From autotag.vim:
install details
Simply source the file
autoTag.vim from your .vimrc file.
This utility will (obviously) only
work when using vim that’s been
compiled with python support.
Is this needed because this is a Python plugin in vim, instead of a vimscript? Aren’t plugins in .vim/plugin loaded automatically?
This plugin only works when I source it. Is this behavior expected because I’m using pathogen?
There is no difference: if you place it in
.vim/plugin, you don’t need to source it from somewhere else.Addendum
As Randy Morris explains in the comments, with
pathogen.vim‘s magic, the equivalent plugin path to put the script in would actually be.vim/bundle/autotag/plugin.