[smeej]

I think a shockingly high number of people really do type Z with their little finger, X with their ring finger, and C with their middle finger. It's the only way I can explain how they end up that way in columnar layouts so often.

This is madness to me. That would wreak havoc on a wrist. Type Z with the ring finger, X with the middle finger, and C and V with the index finger, just like you type M with your right index finger.

I cannot for the life of me understand the claims by ortholinear fans that fingers travel in a straight line as they expand. Mine don't. My fingers are much farther apart when I extend them than when I pull them in, and I think I have a fairly ordinary set of hands.

[marcianx]

I do type Z with little finger, etc, because that's how the typing software I used long, long time ago taught it. But I don't accommodate by messing up my wrists, which are still in a natural position. My fingers just adapted to the needed flexibility. My left pinky hitting the Z is trivial and less effort, IMO, than my right index finger hitting Y. And yes, I use a conventional straight keyboard, not an ergonomic one.

[qmmmur]

I totally agree