Unpopular Keyboard Opinions

[LiquidEvilGaming]

MX Speeds are overrated and are crap compared to Reds.

*Ducks in a corner*

I'll back you on that one, I'm honestly not a fan of the MX silents either.  They do SOUND great but they FEEL awful.

[DKrause]

I'll play;

Linear switches suck.
Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Finally, giving ANY "less used" keys premium space/size makes no sense.
Fail:
 |\ on a key bigger than 1x1
Right space larger than left space.   
Backspace keys bigger than tab keys.

</rant>

[taylorswiftttttt]

removed

[kasakka]

I'll play;

Linear switches suck.
Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Finally, giving ANY "less used" keys premium space/size makes no sense.
Fail:
 |\ on a key bigger than 1x1
Right space larger than left space.   
Backspace keys bigger than tab keys.

</rant>

I agree with everything but the Win key. There is absolutely no reason to have two of them though!

[pab]

If your keyboard doesn't have a top-layer ~ key GTFO. I don't want to hold down three keys every time I want to go to my home directory, thank you.

[Altis]

....
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
....

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers.

It's definitely in the wrong spot though -- maybe ditch the Scroll Lock or Pause/Break for it... now talk about useless keys!

[ideus]

....
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
....

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers.

It's definitely in the wrong spot though -- maybe ditch the Scroll Lock or Pause/Break for it... now talk about useless keys!

Those are reminiscent from the DOS era and text mode based operating systems. Linux is still using some of them.

[ander]

....
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
....

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers... It's definitely in the wrong spot though -- maybe ditch the Scroll Lock or Pause/Break for it... now talk about useless keys!

But you can use those for other stuff. For example, most KVR switches use Scroll Lock by default because it's so seldom used for anything else.

That said, one of the first things I do when setting up a new PC is permanently deactivate Caps Lock. So I'm not posing as one of those "I'm such an accurate typist I never hit Caps Lock by mistake"-type peeps.

I'm glad we could discuss this. Now I feel like I can go on with the rest of my day filled with anal micro-issues.

[LiquidEvilGaming]

I'll play;

Linear switches suck.
Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Finally, giving ANY "less used" keys premium space/size makes no sense.
Fail:
 |\ on a key bigger than 1x1
Right space larger than left space.   
Backspace keys bigger than tab keys.

</rant>

BAe Enter keys are ugly and a horrible waste of space.  In addition they make finding replacement caps a royal PITA all for an ugly enter key that looks like a drunken mistake.  I mean seriously who needs an enter that Big? Blind ass Mr Magoo?  What in the hell?

Tactility isn't required for those who can touch type, if anything at this point I find it to be a hindrance to pure speed.

Windows keys I use all the time to quick lock a computer along with other shortcuts. 

Caps Lock i'll agree with though up until this year to admit I rarely used shift and much like Sean Wrona one of the worlds fastest typists(Not that I am) I found it easier and quicker to type in a rhythm and use caps lock on and off rather than a twister like combo of holding shift with another key.  I have however become much used to the Shift key after having owned and daily used a HHKB for quite some time.

[Tactile]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

...and another thing... Why is the HHKB considered the measure of keyboard geekiness? I see so many posts by people who might be talking about their keyboard collection and add something like, "...but no HHKB - yet." (Er... So what? your collection is not invalidated without a keyboard - any keyboard. Stop apologizing for not owning a HHKB.)  or "I'd like to score a HHKB but I'm not keen about the layout. I don't think I can get by without arrow keys" (Well, then, don't buy one!).

It's just a keyboard, man. It won't lower your taxes or anything. If you don't like the layout, don't buy one. And don't measure your worth by judging if you like the HHKB layout, or even if you own one.

...aahhh - finally got that off my chest.
 

[poq]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

I'm with you on that. Tried lubed, dome-swapped and mx sliders and they all felt... wrong.

[Tactile]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

I'm with you on that. Tried lubed, dome-swapped and mx sliders and they all felt... wrong.

I even sold my Type S 'cause I prefer the regular one.

[Altis]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

...and another thing... Why is the HHKB considered the measure of keyboard geekiness? I see so many posts by people who might be talking about their keyboard collection and add something like, "...but no HHKB - yet." (Er... So what? your collection is not invalidated without a keyboard - any keyboard. Stop apologizing for not owning a HHKB.)  or "I'd like to score a HHKB but I'm not keen about the layout. I don't think I can get by without arrow keys" (Well, then, don't buy one!).

