Ask HN: Which Shift key do you primarily use?

[brianmtully]

I just realized that I never use the right Shift key. Always the left. Do any of you primarily use the right Shift key?

[J_Darnley]

Left mostly due to gaming and mouse usage. Right does see some usage though. For example: when I don't have two hands on the keyboard; for Shift + Enter and Shift + Delete. It's a shame that Whatpulse can't tell the difference between left and right otherwise I would post the counts for both.

As an aside, it doesn't even recognise my shift key so I wrote a little utility to read its key frequencies file and print the data to the console. That tells me:

> Key 0x10: Shift, count 53170

[japhyr]

This was a more interesting question than I thought at first. I looked at my keyboard, and I see equal wear on both keys. I tried typing the first sentence using Title Case, and I find that I use the pinky of the opposite hand that's typing to make capital letters. I've never thought the right shift key is "far away" at all.

[ksherlock]

I was going to say that I prefer the left shift key... but while writing this comment, I realized I'm using the right shift key.

(I'm right-handed and anchor my right pinky on the shift key. Somewhere, a typing tutor screams in horror. I use the left control key exclusively.)

[piyush_soni]

If you type properly using both your hands, you should use both of them almost equally. That's what I do. Use the left shift key for keys pressed by your right hands, and right shift key for keys pressed by your left.

[bdr]

Heh. Here's some previous data: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=486317

[jeremy_k]

I always use the left shift. And instinctively use my left ring finger if I need an uppercase Q, A, or Z. The right shift is just too far away.

[magicmarkker]

Left, I don't think i've ever used the right shift key. I'm right handed, if that means anything. Maybe lefties use the right shift key?

[fourmii]

I always use the left shift, and like you I never touch the right. But I'm a lefty...

[onlyup]

I'm the same as you. I rarely-to-never use the right shift key

[dragos2]

Right shift for using uppercase letters and symbols, left shift for selecting text and for some key combinations.