waider | possibly the stupidest "my editor is better than yours" argument I've seen yet

Emacs makes you more prone to RSI than vi, apparently. Funny, given that, for example, vi's Open new line (O), Append to current line (A), Change entire line after cursor (C), switch to ex mode (:), Paste before current line (P), Switch case under cursor (~), and Goto end of file (G) all require me to use the shift key, which is going to give me at least a similar amount of grief - and these are all commands I'd use regularly, not deliberately chosen counter-examples. For comparison's sake, the equivalent Emacs keystrokes would be C-o, C-e (moves cursor to end of line; Emacs doesn't do the "now we are typing/now we are editing modal stuff"), C-k, no equivalent, C-y, ESC-u¹, ESC->. If you're getting RSI from your computer, try taking a break now and again.

1. Actually, this may account in part for my lack of Emacs-generated RSI: I originally learned to use it using very, very dumb terminal emulators and thus never learned any of the Alt/Meta invocations, instead learning them as ESC-<character>. For me, this forces a sizeable move away from hands-at-rest rather than trying to hit a key that, on this keyboard, is actually under my palm, in combination with some other key. Of course, if I had ever learned to type correctly, I'd be holding down modifier keys with one hand and the, ah, modified keys with the other.

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It's all the damn buckybits. I notice it on a cramped keyboard (like a laptop, say).

I pretty much exclusively use laptop keyboards. I even have a laptop keyboard (complete with integrated pointer stick) for one of my desktop boxes.

Ooh, thanks for the link.

By the way, I can't believe there's really a University of Limerick. Did you guys study the Man from Nantucket, there? *rofl*

Wow, you're funny. *plonk*

By the way, the reason vi is less prone to give you RSI (as opposed to emacs) comes from vi's avoidance of using the Control key. The Shift key is placed in a location that's still natural and doesn't require any movement in the wrist in order to press it. So, as you pointed out, vi uses shift-modified keys for a lot of its functions, those won't induce RSI the way emacs does, using Control and Meta modifiers.

Sorry you didn't find my limerick thing funny. :-) I just couldn't resist.

Yeah, I read before (somewhere) that chording is a major RSI cause, but never read or guessed that the positioning of keys was important. If so though, why not map your caps lock to ctrl, thus putting a ctrl key in easy reach of your left pinky? It's not like you use caps lock for anything, and it messes up case-sensitive editor keybindings if you accidentally tap it anyway.

(hi waider, kor here!)

Some Sun keyboards have done just that, probably for this very reason. The downside is that caps-lock isn't symmetrical on the keyboard: you wouldn't go binding the Enter key to Control as well, would you?

Why does this matter? Suppose you prefer using your right pinky to depress the Shift and Control keys. What do you bind Control to, then?

oh-ho, you're a lefty. Well then I've no sympathy for you. If the Westboro Baptist Church taught me anything, it's that God doesn't hate you for being a lefty; you're a lefty because God hates you.

For rightly-built folk though, having only one control key, and it in place of the standard pc caps lock key, just works. I've never had reason to reach for the other ctrl. Funny, that. Hmmm. Maybe it's not a universal solution though, maybe it's just me. Try it though!

Great reference to WBC -- nicely done.

The truth is, I'm not a lefty. However, people who say "take frequent breaks to avoid RSI" are pussies. In order to "go the distance" I find myself (after 15 years of touch-typing) automatically balancing typing with both hands: I don't favor one over the other while typing.

Symmetry of the keyboard really helps me, here. I often alternate which pinky I use to press "shift" with, and now that I'm paying conscious attention to it, I seem to be using the right pinky more than the left.

And, I'm a vi user -- so, I don't spend much time mashing that Control key. I also notice that when I do, I typically use my left pinky. I also have particularly short pinkies -- perfect for typing, bad for playing piano -- so tucking it down left to get at the Control key doesn't require much wrist torsion for me. Probably another reason why I've avoided RSI for so long.

(Last comment was by me, but I accidentally nuked my cookies yesterday and forgot to log in again.)

possibly the stupidest "my editor is better than yours" argument I've seen yet

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chording, crtl vs caps lock

Re: chording, crtl vs caps lock

Re: chording, crtl vs caps lock

Re: chording, crtl vs caps lock

Re: chording, crtl vs caps lock