It's just a keyboard, man. It won't lower your taxes or anything. If you don't like the layout, don't buy one. And don't measure your worth by judging if you like the HHKB layout, or even if you own one.

...aahhh - finally got that off my chest.
 

I, too, only like the HHKB (and all Topre boards) in stock form, except some keycaps look nice (such as the Realforce 10th Anniversary edition caps).

I think the reason you people talking about how they want the HHKB but worry about the layout is because they are attracted to the HHKB, it's looks, feel, compact/lightweight form... but aren't sure they can live with it.

It's like someone who wants to buy a 2-door car (or 2-seater even) because it looks awesome, but the impracticality could pose a problem.

[davkol]

....
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
....

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers.

And if your text editor sucks.

[iFreilicht]

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers.

It's definitely in the wrong spot though -- maybe ditch the Scroll Lock or Pause/Break for it... now talk about useless keys!

Also if you deal with C and macros and have to write in capital snake case all the time.

....
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
....

Caps Lock has its place if you deal with alpha-numeric codes frequently where the letters are capitalized and mixed with numbers.

It's definitely in the wrong spot though -- maybe ditch the Scroll Lock or Pause/Break for it... now talk about useless keys!

Those are reminiscent from the DOS era and text mode based operating systems. Linux is still using some of them.

Actually, Excel is still supporting ScrollLock from what I know.

Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Hypocrisy. BA Enter can just as well be split into two keys, in theory even three. I think it's the stupidest shape a key on a keyboard has ever had.

[_haru]

ANSI board plus ISO Enter is freaking awesome. I don't end up accidentally pressing backslash instead of Enter with that layout as often as I do with pure ANSI

[ideus]

ANSI board plus ISO Enter is freaking awesome. I don't end up accidentally pressing backslash instead of Enter with that layout as often as I do with pure ANSI

Indeed: It is not an opinion, it is a fact. 

[Rayoui]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

...and another thing... Why is the HHKB considered the measure of keyboard geekiness? I see so many posts by people who might be talking about their keyboard collection and add something like, "...but no HHKB - yet." (Er... So what? your collection is not invalidated without a keyboard - any keyboard. Stop apologizing for not owning a HHKB.)  or "I'd like to score a HHKB but I'm not keen about the layout. I don't think I can get by without arrow keys" (Well, then, don't buy one!).

It's just a keyboard, man. It won't lower your taxes or anything. If you don't like the layout, don't buy one. And don't measure your worth by judging if you like the HHKB layout, or even if you own one.

...aahhh - finally got that off my chest.
 

It's because there is an extremely outspoken minority of HHKB lovers that shout from the highest mountaintops about how the HHKB is the be-all and end-all of keyboards. They have everybody that doesn't have one convinced that they need one.

I enjoy my HHKB and use it every day at work, but I prefer my custom boards that I have assembled myself.

[_haru]

Indeed: It is not an opinion, it is a fact. 

 

[iFreilicht]

ANSI board plus ISO Enter is freaking awesome. I don't end up accidentally pressing backslash instead of Enter with that layout as often as I do with pure ANSI

I actually transitioned to ANSI from ISO for the opposite reason. I wanted backspace easier to reach, and with ANSI I can put it one row lower than it is on ISO. Also it looks so much more symmetrical.

[Niomosy]

I think I'm probably the only person here who likes the HHKB as it comes out of the box. No dome swapping, no silencing rings, no MX sliders. I can just plop it down and use it.

...and another thing... Why is the HHKB considered the measure of keyboard geekiness? I see so many posts by people who might be talking about their keyboard collection and add something like, "...but no HHKB - yet." (Er... So what? your collection is not invalidated without a keyboard - any keyboard. Stop apologizing for not owning a HHKB.)  or "I'd like to score a HHKB but I'm not keen about the layout. I don't think I can get by without arrow keys" (Well, then, don't buy one!).

It's just a keyboard, man. It won't lower your taxes or anything. If you don't like the layout, don't buy one. And don't measure your worth by judging if you like the HHKB layout, or even if you own one.

...aahhh - finally got that off my chest.
 

It's because there is an extremely outspoken minority of HHKB lovers that shout from the highest mountaintops about how the HHKB is the be-all and end-all of keyboards. They have everybody that doesn't have one convinced that they need one.

I enjoy my HHKB and use it every day at work, but I prefer my custom boards that I have assembled myself.

Having used the HHKB layout before the HHKB existed, I'm content to leave the keyboard to others.  To small for me and the layout is meh as a UNIX admin.

