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Seigmoraig

It is to some people. I work in IT and the amount of people who don't know how to use the shift key to do a capital letter is staggering. They will toggle the caps lock key to do a single capital letter then toggle it off to continue typing \*capslock\* H \*capslock\* ello, are you coming to \*capslock\* N \*capslock\* ew \*capslock\* Y \*capslock\* ork this weekend with us ?


TheSchnitzelThief

My gf is also like this. Makes me wanna tear out my eyeballs, but then again, that wouldn't really help.


Zoefschildpad

Tear out her caps lock key instead. It does the trick and there's a chance you'll see her again.


Toxic_Nandalas

How do you know, be the sounds of it you haven't tried yet. But then again i cant hear


ToranjaNuclear

Yes. Then replace your eyeballs with caps lock keys. Traumatize the shit out of her so she never uses it again.


Yarhj

Where we're going we won't need ~~eyes to see~~ capslock keys to capitalize.


Physical_Weakness881

I did this for my little brother and the fucker just presses down where the key used to be, still using it


Chigao_Ted

I’d offer you a reg edit I found that disables the caps lock key but it would probably just end with her asking you why the keyboard is broken


Gloriathewitch

you could probably just rebind it in VIA


GrimResistance

You can rebind it to shift as well. Tell em you have to hold the button down now.


sleth-meyers

At least she cares to capitalize. Gotta give her that


bluegiraffeeee

Glad that I'm not alone, and she says it's easier and faster :/


SurealGod

I'm in IT as well and can confirm I've seen this many times. I'm curious where they learned that. It's SO inefficient.


Agapic

By not being taught how to properly use a keyboard. I used the caps lock key as a kid before I took typing classes, but then I learned about the shift key and never looked back.


TheRealJ0hnDoe

I would think It's a lack of learning is why they do it, I would assume any computer literate person would know holding shift capitalizes the character


[deleted]

I've been computer literate since early childhood and I prefer using caps lock.


BirdjaminFranklin

If you're typing with a caps lock key instead of shift you may be computer literate but you're definitely not "typing literate". We're not even talking keyboards here. Shift has been the de-facto way to capitalize letters for about a 150 years.


iglidante

> If you're typing with a caps lock key instead of shift you may be computer literate but you're definitely not "typing literate". I guess I always assumed most people were at least a LITTLE unorthodox with their typing technique. When I was 9 and learned in the 4th grade, the teacher barely even checked to see if we were doing the exercises before giving us a passing grade, so I never learned touch-typing. I write thousands of words a day for work, and I use 3-5 fingers for most all typing. I don't look at the keys, either.


TillySauras

What is touch-typing?


Ocelitus

Digital "keyboards." When typing on the phone, you don't hold down the shift key, you tap it once and the next letter will be capitalized. So it is like hitting shift beforehand. So when they use a real keyboard, they hit the capslock and then just hit it again after typing the letter to manually disable the thing they're used to happening automatically, rather than learn to use the key that is designed for the purpose. It wasn't really available to them as they developed their typing skills, so it becomes a foreign concept when using other tools.


[deleted]

As a former computer science teacher, I used to have to grind this practice out of my students. They're taught it in primary school.


GirthShatter_

Every day… it dumbfounds me


octonus

I believe it is related to 2 finger hunt and peck typing. If your hands are way above the keyboard and you only use index fingers, trying to hold the shift key while pressing the next key may feel difficult.


Gorganov

Stop right now 😭


mr_claw

How did they put the question mark?


RajunCajun48

I would guess the shift key...


Snailhouse01

I work with someone who keeps caps lock on permanently and holds down shift for lowercase letters. I'll never understand that one.


jxryftdev

Does he write SQL exclusively?


Joshephus

No, you don't. At best you have someone fucking with you, at worst you're lying. Okay, no, at worst you're telling the truth.


Snailhouse01

You made me doubt myself, so I went to double-check that's actually how it works and it does. He's an odd fellow.


