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

3 points by Oneechan69 ↗ HN
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.

6 comments

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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.

__d
The point of HJKL is that it requires less difficult movement of your fingers than WASD / IJKL. It's a marginal improvement, perhaps, but ... optimizing for expert usage is kinda the vi way.

So much of our computer interface is dictated by the assumption that users are untrained (and, indeed, unable to learn). It's a constant productivity drain on expert users.

AmalgatedAmoeba
I don’t think the specifics of the placement matter all that much. I’m a happy nvim user with a dvorak layout. Only ‘h’ is on the home row, but it’s not a problem. The issue with normal arrow keys is that you have to lift your whole hand to reach them, which is way less precise and much slower than just moving a finger.
robertn702
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.

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?