diff --git a/vim/vimrc b/vim/vimrc
index 200a77b..944d8dd 100644
--- a/vim/vimrc
+++ b/vim/vimrc
@@ -62,10 +62,13 @@ set smartcase
 set ignorecase
 set incsearch
 
-" tabulation (3 spaces, auto-indent when my muscle memory demands it)
+" tabulation (3 space hard tabs, auto-indent when my muscle memory demands it)
 set autoindent
-set noexpandtab
 set smarttab
+set noexpandtab
+set copyindent
+set preserveindent
+set softtabstop=0
 set shiftwidth=3
 set tabstop=3