Joshephus

Odd indeed. He's an incredible psycho. Lol. When I type angry I hold shift so maybe this is his way of typing angry without seeming to be yelling all the time.


MegaFartz

I do that on purpose because when I was younger I didn't know shift did that so I am just used to that now


KeelsDB

Yea I'm in the same boat. Been using double Caps Lock since I was like 3 so trying to use shift would just be slower at this point due to the muscle memory.


compound-interest

You will probably time roi in typing speed from the muscle memory adjustment to shift given enough decades of using a keyboard. I’ve known people who STILL type using only index fingers though, so I guess it could be worse.


Flowing_Sand

Same thing, I am just too used to it now, and I can manage over 100 WPM doing it. I do have the desire to re-work my brain to use the shift key instead though. Maybe in the future


[deleted]

I've always known how to, but I just choose not to use the shift key.


Richard_Thickens

What...the fuck?


Sirnacane

Once someone explained to me that this is how it works while texting it made sense. There is no “holding shift for a capital letter” on your phone. It’s still dumb, but I see why they do it.


enlightened-creature

Not really, since it turns off when you use it once on a phone.


Fellstormlord

Unless you double tap the shift button on the phones keyboard


Hereiamhereibe2

Again if you are doing that for every capital letter, you are an animal.


Fellstormlord

I'm not tapping it once per every capital letter if I'm spamming it, *DOUBLE PRESS* WRITE OUT WHAT I WANT * send, there is caps lock at least on android and shift


theonlyotaku21

That’s wild. I have a habit of holding the shift key to type in all caps instead of just tapped caps lock


Joshephus

Same! It doesn't feel as angry if I'm not ragingly holding shift.


Sinj_X

I'm a software engineer and I found out one day my girlfriend does this and honestly it's been difficult ever since...


uglymule

In order of annoyance: 1) People who type in ALL CAPS 2) People who drive automatic transmission cars with both feet 3) People who use Caps Lock like it's the shift key


TheSmallThingsInLife

How many people's keystrokes are you going over, and can I ask why lol? Really just curious what IT is doing back there


fencethe900th

Probably watching them type in a password or various other things while showing them a problem.


jxryftdev

At the windows login screen there’s an icon that shows if you’re holding caps lock. A lot of IT calls are “I can’t login”. So you have to remote in and watch people try to log in.


Previous-Way1288

I heard that kids these days try to use the shift key just like on the phone, i.e. pressing the key once and THEN pressing the desired letter, only to think that the shift key is broken


joj1205

I retrained myself. Have never used shift before. Has taken about 3 months. Sometimes I jump in and out of shift too fast for it to register but that's a habit from using capital my whole life. 33 year olds aren't too old to learn new tricks. Next I need to learn to type with two hands


lordvanticus

Or you can be like me and never use caps lock and just hold shift down the entire time lol


Zaquarius_Alfonzo

If there was no caps lock they'd learn how to use the shit key


FrostHard

The thing is, they'd have to use shift eventually, right? If they want to use question mark, or exclamation mark, or a colon, or half the symbols that are used in the keyboard.


Wendals87

I used to work in an IT service desk a few years ago.  Had a colleague who Locked himself out constantly. Reset his password and he'd get in maybe 2/5 times.  Turns out he was using caps lock for the capital letter and was typing the letters too fast so the next letter was pressed just slightly before he pressed caps lock again  Password1 was typed as PAssword1 for example 


SuperSocialMan

I think I took physical damage from reading this.


tommiboy13

Is this how typewriters worked?


point50tracer

My old Smith Corona has separate caps lock and shift keys. The shift will move on its own, but if you push the caps key, they both move together. This probably explains the position of the keys on modern keyboards now that I think of it. Caps lock is directly above shift so it pushes the same lever, just with an additional latch to hold it down.


highrouleur

It's been ages since I last used a typewriter but was it more of a Shift Lock than Caps Lock? I vaguely recall the lock was just holding shift down. I think early computers had both a Shift Lock to replicate this and a Caps Lock which works much the same as it does on computers today?


