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General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 11:46:11 am

Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 11:46:11 am
i'm going to go out on a limb and say everyone here has probably had at least 3 years of computer experience. i don't know if that makes us POWER USERS but whatever, how many of you type properly?
do you type properly? how did you learn? This topic is about typing.

i'm bringing it up because i used computers for years and had long dealings with DOS long after windows 95 came out and my typing method is barely better than hunt and peck. i got MAVIS BEACON not too long ago to address this and i'm certain proper typing is designed to ruin wrists, maybe i should pick up a goofy microsoft natural keyboard
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Jester on October 25, 2009, 11:52:37 am
I have no idea what the proper method for typing is? I use all my fingers and don't need to look at the keyboard, if that's what you mean.

Though I do use my index fingers more than any other fingers by about 400%, I'm sure that's not normal.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: JMickle on October 25, 2009, 11:53:12 am
i learnt how to type properly but i found out i was much quicker and better typing the way i do now: i use whatever finger is closest to the letter i type. i frequently use the letters y and h with my left hand (big no no) and shiz like that.

i know what you mean about its designed to ruin wrists i've never had trouble with my typing but when i was learning to do it properly my arms always started aching after a while.

plus those microsfot keyboards are terrible. people who use them find they cant use a normal keyboard for shit anymore.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 12:34:48 pm
i type properly because we had to learn to do it in elementary/middle school.  That's really all our computer classes were, we'd learn to type for a bit and then we'd play oregon trail or cross country USA.  Well, in middle school we'd learn to type, maybe learn how to USE A SEARCH ENGINE (this was the most boring class ever i knew how to do all of these things) and when we showed the teacher we were done we could use the internet or play games or whatever.  Then in high school I had to take ANOTHER typing class because apparently the Kentucky school system requires it, even though my principal was going to try to get me out of it so I could take something else.  But w/e, we learned to FORMAT DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS and all sorts of other boring shit nobody remembered.  I got 123 wpm on one of our typing exercises in that class.

The only things that I don't do by the book are numbers (I forget which ones but there are some I don't hit with the right finger) and I use the left shift for everything instead of using the shift opposite of the letter you're typing.  But I think that rule is for people that can't hit two buttons at the same time with one hand.  I'm left handed, therefore my left pinky is stronger, therefore the left shift is a lot more comfortable for me to use.  But 99% of the time, yeah I do "proper" touch typing and I never need to look at the keyboard.  I've also never had wrist problems from it, I think it just seems that way if you're not used to doing it.  If you've done it all along it's not really uncomfortable or anything, and it's a lot faster.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 12:42:47 pm
yeah i figure i should learn a proper form but i'm dreading the unlearning stage, especially as the keyboard feels really cramped and awkward that way. maybe keyboards were designed for dainty women hands or something
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 12:52:54 pm
just let mavis beacon show you the way....that is why her name is beacon....because she is a beacon of light in the storm of you being unable to type
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: big ass skelly on October 25, 2009, 12:57:57 pm
I touch type pretty quick but I'm pretty sure I use the wrong fingers for a bunch of letters

im sure a secretary would sneer at my typing skills
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Seawed on October 25, 2009, 01:04:43 pm
I guess I don't type right at all? I just use my two index fingers and occasionally my thumb to type. I also don't need to look at the keyboard? I type fast enough for all my tasks anyway, so I never really gave much of a fuck to change it.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: mkkmypet on October 25, 2009, 03:56:12 pm
I just type how I want. I don't have to look at the keyboard but it's not because I use touch typing-- it's more like I just have good spatial memory because I've been using computers for so long. We had to learn the proper way to type in like 5th grade but I was waaay ahead of everyone else and I just typed my own way. I use my index and middle fingers more than the others and I hardly ever use my pinky finger. I pretty much exclusively use the right shift key. When I find myself in the rare situation where I need to use the far left keys (like caps lock, tab, etc), I just use an index finger to poke it usually.
My typing method is pretty efficient and probably much better for my hands/wrists than touch typing...
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Buttkiller on October 25, 2009, 04:09:52 pm
i have no idea but i dont use the asdf homerow shit and i type like 70-90wpm so i'm good
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Sludgelord on October 25, 2009, 04:13:04 pm
dada and i were talking about something similar to this a couple days ago, and that's the hand you use to press the spacebar. i'm right handed and use my left hand to hit it and it had never occurred to me that anyone does anything else. i tried typing while hitting the space with my right hand and i just couldn't type at all. it was awful.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Kaworu on October 25, 2009, 04:15:37 pm
there are correct ways of typing????

