HACKER Q&A
📣 Oneechan69

Were arrow keys a mistake? Should they just have been delegated to HJKL?


A few months ago I finished TypingClub and while I type much better now, I couldn't keep my right hand on the home row for too long because I would have to shift it to the arrow keys anytime I wanted to move around. Recently I decided to completely disable and replace them with H J K L after I started learning Vim. Vim uses those keys because those were the arrow keys on Bill Joy's keyboard when he made Vi.

I wonder if it should've stayed that way with keyboards. If the average non tech savvy person knows to press shift to capitalize, as well CTRL C X V, then would it be easy for them to know to press a modifier key plus H J K or L to move around? In such case would it help to print the modifier key in small font on the corners of the H J K L keys to help type them?

It seems like computer have really been optimized for low learning curves for the average person, and to the cost of efficiency, at least arguably.


  👤 robertn702 Accepted Answer ✓
I think probably not. The majority of people aren't looking to live on the home row and optimize every key stroke. The arrow keys are a lot more intuitive than HJKL.

The caps lock key on the other hand... I would argue should definitely be backspace.


👤 MountainMan1312
No, HJKL is ridiculous. Why would arrows, which go in 4 directions, be arranged in a straight line? Should video game players start using ASDF instead of WASD?

I suggest IJKL as a replacement for HJKL that actually makes some sense.


👤 shrimp_emoji
Why not correct the mistakes of the ADM manufacturer and use J K L ; instead?

👤 quantified
Optimized for the average person is somehow wrong?