[DKrause]

Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Hypocrisy. BA Enter can just as well be split into two keys, in theory even three. I think it's the stupidest shape a key on a keyboard has ever had.

The biggest problem with the small enter keys, is all that space they took back, they gave to a BA \| key... Not really an improvement, IMHO.

Keycap manufacturers still manage to make tall ISO enter keys, because tall ISO enter keys are used on a lot of keyboards. Had BA enter keys remained popular, I'm sure we'd have keycaps that size too.

You don't like BAe cause it wastes space, but you'll keep the huge space wasting Caps lock? A function that could easily be replaced/toggled by FN+Shift? And now we have to deal with a BA \| too? That's a true waste of space, so shrinking the enter key really didn't solve any problems.

And "win" keys, while actually functional, should have never been allow to be "branded", by an organization that changes the key's logo every couple years. Why not just have it labeled "OS".

I just don't see the point of shrinking the enter key, a key used an awful lot, just so there's room for a giant backspace, giant right shift, giant \| key, and free MS adverts.

Might be a good time to experiment with an improved 60% layout. Without the justification that certain keys are the size they are because some manufacture make a mistake 20 years ago, and that's the size the key caps are now. 

[iFreilicht]

Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Hypocrisy. BA Enter can just as well be split into two keys, in theory even three. I think it's the stupidest shape a key on a keyboard has ever had.

The biggest problem with the small enter keys, is all that space they took back, they gave to a BA \| key... Not really an improvement, IMHO.

Keycap manufacturers still manage to make tall ISO enter keys, because tall ISO enter keys are used on a lot of keyboards. Had BA enter keys remained popular, I'm sure we'd have keycaps that size too.

You don't like BAe cause it wastes space, but you'll keep the huge space wasting Caps lock? A function that could easily be replaced/toggled by FN+Shift? And now we have to deal with a BA \| too? That's a true waste of space, so shrinking the enter key really didn't solve any problems.

And "win" keys, while actually functional, should have never been allow to be "branded", by an organization that changes the key's logo every couple years. Why not just have it labeled "OS".

I just don't see the point of shrinking the enter key, a key used an awful lot, just so there's room for a giant backspace, giant right shift, giant \| key, and free MS adverts.

Might be a good time to experiment with an improved 60% layout. Without the justification that certain keys are the size they are because some manufacture make a mistake 20 years ago, and that's the size the key caps are now. 

I agree that \ above enter is ****ing stupid and caps lock should die in a fire in its current form, that's why I have backspace above enter and Ctrl where Caps is on my keyboard. I never said that I would keep caps lock, just that is was contradictory to call Caps and Super space-wasting while also declaring BA Enter to be superior to alternatives.

But I was assuming we were already talking about custom layouts now, as barely any keyboards with BA Enter are produced by now. And if I build a custom board, I would never ever choose to use BA Enter over having ANSI Enter and Backspace in the exact same amount of space, and I don't see why anyone else would either, except for the novelty maybe. I definitely agree, build a DIY board (doesn't even need to be 60%) and program it to your hearts content. You can undo all the stupid mistakes that were made in the last few decades.

ISO enter is a whole different beast. ANSI compared to ISO has the exact same number of keys (2) in that small region, and I would argue that in terms of area to importance ratio, ISO is actually better because it makes \ a 1u key and gives Enter a bigger area.

Personally I prefer to call it Super to OS and Win, but the matter of fact is that everybody knows what Win-key means, so it's just easier for communication. I dislike that its on all the boards now as well, but it makes sense for normal users. Microsoft won't stop calling it the Windows key in their OS, and laptop/keyboard manufacturers don't want to deal with the flood of confused users that are searching for that key on their board because it has a different icon.

[kmba]

That's why hhkb layout is so nice. Caps moved to a function layer, big ass \ replaced with an appropriate sized backspace/delete, split traditional backspace, non-branded os key.

[Rayoui]

ISO enter is a whole different beast. ANSI compared to ISO has the exact same number of keys (2) in that small region, and I would argue that in terms of area to importance ratio, ISO is actually better because it makes \ a 1u key and gives Enter a bigger area.

We can agree that Enter is, by far, the more commonly used key. However, I would argue that while the ISO layout does afford more area for the Enter key, it does so in a way that requires one to reach further for it and places the less-used "\" key closer to the home row. Same goes for the left shift, placing a less useful key closer to the home row and making me reach further for the shift. In my opinion, ANSI is the more efficient layout.