really?

I just bludgeon the keyboard with my fingers.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Pilla on October 25, 2009, 04:18:32 pm
Hmm, I wasn't even aware that I didn't need to look while I typed until about a year or so ago. I guess with all the MMO's and generally always being around/on a computer my mind just learned how to. I'm left handed and not sure what my typing habits are...more or less of, but I also took accounting sometime ago and had to learn the number pad, as well as use that Beacon program which got boring eventually.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 05:09:44 pm
Quote from: Bloodrayne Rand on October 25, 2009, 04:13:04 pm
dada and i were talking about something similar to this a couple days ago, and that's the hand you use to press the spacebar. i'm right handed and use my left hand to hit it and it had never occurred to me that anyone does anything else. i tried typing while hitting the space with my right hand and i just couldn't type at all. it was awful.

yeah i'm the opposite of this, left handed and use my right thumb for spacebar
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Sapsuker on October 25, 2009, 05:20:13 pm
when i first started typing i was right handed and used by right thumb for spacebar. then my right thumb got fucked up by a door so i started using my left thumb for space bars and it's been that way ever since.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on October 25, 2009, 05:23:20 pm
I used to type properly in middleschool. You know, being aware of the homekeys and using the appropriate fingers and what not. That was in 97 though, about five years before I started using computers regularly and had one in my room/ office. Now I type by memory of placement which is a horrible way to type because it makes adapting to new keyboards a bit of a problem at first. It also lowers my potential words per minute since I also type by habit and not necessarily with the closest finger to the key.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Silhouette on October 25, 2009, 05:38:45 pm
Quote from: mkkmypet on October 25, 2009, 03:56:12 pm
I just type how I want. I don't have to look at the keyboard but it's not because I use touch typing-- it's more like I just have good spatial memory because I've been using computers for so long. We had to learn the proper way to type in like 5th grade but I was waaay ahead of everyone else and I just typed my own way.
This.

Really (and you guys are going to laugh at this), I learned how to type by playing EverQuest enough...I mean, all that communicating, and you've got to learn how to type and to type well. I never use home row, never have any discomfort, and still type on average about 100 wpm with near-perfect accuracy (and if I make a mistake I usually realize it while I'm typing, and just use backspace as if it were another letter in the word).

I don't think I'm any sort of KEYBOARDING PRODIGY, I just think that the more you need to communicate via typing, the faster and more accurate you will be. One really helpful exercise is to type on an "air keyboard." You know, like air guitar...but it's a keyboard. Type sentences on it, and if you can find every letter on the keyboard, you are well on your way to mastering typing. No Mavis Beacon required (although it was kind of fun as a game, back when it was just plain ol' "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, v1.0 lol).
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Farren on October 25, 2009, 05:51:21 pm
I just slam my head agains the thing ant hoper i hithe righth letterls
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Killer Wolf on October 25, 2009, 05:53:08 pm
My mom taught me how to type before it ever came up in school, so by the time testing came around, my wpm scores were always ridiculous. In middle school, I remember I had to take one of the typing tests three times because the instructor thought that I had found some way to cheat at it.

I annoyed the hell out of people in my first semester composition class. For a while my living situation was screwed up and I didn't have reliable access to a computer off campus, so I was usually working on two or three different essays at the same time. One girl asked if she could swap with someone else because she "couldn't work next to Speedy Gonzales."

