Tell HN: Don't bring your loud mechanical keyboard to the office

Good thing you work in 2022, because back in the day I guess you wouldn't have been able to be employed in an office environment.

In my old office pretty much everyone had a mechanical keyboard, so no one minded. One guy actually made it his mission to have the loudest one, but it didn't stand out from the back that much. The loudest typer was actually just a heavy handed guy using a cheap rubber dome board that came with the company computers.

I like being able to type while I'm on a call. I have Cherry MX Clears what o-rings, which people tell me they can't hear when I'm on the phone. So that's good.

I use a Rubik's cube to type on my computer........ is that ok?

This is one reason I refuse to go back to on-site work. I've got one of Unicomp's New Model M keyboards. Lovely piece of equipment, but if I didn't know better I could swear it had actually been manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern in Russia because it can get that loud when I'm in the zone. You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

honestly for me mechanical keyboards make an office bearable since it drowns out people talking and shuffling around and being actually distracting in the background

If keyboards noise bothers you that much, maybe you would prefer an individual office over an open space office?

I might be biased for being old, but this is how all keyboards sounded for a long time, and headphones mostly stayed at home. You'll be fine. What you should really be addressing are people who burn popcorn and microwave fish in the office. Those are the real monsters.

So I need to type on a slushy dome-switch or butterfly keyboards because the aural distractions for you are so greatly terrible?

How 'bout you just get some headphones so you can't hear the staccato clickity-clack of me making progress on my typewriter while you are busy acquiring another neurosis.

I'd like to be able to type properly please. If you were typing too instead of complaining, you'd learn why we need switches that work properly.

See also Peopleware chapter 12: Bring back the door.

The current open plan offices are insanely wastefull if you want any kind of productivity.

So if you have this kind of problem, it means the people above you don't care about your productivity.

I can't hear the keyboards due to the blowhard hustlers talking on the phones.

WFH has many advantages in addition to avoiding long commutes.

What a wonderful example of corporate life. This is the type of carefully crafted political office bs I hate, from the double speak to the use of unnecessary exclamation points. Right out of the gate it starts with what they want you to do, sans exclamation point, "Don't bring your loud mechanical keyboard to the office". Then it immediately backs off with saying a couple of things to should like they're being reasonable. They "get it". They've "soared in popularity among engineers". I'm wondering why they needed to quality it as among engineers which leads me to suspect that they aren't one. "Owning a custom piece of beautifully crafted equipment is delightful!"

Now that we've stroked your ego and complimented your keyboard we get down to it "I implore you to not use them them at the office" So now we've established that you're use of a mechanical keyboard is completely frivolous and ego driven while they have a legitimate complaint. While you're just admiring your "beautifully crafted equipment" they're dealing with piercing noise.

Now that they've made their case they need to back off again to appear reasonable by offering a couple of helpful suggestions to get you comply with their demand/request with the implication that there are no compromises being made with these dampening solutions.

We follow up with denying what they're sure the reader is thinking, "This person is a dick", with, "Truly not trying to be a dick writing this". Oh, but you are. "I really get the excitement!" There's that useless exclamation point. They totally get it, not enough to get one themselves, or not write a dickish email but they get it. "The sound has been driving me up the wall, and I can't be the only one" and now we finally get to it. They just don't like it and they want you to stop. You can't be the only one because everyone is like them and they're so reasonable that there must be people out there like them.

Either take an office poll or shut the hell up. You very well may be the only one. You've completely marginalized and dismissed any serious medical advantage to the wellbeing of my fingers and wrists. Those are my money makers. Without that I'm screwed. You know what that sound is? It's the sound of money being made. It's what's probably paying your salary so no I'm not going to leave my mechanical keyboard at home and I'm not going to put those shitty o-rings on my keyboard.

but i was told that i could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, i told bill that if sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she's filing then i should be able to listen to the radio while i'm collating so i don't see why i should have to turn down the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven

No, you're not the only one. Sure, maybe I have some kind of misophonia, but mainly I just find the sudden bursts of loud typing on mechanical keyboards to be somewhat distracting when I'm trying to focus on something myself. Or those really clicky types get on my nerves after a while. At least I've found that good noise cancelling headphones help, but home office has been great from this perspective and in general.

However, I don't think I'd mind working in some kind of old-fashioned newsroom with a steady click-clack-cacophony of typewriters. Go figure.

For sure other people have their limits too. Almost nobody else thought they were that bothersome until the Model M made a short-lived appearance at the office.

When my employer told me to choose keyboard I choose Logitech G213. It looks and almost feels like mechanical but it is so much quieter.

I had a colleague who I think had cherry blues on his keyboard. It was weird for me, first time hearing a mechanical keyboard. I just put on headphones and went on with my day.

When I do go in the office, I have sales people on calls and other people talking in an open office floor plan. Nose canceling headphones are lifesavers

At home, I have an ergodox and put gazzew u4 boba silent tactiles switches, key caps with o-rings, and put sorbothane foam inside the ergodox to dampen noise. I’m a heavy typist. My wife who’s a light sleeper and my 18 month toddler appreciate me working quietly.

Took my Keychron K8 (Gateron brown) to workspace last week. I was worried about this. Unexpectedly, the sound of the air conditioning system was enough to damp the key clacking. Of course, the GB was silent as well than others switches per my research. So I hope I did not create much trouble.