Do you type properly?

[ruhtraeel]

As in, do you keep your fingers on home row, etc? If not, what do you do differently?

I'm curious, because I personally don't believe that there is a proper way to type. I notice that when I type, my left hand fingers are on the wasd keys by default, most likely because of all the first person shooters that I play, and my right hand jumps all over the place, but my index finger usually rests on the k key. This is most likely because of all the programming that I have to do, as I think I used the home row in the past, but with all the punctuation in code, my hand began to rest further and further to the right side of the keyboard.

I type at around 90-100wpm. I'm probably not going to improve past this point, as I rarely type essays and stuff where you can be non stop typing ideas for a while. Nowadays I just type a line of code, stop, think about the next line, and then continue when ready.

[RC-1140]

When I typed on QWERTZ (German Layout) I used to do it the same way as you. But since I switched over to Neo (an ergonomic layout, which is optimised for the German language, but its second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth layer are programming optimised) I type correctly, probably as the most used keys are in the home row. I need to check my WPM once again, but I'm now a lot faster than I was on QWERTZ. But if I need to type on QWERTZ again I immediately feel how much I have to move my hands, and how useless it feels to rest on the home row.

[t!ng]

I use my left Hand to reach for the Y-key, although it is closer to the right Hand O.o

Too Bad that neo is Not possible or sub optimal for an ansi Keyboard.

[Jim66]

I touch QWERTY as it should be but I didn't bother to learn the correct fingers for the numbers.

[bounce]

i hardly use my pinky on my left hand and my third + pinky on my right hand while typing :f

[bhtooefr]

I don't really use the pinky except for left shift, Ctrl, and on laptops Fn, and I often use "wrong" fingers to get to keys (resulting in a lot more hand movement - my short-lived Dvorak experiment, I actually found that how much I was staying on home row without moving my hands was disconcerting), but I do locate myself on the keyboard based on the home row.

[domin8r]

When I rest my hands, my left hand is on WSAD

And don't type with all fingers as I should.. but just taught myself this way and it works. Can type fast enough and relearning is too much of a pain.

[Icarium]

I have typed correctly on qwerty and now I type correctly on neo2 but my speed is still quite horrible. Just tried; 49 wpm.

EDIT: At http://10fastfingers.com/typing-test/english

[bjarven]

I touch type properly on colemak, and was ok-ish on qwerty before that. Don't know how I'd cope on qwerty now though...

[JesuswasaZombie]

I touch typed Qwerty and now Colemak

[ne0phyte]

I write qwertz and qwerty with a weird 7.5 finger system at 100-110wpm
I always wanted to try another layout but as a programmer and heavy keyboard user I rely on tons of shortcuts :/

My left hand always is in the gamer position: shift wasd space and my right hand lies on j o p even tho' I only use the index finger, ring finger and pinky on the right hand

[RC-1140]

You should really give Neo a try, read more about it in the German Section of DT.

p.s. Are you a Hardcore fan?

[ne0phyte]

Oh I tried neo2 a few times but always ended up going back to qwertz/qwerty to not go insane and be productive again.

I used to like Hardcore, the nick is a few years old and I moved to minimal, electro and DnB

[lxrogers]

I type pretty much by the book except that I never use left SHIFT. My Blackwidow broke a few weeks ago and until I got my new keyboard I had to learn how to use the left SHIFT... it was so hard haha. Oh and I never use CAPS LOCK either.

Last summer I tried to learn dvorak but I quit because I didn't think it was worth it haha

[leah-albers]

I've never thought about whether I type properly. And not sure that there is a right way. Just type in a way you comfortable with. I'm convinced that is a personal choice like thing with the keyboard or with the computer mouse. Once you have "your style", you are able to type really fast in your essay writing or [spam link removed] term papers.

Remember kids, if you cheat at school your only cheating yourself.

[Laser]

I type with hands on home row, and finger placement learned from an older version of "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing", so I voted YES

I'd argue that, while there isn't one proper, or "right" way, there are more ways to do it "wrongly". Surely, it can get hairy (what's right and wrong?) and, if it's good for you and you never compare your performance with others, it can be seen as the right way; although somebody else would disagree. If we think though of maximizing the performance/effort ratio, through better hand and fingers placement, and keyboard layout (dvorak etc.), and type of switches/springs etc., many - if not most of us - don't type in "one of the right" ways. From an efficiency point of view for example, 35-40g springs would be ideal for me probably, but I would hate typing on that (at least in the first weeks?).