My problem is that sometimes when I'm writing a short story or something, I just sort of get lost in the rhythm and don't even pay attention to what I'm typing - I have to go back and read it to know what the hell I was saying. Also, when I'm trying to type correctly, I make more errors then when I don't think about it.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 05:58:47 pm
then you leant back on your chair and said "i'm not speedy gonzales, i'm wile e coyote"

Quote from: Silhouette on October 25, 2009, 05:38:45 pm
This.

Really (and you guys are going to laugh at this), I learned how to type by playing EverQuest enough...I mean, all that communicating, and you've got to learn how to type and to type well. I never use home row, never have any discomfort, and still type on average about 100 wpm with near-perfect accuracy (and if I make a mistake I usually realize it while I'm typing, and just use backspace as if it were another letter in the word).

I don't think I'm any sort of KEYBOARDING PRODIGY, I just think that the more you need to communicate via typing, the faster and more accurate you will be. One really helpful exercise is to type on an "air keyboard." You know, like air guitar...but it's a keyboard. Type sentences on it, and if you can find every letter on the keyboard, you are well on your way to mastering typing. No Mavis Beacon required (although it was kind of fun as a game, back when it was just plain ol' "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, v1.0 lol).

nobody thinks you're a keyboarding prodigy for typing wrong quickly
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Farren on October 25, 2009, 06:01:53 pm
Quote from: Killer Wolf on October 25, 2009, 05:53:08 pm
My mom taught me how to type before it ever came up in school, so by the time testing came around, my wpm scores were always ridiculous. In middle school, I remember I had to take one of the typing tests three times because the instructor thought that I had found some way to cheat at it.

I annoyed the hell out of people in my first semester composition class. For a while my living situation was screwed up and I didn't have reliable access to a computer off campus, so I was usually working on two or three different essays at the same time. One girl asked if she could swap with someone else because she "couldn't work next to Speedy Gonzales."

My problem is that sometimes when I'm writing a short story or something, I just sort of get lost in the rhythm and don't even pay attention to what I'm typing - I have to go back and read it to know what the hell I was saying. Also, when I'm trying to type correctly, I make more errors then when I don't think about it.

oh yeah I'm so fast I broke the sound barrier and my entire classroom was blown out of the window and ended up across the nearby state line

beat that
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: the_bub_from_the_pit on October 25, 2009, 06:05:16 pm
Quote from: Bloodrayne Rand on October 25, 2009, 04:13:04 pm
dada and i were talking about something similar to this a couple days ago, and that's the hand you use to press the spacebar. i'm right handed and use my left hand to hit it and it had never occurred to me that anyone does anything else. i tried typing while hitting the space with my right hand and i just couldn't type at all. it was awful.

shit, i'm left handed and I can't hit the spacebar with my left thumb at all
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 06:06:23 pm
Killer Wolf: King of Everything
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Drule on October 25, 2009, 06:11:15 pm
I don't want to brag, but I think I am maybe the best typer on GW. Don't believe me? Check it out:

incongruity

methandrostenolone

inconspicuous
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Drule on October 25, 2009, 06:11:26 pm
arthritis
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Drule on October 25, 2009, 06:11:41 pm
The list goes on.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Killer Wolf on October 25, 2009, 06:12:22 pm
Quote from: Skellyton on October 25, 2009, 06:06:23 pm
Killer Wolf: King of Everything

Nah, I'm terrible at playing drums. I'm a little better at it when I use a kit set up for a lefty, but still... terrible.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 06:16:06 pm
heh, drule you think YOU'RE the best?  just check this out

red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry

typed in 0.004 seconds, not the slightest stumble
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Farren on October 25, 2009, 06:18:27 pm
O REALLY CUS IT TOOK YOU A WHOLE 4 MINUTE TO POST THAT

FUCKIN NUBE
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 06:21:14 pm
my computer doesn't have a modem so i listen to the phone line and type down everything in real time
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 06:25:45 pm
Quote from: Yugoslavian Ghoul on October 25, 2009, 06:18:27 pm
O REALLY CUS IT TOOK YOU A WHOLE 4 MINUTE TO POST THAT

