[2] While ratpoison is written in C, Betts' StumpWM re-implements a similar window manager in Common Lisp.

The name "ratpoison" reflects its major design goal: to let the user manage application windows without using a mouse.

"[2] Peter Seebach remarked that "the convenience and performance are impressive; the learning curve, however, daunts many users.

"[4] Similarly, Brian Proffitt observes that "the key commands are well explained in this window manager's man pages, and whatever you do, read these first.

[12] Bryan Lunduke of NetworkWorld gave a negative review, criticizing the key bindings and the difficulty of working with multi-window programs such as GIMP.