[ideus]

ISO enter is a whole different beast. ANSI compared to ISO has the exact same number of keys (2) in that small region, and I would argue that in terms of area to importance ratio, ISO is actually better because it makes \ a 1u key and gives Enter a bigger area.

We can agree that Enter is, by far, the more commonly used key. However, I would argue that while the ISO layout does afford more area for the Enter key, it does so in a way that requires one to reach further for it and places the less-used "\" key closer to the home row. Same goes for the left shift, placing a less useful key closer to the home row and making me reach further for the shift. In my opinion, ANSI is the more efficient layout.

I I use ANSI-Unix (Ansix) style and ANSI-ISO flavored (Anso) and both has its drawbacks; at the same time, I like both of them. Anso makes easier to type my Latex documents and doing my R-programming tasks; while, Ansix is better for general computing tasks.

[_haru]

Big-Ass enter keys for the win!
Caps-lock keys are pointless. (And occupy premium keyboard location)
"Win" keys are worse than Caps-lock.

Hypocrisy. BA Enter can just as well be split into two keys, in theory even three. I think it's the stupidest shape a key on a keyboard has ever had.

I don't mind BA Enter either. 1u backspace is plenty fine for me. As long as I don't accidentally press backslash, I'm fine

[iFreilicht]

ISO enter is a whole different beast. ANSI compared to ISO has the exact same number of keys (2) in that small region, and I would argue that in terms of area to importance ratio, ISO is actually better because it makes \ a 1u key and gives Enter a bigger area.

We can agree that Enter is, by far, the more commonly used key. However, I would argue that while the ISO layout does afford more area for the Enter key, it does so in a way that requires one to reach further for it and places the less-used "\" key closer to the home row. Same goes for the left shift, placing a less useful key closer to the home row and making me reach further for the shift. In my opinion, ANSI is the more efficient layout.

That is a good point. And on Enter I'd agree, but I have never found the short ISO shift to be a problem as it is exactly the same distance from my left pinky as right shift is from my right pinky.

[Niomosy]

ISO enter is a whole different beast. ANSI compared to ISO has the exact same number of keys (2) in that small region, and I would argue that in terms of area to importance ratio, ISO is actually better because it makes \ a 1u key and gives Enter a bigger area.

We can agree that Enter is, by far, the more commonly used key. However, I would argue that while the ISO layout does afford more area for the Enter key, it does so in a way that requires one to reach further for it and places the less-used "\" key closer to the home row. Same goes for the left shift, placing a less useful key closer to the home row and making me reach further for the shift. In my opinion, ANSI is the more efficient layout.

That is a good point. And on Enter I'd agree, but I have never found the short ISO shift to be a problem as it is exactly the same distance from my left pinky as right shift is from my right pinky.

The left shift position might depend on the individual and typing style.  For me, a shorter left shift key isn't a problem as I hit the left shift key on the outer half of the key.  Cutting a bit of the inside out doesn't really impact me.  For someone that might hit the left Shift key further in, it could be a problem.

[Darksair]

• The best mechanical switch is MX red.
• The best switch is the membrane on Razer keyboards.
• I don’t understand how/why people can tolerate HHKB’s lack of ctrl/caps lock.
• “Artisan” keys are mostly ugly, especialy those with a skull/daemon/whatever.

[davkol]

I don’t understand how/why people can tolerate HHKB’s lack of ctrl/caps lock.

HHKB has Control above left Shift. That spot isn't great (emacs pinkie), but still better than the corner on mainstream keyboards. I'd prefer a thumb key, though.

I'm mildly annoyed by the lack of right Control, however.

But Caps lock? I haven't used that in seven years. Why? I don't need a key for that; when I need the function (which is extremely rare), I can just select the region and press C-x C-u, boom, it's all upper case. Heck, if I really wanted the Caps lock function even in dumber apps, I could enable it in software—simply toggle one checkbox ("both Shift keys together toggle Caps lock") in System settings.

[Darksair]

I don’t understand how/why people can tolerate HHKB’s lack of ctrl/caps lock.

HHKB has Control above left Shift. That spot isn't great (emacs pinkie), but still better than the corner on mainstream keyboards. I'd prefer a thumb key, though.

I'm mildly annoyed by the lack of right Control, however.

But Caps lock? I haven't used that in seven years. Why? I don't need a key for that; when I need the function (which is extremely rare), I can just select the region and press C-x C-u, boom, it's all upper case. Heck, if I really wanted the Caps lock function even in dumber apps, I could enable it in software—simply toggle one checkbox ("both Shift keys together toggle Caps lock") in System settings.