FUCKIN NUBE

says who?  there's a little thing called tabbed browsing we have nowadays that lets you leave a page open for a bit while you look at other pages, MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD OF IT?
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: something bizarre and impractical on October 25, 2009, 06:36:33 pm
I only type with one hand.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 06:52:11 pm
i'm using three keyboards and a typewriter right now. sorry guys that was a lie, i just wanted you to think i was cool :(​(((
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: JMickle on October 25, 2009, 07:04:53 pm
i dont type. i scream at my computer in binary and it understands.

we have a platonic relationship at best.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Mince Wobley on October 25, 2009, 07:45:33 pm
Quote from: Bat #4 on October 25, 2009, 07:04:53 pm
i dont type. i scream at my computer in binary and it understands.

we have a platonic relationship at best.

That's a good point.

I think I type properly because when I push the keys the words appear on the screen automatically.

Also has anyone ever used one of those "palm" computers? I remember trying one a few years ago and there was that "stylus gesture" thing so if you wanted to type a K you had to draw a certain squiggle and if you wanted a W it was a different one, does that still exist? Is anyone in gw good at that?
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: big ass skelly on October 25, 2009, 08:18:37 pm
I can't get my head around killer worlf's posts at all

edit nvm that's his sig haahah
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: ATARI on October 25, 2009, 08:30:00 pm
I had to learn to type properly in middle school thanks to a wonderful program called ultrakey.  I think I learned more about how to cheat the program than to actually type by using that program, but eventually I realized that it had the right concept underneath all of its pain and misery.    I think mostly though after that though, everything that I've ever done in terms of typing and being able to do it well and fast is the result of plain old experience.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: RPG on October 25, 2009, 09:14:13 pm
Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 12:42:47 pm
yeah i figure i should learn a proper form but i'm dreading the unlearning stage, especially as the keyboard feels really cramped and awkward that way. maybe keyboards were designed for dainty women hands or something

I've never had any formal typing training and have developed my own method, I didn't look at the keys but I used 2-3 fingers only and it was pretty random. My typing speed was good enough (around 60 wpm) so even when I learned that there's a proper method for typing I didn't think it was worth it. However, I'm in a profession where I have to type a lot (computer programming), and my typing method was just impractical and properly not healthy for typing over extended periods. This is important, if I didn't have to type all the time then I suppose it doesn't really matter how you type. This blog post (http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/09/programmings-dirtiest-little-secret.html) was an inspiration as well.

Like you, I struggled with the unlearning phase, tried to look up articles that advocated against proper typing (they're all wrong), and tried to convince myself that it just wasn't worth the effort. But in the end that was just my laziness and frustration over the great drop in my typing speed and the apparent complexity of touch typing. After having forced myself to touch type for around two weeks I managed to reach a decent speed (40 wpm) and I'm still getting better. I can see why this method is more efficient than mine as it allows better utilization of your fingers, reduces stress on them, and also forces you to set in a proper posture. The only problem I still have is dealing with numbers and symbols, but I suppose you get used to that too.

I use both thumbs for the space bar but tend to use the left one more often.

Oh, and btw, a software that really really really helped me learn touch typing is GNU Typist (http://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/). It's a wonderful cross-platform command line application that teaches you proper typing using a lot of lessons and in a lot of languages. I've tried other software with GUIs but none of the free ones have as many exercises as GNU Typist.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: DS on October 25, 2009, 09:17:39 pm
i just type with my own style but i'd say i'm pretty fast, i can type up to 130-135wpm or so if i do well and even if i don't do my best i'm still in the 115-125wpm range.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: dada on October 25, 2009, 09:21:13 pm
Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 11:46:11 am
do you type properly? how did you learn? This topic is about typing.
I type properly because my dad told me years ago that the two little dots on the F and J keys (actually D and K keys on this keyboard) are where your index fingers should be. I improved gradually because that's what's supposed to happen if you force yourself to stare at the monitor while typing.
Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 11:46:11 am
maybe i should pick up a goofy microsoft natural keyboard
Don't bother, I use this:


Normal keyboard layouts work fine.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Jester on October 25, 2009, 10:04:39 pm
dada is so proud of his apple keyboard
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Moriason on October 25, 2009, 10:10:31 pm
I type 116 wpm last I checked (I had to get tested for a job a few months back), I've been typing over 10 years and don't really feel any hand pain so I think I must be doing something right.