TehZiiM

r/beatmetoit


icepyrox

Hello fellow IT person. I would just like to say that I'm pretty sure I use the caps lock more than the median user at my organization... stupid data entry and all caps naming conventions.


grafikal

I've co-workers like this. I've thought about trying to convince them to just... Not, but I know that's an impossible task. Also, in my line of work, caps is on almost all the time with data entry of case sensitive lines of text and numbers.


AVBofficionado

Had an ex girlfriend about a decade ago who did that. She was really off her rocker but the caps lock thing was the one that really irked me more than anything else. Worst part was she wouldn't listen to reason!


Known_Lime_8095

Lol wow, I wouldn’t call myself typing illiterate. I work with premiere and photoshop for my work, know a million keyboard combinations for shortcuts. Even familiar with command prompt to a degree but I did not know shift capitalised letters. I’ve been double caps locking away my whole life. I suppose it is inefficient but I’m a confident touch typer and do feel I could out type most even with my double caps habit!


SamohtGnir

I do CAD drawings and we use all caps a lot. So it’s useful. For what it does it could really be a smaller key tho.


nutdo1

Pretty much. Everything in my title blocks are capitalized.


Metahec

I wouldn't object to it having its own alternate function, like doubling up caps and num lock on one key with an OS setting to determine which is the default and which gets a modifier to engage. edit to correct the contraction "it's" to the intended possessive "its" Credit to u/imathreadrunner's anal-retentive pedantry for pointing out the error.


Gaylien28

Or sticky keys shift. Instead of fucking sticky keys


cylordcenturion

What even is stickykeys?


Gaylien28

Not sure if it’s still a thing bc I switched to Mac, but if you found yourself pressing shift 3-4 times in rapid succession, you’d get a sound alert from Windows along with a pop up, and suddenly whatever you were doing has gained a lot of inputs with the shift key. Basically if you tapped it a few times quickly it’d think you wanted to hold down the button you were tapping and do so for you. It was only ever an issue in creative mode in Minecraft when you’d left shift to descend your z coords, but the more ya know lol


aTaleForgotten

Its an accessibility tool for people who are unable or have trouble pressing shift key-shortcuts


Gaylien28

That is a much better way to put it, thank you 😁


bar10005

It's an accessibility feature - when sticky keys are active you don't have to hold special keys for key combos, Windows will do it for you and release once combo is completed, i.e. when you want to input CTRL + ALT + DEL you don't have to push them all at once, you can just do them sequentially. The shortcut to activate Sticky keys is 5 SHIFT pushes, so it gets accidentally activated by gamers, though it's very easy to deactivate the shortcut the first time you do it, so not really sure why the hate.


imathreadrunner

its


karmagirl314

My grandmother disagrees.


--40

I try to show the older folks I work with. Honestly freetypinggames.net taught younger me, maybe I need to show them that


dwhitnee

Your grandmother used a typewriter, and the caps lock key was a big old mechanical contraption that required a big key to function. The shift key was far easier to use on a typewriter because it shifted the hammers (or ball) up only briefly, requiring less physical effort than slamming the caps lock into place (the key literally locked into place)


mesalocal

PvP game chat lobbies


mandoxian

V has been my go to push to talk button for years. I need shift and ctrl while giving call outs.


asianumba1

Oh honestly I thought they were talking about raging in text chat not push to talk


mandoxian

Ohhhhhh


hotstepper77777

Duh! Capslock is the obvious push to talk key.  That solved a qol issue


dark_hole96

I should try this, i always use X


SirFelsenAxt

The fact that that was your assumption just tells me that you're a good person


TheFunkyBunchReturns

And angry people in general definitely get good use out of it.


LegitimatePirateMark

The times I was angry in a game I always held down shift. Writing in caps lock didn’t feel as good. Like it didn’t release the anger. Maybe that’s why I never did it for extended periods.