Yea… I can understand switching caps lock and left ctrl, but I do regularly use caps lock for C++ constants/macro (I don’t like that either, but common convention… And selecting + uppercase-region is too slow… ) and shouting at people.  The both shift keys thing could work though.

And strangely I never had any problem using ctrl on the bottom-left corner, while a lot of Emacs users have reported illness on the pinky…

[ideus]

• “Artisan” keys are mostly ugly, especialy those with a skull/daemon/whatever.

True!

[davkol]

Yea… I can understand switching caps lock and left ctrl, but I do regularly use caps lock for C++ constants/macro (I don’t like that either, but common convention… And selecting + uppercase-region is too slow… ) and shouting at people.  The both shift keys thing could work though.

I guess it'd be straightforward to create a macro for that. I haven't felt such need, though.

IIRC some plugin/IDE can even automatically recognize constants and capitalize their name.

And strangely I never had any problem using ctrl on the bottom-left corner, while a lot of Emacs users have reported illness on the pinky…

Overuse…

[antquinonez]

• The best mechanical switch is MX red.
• The best switch is the membrane on Razer keyboards.
• I don’t understand how/why people can tolerate HHKB’s lack of ctrl/caps lock.
• “Artisan” keys are mostly ugly, especialy those with a skull/daemon/whatever.

No control key? No caps lock? WTHeck? Oh, heck no. I got the customization bug out of me back in the Mac OS 8 days. Stock, nice.

[alienman82]

removed.

[Niomosy]

Caps lock comes in handy in various Reddit sports communities.  In /r/hockey, for example, the Friday Trash Talk Discussion thread is always in all caps.  Overtime is in all caps.  Playoff double overtime is bold caps.  3x overtime is italic bold caps.  Other subs do similar things as well.

As for Caps vs Ctrl locations, I find the typical ANSI keyboard spot for Ctrl more comfortable for my left pinky than in the Caps Lock location. 

[davkol]

Caps lock comes in handy in various Reddit sports communities.  In /r/hockey, for example, the Friday Trash Talk Discussion thread is always in all caps.  Overtime is in all caps.  Playoff double overtime is bold caps.  3x overtime is italic bold caps.  Other subs do similar things as well.

Exactly. You don't have a key (incl. a dedicated scan code in the keyboard protocol) for bold or italic, do you?

[iFreilicht]

Caps lock comes in handy in various Reddit sports communities.  In /r/hockey, for example, the Friday Trash Talk Discussion thread is always in all caps.  Overtime is in all caps.  Playoff double overtime is bold caps.  3x overtime is italic bold caps.  Other subs do similar things as well.

Exactly. You don't have a key (incl. a dedicated scan code in the keyboard protocol) for bold or italic, do you?

Well no, because that is formatting and bold/italic are triggered in reddit markup by surrounding a block of text with *. I think all of the reasons why capslock is useful are valid, but pressing both shifts or Fn+Shift to activate it seems perfectly fine to me.

[Niomosy]

Caps lock comes in handy in various Reddit sports communities.  In /r/hockey, for example, the Friday Trash Talk Discussion thread is always in all caps.  Overtime is in all caps.  Playoff double overtime is bold caps.  3x overtime is italic bold caps.  Other subs do similar things as well.

Exactly. You don't have a key (incl. a dedicated scan code in the keyboard protocol) for bold or italic, do you?

Well no, because that is formatting and bold/italic are triggered in reddit markup by surrounding a block of text with *. I think all of the reasons why capslock is useful are valid, but pressing both shifts or Fn+Shift to activate it seems perfectly fine to me.

On Reddit, I just use Ctrl-B for bold and Ctrl-I for italics.  Not sure if that's RES-specific or not as I've not used Reddit without RES in years.

[davkol]

bold or italic

that is formatting

So is capitalization/case style.

[iFreilicht]

bold or italic

that is formatting

So is capitalization/case style.

Sorry, what I meant was font style. Caps or not caps use different letters/bytes, but fot bold/italic you change the display of the font itself.

[davkol]

italic != oblique type

The glyphs are different. The typeface has to support italic.

[___q]

ABS keycaps getting shiny is a feature, and they get more pleasant to use as they get worn-in and smooth.

[Joey Quinn]

ABS keycaps getting shiny is a feature, and they get more pleasant to use as they get worn-in and smooth.

Totally agree with this but it also goes for PBT

I have a set of worn OG dyesubs that feel amazing

[iFreilicht]

italic != oblique type

The glyphs are different. The typeface has to support italic.

