As long as you make sure that the mode vim is in the user's locus of attention. Typically, a user is more focused on the actual text they are trying to edit and thus the vim mode falls out of their locus of attention.

So it's not just about displaying what mode the system is in but also making sure that the user is always aware of the mode. It's this mismatch that make modal interfaces bad.

Edit: Parent has since deleted their comment. It used to say something along the lines of:

> So if I make vim always display the mode its in, does that make it modeless?