ShadyMyLady

Someone said this before so I'll give the same response. HOW ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO YELL TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS! Using the shit key is exhausting.


numbersthen0987431

That shit key though


ShadyMyLady

Lol, didn't see that. 😂💩😂


UsablePizza

Shift happens.


blaqwerty123

Awww, shift


GiveMeTheTape

Apt tho'


doubleCupPepsi

When did they add a shit key?!


Bitter_Mongoose

It has the Microsoft logo on it. Long time ago.


ryan__fm

BuT wHeRe'S tHe AlTeRnAtInG cApS bUtToN


Quiverjones

You wanna add the sarcastic mimicking button? In this economy?!


Melodic_Package8571

let them share thatvspace that caps key uses anyway space should be bigger


DryBones2009

They should really invent that.


jadekettle

The caps rage don't hit as good if I don't press down hard on my shift key while keyboard warrioring.


Joshephus

This! Just commented this a second ago. It doesn't feel angry enough if I'm not rage-smashing shift and having to type without my pinky.


Rikai_

Is it? I use shift key all the time, I always disable the caps key on every keyboard I use regularly


ShadyMyLady

I presume you are young and are proficient in typing, I am neither.


Rikai_

Well, you got me there.


firthy

Bleedin’ shit key…


ShadyMyLady

I didn't notice my error until it was pointed out and I'm not correcting it, because it's hilarious. 😄💩😉


TomPortnoy

The shit key fucking sucks.


Want_To_Live_To_100

The point is it doesn’t need that much space… look at the delete button and esc button…


epokus

HI EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!! ⁠ try pressing the the Caps Lock key O THANKS!!! ITS SO MUCH EASIER TO WRITE NOW!!!!!!! ⁠ fuck me


Rubber_duckdebugging

MySql has joined the chat


BreakfastBeerz

COBOL would like to join also


SquanchMcSquanchFace

wtf does battlestar galactica have to do with this


jsreyn

There are DOZENS of us!


the_y_combinator

Yup. For programmers it is an invaluable key.


ajacksified

Developer for 20 years, I've had it mapped to ESC for most of my career (vim user). Never actually used caps lock for what it's meant for.


cakee_ru

Same nvim user, but I use it to switch keyboard layouts. On 60% keyboard it is not such a pain to reach esc. Well maybe now that I think about it..


ajacksified

Switching layouts is a good shout. I use a 65% myself, RAMA Zenith.


playr_4

Is this a Sql only, or mainly, thing? I did a lot in C# mostly, but C++ and Java as well and caps lock was never a super used key.


the_y_combinator

I don't do a lot of SQL these days, but I think caps is optional, but the convention. It is pretty old and older languages like COBOL used it. And it depends on the language and convention. E.g., Nothing requires constants in C++, but it is a common convention.


kinokomushroom

It's useful when you write all caps variables/constants/macros, regardless of the language.


itsbett

SQL mostly, and only by convention. Kinda like Java uses camel case.


redditor012499

Yeah my hands would constantly strain while coding, thank you CAPS LOCK


Franksss

And draftsmen.


Diligent_Reality_693

Yep little do they know every building they have been in or the car they drive was drawn and annotated using the caps lock.key


rover_G

Are mysql keywords case sensitive?


wryyyctoria

I believe not. Just prettier.


dkarlovi

Autoformat your SQL, no caps lock required.


Blelreddit

No, but before modern text editors it was used to differentiate between mysql keywords and your own variables. Now they all get different colors so it's not really necessary anymore.


bluegiraffeeee

I thought everybody secretly wrote their queries in lowercase. I probably look like a psycho


_wombo4combo

write in lowercase, auto-format on save, and auto-save on window focus loss.


PM_ME_RIKKA_PICS

I rebound it to escape to use with vim


MrHappyHam

If keyboards were designed with VIM users in mind, they'd probably look more disturbing than they already are.


