• glimse@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Never because I can reach left shift with my pinky from basically anywhere on the keyboard

  • jam12705@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Once every blue moon I’ll use the right shift to Ctrl+Shift+m and unmute a Teams call but thats the only time I can think I’ve used it.

    • palordrolap@fedia.io
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      9 days ago

      I tend to use right shift for pretty much everything. The arrow glyph has worn off the key I use it so much.

      Important factors:

      1. British English keyboards, like the one I have, tend to be ISO, with a larger shift key on the right. Bigger target. Easier to hit.

      2. I have at least a couple of passwords that each have at least one shifted character from the left side of the keyboard and it’s much easier to use both hands when I need to type those.

      3. It might even go back to the fact that most of my early typing was on a Commodore 64C and the positions of surrounding keys. Hitting shift-lock or run/stop by mistake would have been a nuisance. Caps lock isn’t quite as annoying because it’s not a literal mechanical toggle, but even so, the right shift avoids that particular error.

    • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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      9 days ago

      That is the way I was taught, but not the way I did it then. Never developed the habit, so I never do it.

    • RandomStickman@fedia.io
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      9 days ago

      Damn, that makes sense. I one hand everything with my left hand. Maybe it’s because of muscle memmory from playing videogames lol

    • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 days ago

      I was taught to type that way, but I was never that good at using my right pinky while typing a letter with my left. Or maybe I just wasn’t good at coordinating which shift key to use with which letter. So I started just always using the left shift key which I somehow never had a problem with.

      If I have to type capital A, left pinky holds shift and ring finger hits the A. This isn’t the “right” way to touch type, but I can still type pretty fast.

      • leadore@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        But to do that you are bending your wrist sideways which will eventually start causing wrist pain. Better if you can get out of that habit before it starts causing trouble.

  • everett@lemmy.ml
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    9 days ago

    I think a good followup question for this one would be “Were you able to answer the question from memory?”

    I couldn’t remember, so I had to do some typing to see. And based on the amount of visible keycap wear, I’d say they get used equally.

    • leadore@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Same. That’s why it’s there, folks.

      Ergonomically, you should use the Shift (or Ctrl or Alt) key on the opposite side of the keyboard as the key you are modifying. This helps prevent carpal tunnel issues because you can keep your wrists straight and not be twisting them unnaturally to reach key combos. You should also not have your wrists resting on the wrist rest or other surface while typing as that also contributes to carpal tunnel problems. Just use it in between stretches of typing (or maybe people just hunt and peck these days, I dunno).

    • It’s funny, isn’t it? My mom made me take a typing class at the community college one summer - on IBM electric typewriters. This was before everyone owned game consoles, much less PCs. You’d think in today’s world, typing classes would be even more in demand, but are they? Do kids take typing classes in K-12?

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I learned typing on a mechanical typewriter back in school. I thought it would speed up my typing on the computer, but actually didn’t, because what I did on the computer was programming, which is quite incompatible with ten-finger typing.

        But nowadays it is actually helpful when I write texts, although I have to switch context quite often (reading the original text in one window, then switching to the editor to write the summary). Still faster than other peoples “eagle typing”: looking for the right key and descending on it with one finger.

        • I found the opposite. I’m a programmer, too, and still found touch typing to be a huge advantage. However, as with QWERTY, Dvorak isn’t optimized for some of the most common keys in programming: (), [], {}. But that’s OK, because since I started using QMK keyboards, all of those keys are now in a layer and on the home row.

  • cRazi_man@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    I rarely use the key as shift. It’s reassigned to a different function when tapped and that’s what I use it for most of the time.

  • tankplanker@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Yes but only occasionally. I have them mapped as space cadet shift keys so left shift key is ( on tap and shift on hold, right shift key is ) on tap and shift on hold.

    I use ( a lot but my ide normally adds the ) for me so I don’t need it as much for that.

    Also, I use left shift for most capitals as I rarely gpt further than ; on the right side of the keyboard.

    Smaller keyboards I have shift on hold of A and L as I don’t have dedicated shift keys kn those.

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    I type with both hands usually so use both, but when doing the one hand thing it’s always the right shift key. That one is more worn on my keyboard.

  • 👍Maximum Derek👍@discuss.tchncs.de
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    9 days ago

    My brain refuses to remember that they there are any utility keys below the enter on a US keyboard. The right pinky moves over and up, never down. I also never hit the spacebar with my right hand.

    I never formally learned to type, I just picked it up because my hands have been glued to keyboards since the 80s.