[kbdfr]

I've never thought about whether I type properly. And not sure that there is a right way. Just type in a way you comfortable with. I'm convinced that is a personal choice like thing with the keyboard or with the computer mouse. Once you have "your style", you are able to type really fast in your essay writing or <link removed>.

I once had a workmate who contended typing faster with his five-finger method (both index and mittle fingers plus the right thumb for the space bar) than me with my "classic" 10-finger method. After all, he could clearly hear that (we had identical IBM spherical head typewriters - it was in the pre-computer ear).

So we had a test, both typing the same printed text starting at the same time.
In the first few seconds he was indeed a bit faster, but soon he had to look at the keyboard to reposition his fingers, and then at the printed text again to spot the place where he had stopped. There was no way for him to keep up with me.

So everybody think the way they type is the best way precisely because they feel comfortable with it.
Including me, of course

[samuelcable]

I touch type well at around 87 wpm, but I pretty much never use any of the bottom right mods including right shift, a habit I should probably break

[vometia]

I couldn't really tell you how I type, just that my most used key is delete. In spite of having typed as a programmer for over 35 years I never really gravitated towards any sort of keyboard awesomeness so the point I got to in about 1983 is still where I am now. I still use maybe four fingers, with my right thumb for the space bar but that's about as exotic as I get. I have been trying to observe my typing habits (which has caused loads of typos) and as far as I can tell I use more fingers on my left hand than my right. Bearing in mind I'm right-handed... sigh.

I guess there's also a reason why I like the Model M, because it's nice and definite, none of that "look, I didn't mean it!" you get with MX Reds.

Once I'm going I can type without having to look at what I'm doing, but even with the various positioning hints I still need a good look at the keyboard to see where my hands should be going. I dare say dyspraxia factors into it, but I Am Not A Touch Typist.

[Blaise170]

I don't follow the strict guidelines of each finger belongs to a particular set of keys but I do avoid moving my hands as much as possible. I'd say I type about 40% with my left hand and 60% with my right, but I think that that's more a function of having the navigation cluster on the right side of the board than anything else.

[andrewjoy]

I am in the 4 finger crowd , i can touch type but its much slower ( more accurate tho)

[FXT]

I touch type at around 120 wpm and use homerow, but it seems like my right hand does most of the work.

[abrahamstechnology]

When I was a kid I absolutely hated typing lessons, as I was forced to use crappy rubber domes. Now, thanks to the wonderful world of mechs, I am beginning to learn again and actually enjoy touch typing on my unmodified Wyse WY-60.

[mcmaxmcmc]

I'm kinda in a hybrid between the two. If I need to type simple words, I won't type the "correct" way, otherwise, I'll try to type it using the appropriate fingers, since I'd like to learn to touch type.

Except using the Right Shift key. I pretty much never use that key in both ways of typing. I feel like it's way too far for my pinkie to reach it.

[mark201200]

I touch type correctly on qwerty, the only "incorrect" thing I do is press D and C with my index.

[LessthanZero]

I don't type at all like my junior high typing instructor showed me. As for the correctness of her method I can't say but I do know that I type much more quickly when I followed her instruction. I program and write, fiction and non-fiction but I never felt comfortable touch typing. I only use modifiers with my left hand. I don't think I've ever used my right side shift. I really feel that every person is going to have their own optimal typing method. We all have different sized hands and finger lengths. Typing is also affected by board geometry(certain kinds of typing are faster with certain setups) so their is alot of variation. I'm full of bad habits I know but I'm eithet too old or just too stubborn to change.

[Chyros]

Your typing style is different from mine. Now you must die!

[samuelcable]

Your typing style is different from mine. Now you must die!

Your YouTube comments in a nutshell

[Muirium]

How then can someone criticize a keyboard without criticizing the people who like that keyboard?

Sadly, this inability to separate taste from slander is all too central to the daily goings on of the whole modern day world. No opinions please! Especially in jest. We're too precious, you vile fuckers.

[andrewjoy]

Your typing style is different from mine. Now you must die!

Your YouTube comments in a nutshell

Politics and progressivism in a nutshell !