ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

Rules

Keep it ergo

Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)

i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²

¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid

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No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.

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This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.

Some useful links

EMK wiki
Split keyboard compare tool
Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/

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How typical is it to use thumb keys for shift? (self.ergomechkeyboards)

submitted 1 year ago by RarePepeCollector to c/ergomechkeyboards

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm thinking of switching my thumb keys (currently space and enter and two of them go to a symbols layer) to shift. I find that shift makes me anxious when typing because i have to partially leave the home row, and as a result my pinky placement when typing is bad, my ring finger tends to take over and my pinky has become a mod presser and not a typing finger.

I have tried to overload the home row keys as modifiers but that is a huge mistake as it causes misfires or takes TOO LONG to aviate, there is no middle ground with that one.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

One of my thumb keys is Shift, and the opposite is Nav (arrows on one hand, mouse on the opposite). Last time I tried home row mods, a couple months ago, I caught up with what somebody said was the settings you really need for home row mods, and the misfiring problem I had before was much improved. But my fingers felt overworked, my thumbs felt underworked, and switching modifier keys when I needed to type a letter key on the other hand was work my brain isn't used to. For the same reason, I have not put 'e' on one of my thumbs as in the Maltron layout: thumbs for mods and space, fingers for letters.

Enter is a key I don't type nearly as often as space and backspace, so Enter goes on my little finger and the latter two are on my thumbs.

While I'm holding forth, homerow mods are certainly a thing on Colemak-DH (see Miryoku), but I think the better your home row is for typing letters, the worse it is for homerow mods. Letter/mod combos should go on less common letters.