At my corner, they license out Creative Suite and moan about the cost every year. So many folks using it for basic video cutting/transitions. I've recommended Blender - which is approved - over and over, but it falls on deaf ears. This is the same thing. Great open-source application that does what people want. We don't just need "enterprise support" for open-source applications, we also need enterprise training. I wish a part of the gov were dedicated to supporting open-source and acting as good sumaritan liaisons to these projects.

I used to work there and was delighted they had Vim listed. I was allowed to install Vim on my workstation.

Emacs is not approved unfortunately. Not sure why. I wonder if it has to do with that exploitable bug from decades ago from Cliff Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg. Rationale for other technology choices they make go back even farther in history.

Sure, I think that is clear. It is still better to be on the list with a check than not!

It's a good thing. So what if there is not also a parade?

Yeah, also more to the point does the VA actually use any sort cad at all?