I think that different people want different things. It seems to me like these days the idea of software being a personal expression is in vogue more than not, but there are always going to be those who want that and those who don't.

That said, if software is a personal creative expression, one must be prepared for the possibility that some people aren't going to like what one has to say. Often when the politics angle comes up with Notepad++, people will say "it's his software project, he has the right to put in political messages if he wants" as if that somehow compels people to be ok with the political messages. The author certainly has the right to use Notepad++ as a platform for his political opinions, and I would never dream of saying otherwise. I don't want him to go to jail, or get fired by his employer, or anything like that. But I similarly have the right to decide that I don't want to see his political opinions and use another piece of software. You pick up both ends of the stick, as the old saying says.

reading about political messaging in any software should make you AVOID it, not "wishing to have it"

the moment software stops being neutral, it becomes a target

Was hoping to see Sublime mentioned here. Super stable and available for nearly everything (Windows, Linux, Mac).

> The creator is also very selective about the type of politics he supports.

Why would someone express political messages without being selective? It’s understandable not wanting overt politics in your software, but this line is odd.