Semantic Syntax Highlighting for Lisp in Emacs

Emacs just dropped a new toy for Lisp lovers: Semantic Syntax Highlighting, aka color-coding that actually understands your code. Instead of painting words blindly, it looks at what your code means, even handling those infamous Lisp macros. It’s easy to flip on via MELPA, ported from a plugin charmingly titled “colourful,” with shout-outs to Simone and misaka18931—and a proud note: Supporting Neurodiversity & Transgender & Plurality. And then the comments went full carnival.

Strongest opinion? Lisp diehards rejoiced: “Finally, colors that respect macros,” crowning it “mind-reading for parentheses.” Skeptics fired back about “code injection”—a feature used to peek into running code—asking if this would “melt my laptop” or “paint my REPL red.” The age-old Emacs vs Vim war reignited, with Vim folks posting popcorn GIFs and Emacs veterans flexing decade-old configs. A micro-drama erupted over “colourful” vs “colorful” (Brits took a polite victory lap). The biggest flare-up: the inclusive message in the README. Many cheered the rainbow, others grumbled “keep politics out of code,” prompting swift clapbacks: “People belong in tooling; kindness compiles.” Jokes flew: “My parentheses now have VIP badges,” “Emacs is living in 3020,” and one meme dubbed it the “Paren Rave.” It’s nerdy, it’s colorful, it’s peak Emacs internet energy.