A simple, useful tool does not always equate to "newbies only". In fact, I'd say it's the UNIX way: A simple tool that does one job really well.
Or to put it another way: Why would I break out my 30 piece combination wrench set when I just need to turn a nut a little tighter with my adjustable wrench that's right there next to me?
Probably not the average use case though.
I used nano exclusively for years, and though those days are gone, I don't appreciate people who look down upon it and its users, just because it wasn't built to compete with emacs.
> There are, at any given point, many [non-]newbies who just want to make that one change to that one configuration file without [using] a whole programmer's text editor.
> There are, by now, probably plenty of people of who use GNU/Linux (...) who don't ____ing care about text editors [when it comes] for that one time they need to add an entry to crontab or sudoers or something.
> If you want to do serious programming / system administration, learning one of the advanced editors is - at the very least - good advice. [But even then, a simple editor is always useful.]
My point is: not just for newbies.
To be honest, I do think of nano as exactly that. Let's say "the editor for newbies", which sounds slightly less condescending.
Being the editor for newbies is not a bad thing. There are, at any given point, many newbies who just want to make that one change to that one configuration file without learning a whole programmer's text editor. There are, by now, probably plenty of people of who use GNU/Linux just to surf the web and read their email (and run LibreOffice or GIMP), who don't ____ing care about text editors except for that one time they need to add an entry to crontab or sudoers or something.
If you have never touched vi before, its user interface at first seems like a slap in the face (to put it mildly). Having used vim as my editor of choice for a couple of years at one time, I still remember, vividly, the first time I tried to use it. It was no fun at all. The same goes for emacs (which I love dearly).
If you want to do serious programming / system administration, learning one of the advanced editors is - at the very least - good advice. But these days, such people are probably in the minority, even on GNU/Linux. And having an editor the rest of the population can use without requiring a Ph.D. in emacsology is a Good Thing, IMHO. It's not something one should feel sorry or condescending about.