Ah interesting, didn't know about oblique. Still, does that in any way invalidate my argument?

ABS keycaps getting shiny is a feature, and they get more pleasant to use as they get worn-in and smooth.

Nopenopenopenopenope. I'm all the way in the other direction. SP SA feels absolutely horrible because of the shiny finish. Never in my life will I get an SP SA set, no matter how awesome they look. I've heard maxkeys has a little rougher surface finish on their SA clone, so that's more likely an option for me.

[cheddarbek]

SP PBT DSA sets are awful.

The texture is far too rough, and I can’t stand to type on them for more than a few minutes before I get uncomfortable. The blank DSAs aren’t so bad, but the printed sets (like Granite) are unusable to me.

[davkol]

italic != oblique type

The glyphs are different. The typeface has to support italic.

Ah interesting, didn't know about oblique. Still, does that in any way invalidate my argument?

What argument? This?

that is formatting and bold/italic are triggered in reddit markup by surrounding a block of text with *

That's completely arbitrary.

Let's backtrack. What's the deal here? The Caps lock key. Caps lock is a distinct function, not to be confused with Shift lock, which is a full layer toggle, whereas Caps lock typically works only for letters, i.e., typing in uppercase. That's formatting.

Any visually distinct symbol may carry specific semantics in a given context—math is a classic example—but typically it doesn't and the choice of typeface for emphasis is arbitrary. In the time of universal computers, separation of semantics and presentation is a thing, and it's a good thing, because it enables readers to use whatever output format they want or need (including text to speech synthesis instead of a screen/printer).

Going back to the Reddit example, the Reddit's editor—just like many other Markdown (or other markup) implementations—translates those underscores/asterisks into <em> (emphasis) or <strong> tags, i.e., not italic/bold as Niomosy probably believes. It's up to the browser/reader to style them; that's usually italic or bold typeface, but it doesn't have to be that way. The stylesheet may assign different colors or other typeface to them. And going back to uppercase once again, there's the "text-transform" CSS property for that.

Typing in uppercase, however, mixes source text with presentation.

[zslane]

My finger tips can feel the difference between gloss/semigloss and matte finishes, but my brain doesn't care. If you are keenly distracted by something as inconsequential as the surface material of your keycaps, then you might need to up the dosage on your OCD medication. 

[iFreilicht]

Let's backtrack. What's the deal here? The Caps lock key. Caps lock is a distinct function, not to be confused with Shift lock, which is a full layer toggle, whereas Caps lock typically works only for letters, i.e., typing in uppercase. That's formatting.

Any visually distinct symbol may carry specific semantics in a given context—math is a classic example—but typically it doesn't and the choice of typeface for emphasis is arbitrary. In the time of universal computers, separation of semantics and presentation is a thing, and it's a good thing, because it enables readers to use whatever output format they want or need (including text to speech synthesis instead of a screen/printer).

Going back to the Reddit example, the Reddit's editor—just like many other Markdown (or other markup) implementations—translates those underscores/asterisks into <em> (emphasis) or <strong> tags, i.e., not italic/bold as Niomosy probably believes. It's up to the browser/reader to style them; that's usually italic or bold typeface, but it doesn't have to be that way. The stylesheet may assign different colors or other typeface to them. And going back to uppercase once again, there's the "text-transform" CSS property for that.

Typing in uppercase, however, mixes source text with presentation.

You're right on all of those things, but your last statement is the only part of my position I wanted to defend anyway.

bold or italic

that is formatting

So is capitalization/case style.

Sorry, what I meant was font style. Caps or not caps use different letters/bytes, but fot bold/italic you change the display of the font itself.

As you say, using caps lock changes the source text, the actual data that is stored, unrelated to any styling. And for any sort of content on websites I think we can both agree that Caps Lock is utterly useless. I also agree that especially in the context of websites, mixing source text and presentation is bad form. So in the example that really seemed to spark our discussion

Caps lock comes in handy in various Reddit sports communities.  In /r/hockey, for example, the Friday Trash Talk Discussion thread is always in all caps.  Overtime is in all caps.  Playoff double overtime is bold caps.  3x overtime is italic bold caps.  Other subs do similar things as well.

we can agree that this would be better solved by using CSS to display all text as caps, no matter if it is actually being typed in caps or not.

But, as we know, there are other contexts where only little styling is applied to the text, one of which is programming, and I think that was our main splitting point: Whether Caps Lock is actually a useful key. And I argue that in these cases, it can indeed be useful if your style guideline demand upper case snake case in some instances.