founder, and a controversial redesign fractured one of Python's most popular projects.
(fpgmaas.com)
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