Left Shift or Right Shift?

Chit-Chat / Rumor Mill
#1

I am usually not the kind to make a chit chat thread, but this is somewhat relevant to programming so I thought it wasn’t too out of place.

It has recently come to my attention that there are people who primarily use the left shift key on their keyboards when typing, and I was appalled to hear this. I refuse to believe that such people make up a significant portion of the population, so I thought I might ask here. Left shift or right shift?

  • Right Shift Key
  • Left Shift Key

0 voters

I should clarify this is specifically for typing, not for playing games.

8 Likes
#2

Exclusively. I’ve never even touched the right shift key on my keyboard.

28 Likes
#3

Holy crap. There’s a shift key on the right side of my keyboard?

41 Likes
Scavenger hunt
#4

Left shift is just one key below where my left pinky rests; to press right shift from the home position I’d have to move my right pinky out as well as down, which feels somewhat uncomfortable.

1 Like
#5

My right shift is always remapped, and not a shift key. Most of the time, it is a third backspace

(Second backspace is Caps lock)

#6

I press the right shift key with my right pinky. It would be very unnatural for me to press the left shift key.

:face_with_raised_eyebrow: third?

1 Like
#7

Capslock is useless as Capslock

#8

What about those people who use either Left or Right Shift key, whichever happens to be closer to a currently free finger?

And, btw…

ThAnKs FoR sLoWiNg DoWn My TyPInG sPeEd To A cRaWl, TaRaN!

17 Likes
#9

Silly technik3k, no one uses proper typing etiquette.

6 Likes
#10

Ahem, I beg to differ. But i was thinking about this during English class the other day and wanted to see if whatever shift key you use could correlate to your dominant hand.

#11
  • Right Hand Dominant
  • Left Hand Dominant
  • Ambidextrous

0 voters

Then we can compare the results to the shift key preferance.

#12

If I’m on a standard desktop keyboard, I’ll use both shifts. If I’m on a chromebook without a caps lock key (grumble goml), and I’M TYPING FOR EMPHASIS, then I’ll favor the right shift since the left hand types 56% of the letters.

2 Likes
#13

The shift key is prevalent in selecting groups of items. Since the majority use a mouse or arrow keys under their right hand, it would make sense that the left shift key is used more often.

1 Like
#14

i press both, i program and type in a very non traditional way, and i just press whatever is closest.

3 Likes
#15

Same here, but I don’t use the right shift

1 Like
#16

As a professional keyboard hand analyst, I would like to present my findings.

Starting off, I have developed an advanced diagram of exactly where my own hands rest when not typing.

image
image2160×1620 822 KB

You will notice that the right hand is folded sideways slightly more than the left, and it also comes in at a sharper angle. My advanced studies have indicated that this is in order to reach the delete button with greater ease, and quickly switch to usage of the mouse just by pivoting the arm.

Plus, as a right hand dominant, I can pivot the wrist to hit enter easier as that side has more dexterity, while if I had to pivot my left it would spend time tapping around to find the correct key, like Velma finding her glasses.

I have been in a mastery class on this topic for about 21 years now, I am grateful I can finally share my findings.

12 Likes
#17

professional

:face_with_raised_eyebrow:

#18

just don’t make mistakes

2 Likes
#19

I learned to type on one of these in 10th grade typing class: image
When you take typing class, you learn to use the opposite hand shift key from the finger you’re typing the letter with (this assumes you’re using “standard” touch typing skills, with one index finger on the “F” and one index finger on the “J”. 40 year later, and I still type the same way.

2 Likes
#20

I think the primary reason for always using the opposite shift key with typewriters involved the force required to press keys (especially on a mechanical typewriter).

When I am using a standard keyboard, I am always using the left shift, although that led to a sore hand when doing coding (LOTS of shifted characters). At work, I now use an Ergodox keyboard (I never claimed to be normal…)