I didn't know there was a proper typing style!
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Kaworu on October 25, 2009, 10:39:30 pm
I don't even think I can think at 116 words per minute...
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on October 25, 2009, 10:55:04 pm
Quote from: Dada on October 25, 2009, 09:21:13 pm
I type properly because my dad told me years ago that the two little dots on the F and J keys (actually D and K keys on this keyboard) are where your index fingers should be.

this is amazing
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Vellfire on October 25, 2009, 10:55:54 pm
man it was a few years after i learned how to type properly that i found out about that
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Kaempfer on October 25, 2009, 11:16:04 pm
I type pretty quickly but I don't think I type correctly. I use my index fingers like 100% of the time. For me it's mostly in the hands, I guess. I can type a little bit more quickly when I'm looking at the keyboard but that is more because I don't bother wasting precious milliseconds of time being distracted by the words that are actually appearing. I use most of the fingers on my left hand but my right hand is all index, baby.

It took me 8-10 seconds to type that without errors. Is that fast? Probably not that fast, but it gets me by, I guess. I have never understood home row. It's stupid.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Ryan on October 25, 2009, 11:33:06 pm
Quote from: Bloodrayne Rand on October 25, 2009, 04:13:04 pm
dada and i were talking about something similar to this a couple days ago, and that's the hand you use to press the spacebar. i'm right handed and use my left hand to hit it and it had never occurred to me that anyone does anything else. i tried typing while hitting the space with my right hand and i just couldn't type at all. it was awful.

yeah me too, i just noticed this
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Dale Gobbler on October 26, 2009, 12:55:10 am
i guess you could say my fingers as fast as hyper sonic (thats glitched super sonic in sonic 2 for you mario chumps)


how about you all put your fingers where your mouth is

http://www.mediacollege.com/test/keyboard/
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: mkkmypet on October 26, 2009, 02:01:20 am
i'm mostly right-handed and i use my left thumb to hit the space bar. it seems strange to do it any other way...
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Killer Wolf on October 26, 2009, 02:28:59 am
Quote from: Dracula In Diapers on October 26, 2009, 12:55:10 am
how about you all put your fingers where your mouth is

Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Mince Wobley on October 26, 2009, 03:20:32 am
I'll use either the left or right thumb for spacebars
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Bobberticus on October 26, 2009, 03:56:08 am
I use left shift/control and backspace to orient my hands, so that already breaks "proper typing technique", also my hands move around the keyboard more than it would if I were to type properly I think.
Even so, I never need to look at the keyboard.

Typing properly and index fingers on F and J and all that bullshit is really fucking hard on my wrists.

also, upon further testing (it is really hard to tell since it is all instinctive, but on my left hand I never use the ring (4th) finger, and on my right hand I ONLY use Index and Pinky
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Farren on October 26, 2009, 07:01:31 am
Quote from: Killer Wolf on October 26, 2009, 02:28:59 am

wait I want a full quote of what you typed in. I'm sure it was something funny
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: Killer Wolf on October 26, 2009, 07:32:47 am
No such luck, it was just one of their stock prompts: You are an excellent typist if you can correctly, and quickly, type this long phrase.
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: ericwr114 on October 26, 2009, 07:48:20 am
i am not good at this .
Title: Intricate Typistry
Post by: JMickle on October 26, 2009, 11:21:25 am
i'm getting around 50 wpm, with errors. :(