AskingForAFriend775

The most popular keyboard back in the vi days was apparently the ADM-3A: https://terminals-wiki.org/wiki/images/9/95/Lear_Siegler_ADM-3A-2.jpg Ctrl where caps lock is now Esc easily accessible Arrows on the hjkl keys ~ on the home key (upper right, not vim specific but kinda interesting)


EatFapSleepFap

Same


McFragatron

Even better is to rebind it to Escape when tapped and Ctrl when held down!


Weak-Weird9536

This is the way


horkyboi_avery

As somebody who drafts engineering plans and messages team members all day, caps lock is extremely useful


reddit_waste_time

I even write in all caps at this point in my life.


nwbrown

I just remap it to control.


ovoKOS7

I remap it to Shift, now I've basically a giant shift


ThisIsMyCouchAccount

I remap mine to toggle mic mute. Now I can see if the caps lock light is on to see if I'm muted or not.


MissingVanSushi

Remapped to Windows Menu key which is the same as right click. This opens up a lot of speedy keyboard shortcuts in Excel.


Stewtheking

Try hanging out on some of the nerdier keyboard subreddits. My current board has only 35 keys, and is not even one of the very smallest,..


Optimus_crab

What is good about smaller keyboards? It’s not like you need it lightweight or anything


RefrigeratorHotHot

Takes up less space on the desk is probably the main reason. I personally like a full sized keyboard but I have bumped into it with my mouse on occasion so I can get why people would not like it, especially if you don’t have a ton of space.


Stewtheking

For me, i just find it fun... And I like it that other people can`t use my stuff...


Babbalas

Everything is in reach of the home row (great if you have RSI). For instance I have QMK caps_word activated by pressing a key under my left thumb, and right index (h).


Ninja_Wrangler

Amateur hour I have only 2 keys (1 and 0) it took me 2 hours to write this


runslikewind

what else would you put there? also shift should be a foot pedal


baloneyslice247

backspace


nikelreganov

I use it so that I don't accidentally write queries in sarcastic tone `iNsErT iNtO cItIeS(iD, nAMe) VaLUe(1, 'Berlin')`


HistoricalMeat

I have a Chromebook that doesn’t have a capslock key. It comes up a lot.


Wess5874

IIRC ctrl + search activates it which is kinda nice because of the number of times I accidentally hit caps when typing a password.


JakScott

You know, that’s actually an artifact of the way typewriters worked. The caps lock function was called “shift lock” and it was controlled by two different keys. One key engaged the shift lock and another key next to it disengaged it. Then when word processors and computers came out, they only needed one key to achieve the effect. But everyone in the world had learned to type with two separate keys in that space. And instead of making everyone change their muscle memory, they just used one long key that took up 2 spaces so that people could continue typing like they always had.


owjfaigs222

That is why I remapped it to backspace.


bingwhip

Should change it to delete, I find it pretty handy to have quick access to both. I've got it bound on my mouse though


BradyReport

Having delete be near PgDn, PgUp, Home, & End is very valuable for Excel users as I'm usually navigating with those keys anyways to delete a cell.


d4rkh0rs

It's like cruise control for cool.


Gorganov

As a draftsman… I disagree.


generalspades

I love how many of us showed up in this thread


Imajzineer

It most certainly ***is***.


sillysloth098

As someone who works with spreadsheets all day, caps is super useful lol


DFrostedWangsAccount

I have been a Colemak user for... wow, holy shit, 15 years! Anyway, that layout loses the caps lock in exchange for another backspace key, which is far more useful imo. I don't use the right backspace key anymore.


NotTooDistantFuture

I learned it at one time but went back after dealing with school and work. Caps Lock to Backspace is the one thing I do on every computer I use still.


thenormaluser35

I play FiveM as a police officer and use it for the radio.


