[Null-Set]

I do non-standard touch typing, just naturally learned from typing over the years. I mostly only use 3 fingers on each hand, but I'm not hunting for the keys, I know where they are. I feel like I do make more typos than a properly trained typist but I'm certainly not spending any attention on the typing.

[rahimnathwani]

I would have described myself the same way until a few years ago.

My typing speed was about 50wpm, and had probably been at this level for ~20 years.

I spent about 50 hours learning the proper method on keybr.com, spread over several months.

That was enough for me to exceed 50wpm, which meant there was no longer any need to use my old method.

After that, my speed naturally increased to around 65wpm.

A mechanical keyboard added another 5wpm. Some practice on Monkeytype added another 5wpm.

Typing wasn't a barrier before, but I feel more comfortable now that I use the recommended fingering (except for the z key). And I'm sure the 50% increase in speed helps when I'm doing solo brainstorming in a text file.

[robobro]

Similar case for me!

I was never trained in typing, but after years of "hunt and peck" typing, I just intuitively learned where keys are and started instinctively learning patterns for how to type words after lots and lots of IRC as a teen. I orient my hands around the keyboard and put my fingers into position to type words in the most efficient method subconsciously. This works for me because I can type over 120WPM with no wrist pain.

Something about IRC encourages people to type quickly and I'm not sure I'd have gone from looking at the keyboard to not looking if most of my typing were in a relaxed setting.

[plorkyeran]

In a 1:1 chat or small group chat you can get away with typing slowly, but in a busy chat room full of people who type quickly you simply can’t participate in a conversation if you’re constantly lagging behind. I think the “typing…” indicator in more modern chat clients means people are more likely to pause to see what you’re trying to say, but IRC is often very much about getting your words into the channel as quickly as possible before things have moved on from the message you’re replying to.

[caeril]

> I can type over 120WPM with no wrist pain

I've observed this, myself. All the people I know with RSI issues are touch-typists. I suspect it has to do with pinky extension being a highly unnatural movement. Three fingers and thumb are all I need to type very fast, and I have never experienced anything remotely approaching hand/wrist/finger pain in over two decades of professional software development.

[lakkal]

I used to describe my typing technique as "hyper-advanced hunt-and-peck".

[kccqzy]

Same here. I only use the middle 3 fingers on each hand and I don't need to look at the keyboard to type. Typing speed is good enough at about 70–80 wpm. I do note that due to my inconsistent finger use, I make some mistakes but they don't really bother me: I'd rather become at adept at editing text more efficiently. Fixing typos is really no different from fixing a bad word choice or bad grammar.