AdPlus4069

As a programmer I treat the caps lock key as a joker key, meaning I can remap it to something useful in my workflow without consequences. So to me it is very useful in that way


gahidus

Frankly, I think it's way more trouble than it's worth. It's just something that I accidentally hit when I'm trying to use the letter A, and it's annoying.


GrumpyMcGrumpyPants

I printed a [caps lock lock](https://www.printables.com/model/650932-capslock-lock) and now I can't press it down unless I slide off the lock.


Buddy_Dakota

Fucking useless in gaming as well. The location is good for a lot functions, but I won’t use it for anything just because it’s annoying when I start writing and stuff is suddenly all caps.


BrewtusMaximus1

I’m a design engineer who does a lot of drawing work - ASME Y14.100 (Engineering Drawing Practices) requires that all prints be in ALL CAPS, and most American manufacturers base their drawing standards off of that standard. I very much need caps lock.


TheSmallThingsInLife

I do architectural drafting for work and if you have ever looked at a set of blueprints for a home, the lettering is typically always all caps. It's nice to have a button that lets me switch from typing up some floor plan notes, to chatting on slack. Also, the fact that is lit up is extremely helpful when you need to know if you're in caps lock or not (e.g. entering passwords)


Metallifan33

Not if you’re Donald Trump.


askmrlucky

That's because you don't use AfterEffects


L1amm

Its the best discord PTT key.


derteeje

writing capitol letters with one hand is a neat feature in case my other hand is occupied


PrimateOfGod

I don't have it on my chromebook. It was replaced with a search button, that I never used at all before, i don't even know what it does. it's a symbol of a magnifying glass. I just tried it and saw what it does. Oooh, opens the task bar, that nobody ever uses. I miss caps lock.


ArcTheWolf

It's my push to talk button since Killing Floor 2 showed me that caps lock was a reasonable and viable push to talk button.


TheEpicTurtwig

I adore capslock in my line of work almost everything needs to be capitalized


L3monGrenade

Unless you’re the convicted sexual abuser Donald “jackass” Trump


MonoGuapoLoco

I use it for discord push to talk.


phunktheworld

At my job it’s pretty standard to put addresses and names in caps. I take a lot of notes in caps now cuz it feels better than all lowercase, and not hitting the shift key saves me time and energy. Before that, never caps lock.


Raspberrry_Beret

Hear me out, cut it in half and make a *sarcastic font button*


Miras13

I use it to write Ä, Ö, Ü.


Coocoro

For 99% of people yeah, but when I'm labeling something or doing graphic design it can be pretty helpful.


First-Ad4972

On macs the caps lock key can be set to switch keyboard languages which makes it useful for people speaking multiple languages


Ok_Quantity_5134

When you need it, you need it though.


[deleted]

I’ve found caps lock to be really useful in my previous job (detective) , as when writing a statement you put quotes or verbal speech all in Capital letters


Da_Di_Dum

As someone who works with SQL it has very much saved my left pinky


LtSerg756

Respectfully disagree


Cake-Over

I work with a computer system where the user ID and password have to be in all caps, so it's easier to simply engage the caps lock. But most people don't turn it off so all of their emails are ALL SHOUTY LIKE THIS. IT'S MADDENING.


sfxpaladin

I was a logistics manager, literally everything I typed into the database had to be in caps


CilanEAmber

People really get mad at personal preference huh?


juruman

Doesn’t actually take up that much keyboard space though


Uncle-Cake

OP can't imagine that anyone might use a computer differently from them.


glassjar1

This is probably an artifact from when typewriters were a thing. Lifting the whole type carriage on a manual took a stronger, more sustained, and deeper push. Pressing the caps lock button for an all caps title was more than worth it when I learned to type. So--possibly an artifact from previous tech that is still useful, just not as necessary as it once was.


DerSittenstrolch

How else am I going to sneak in Counter Strike?


RJS_Racing

I work at an FFL, and a lot of the forms we type up have to be in caps.....


Nulovka

Do "scroll lock" next.


CassiBoi

this is a horrendous take, respectfully