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Interest Checks / Re: [IC] GMK CYL Shellshocked
« Last post by bluntkrayon on Wed, 09 September 2026, 07:32:12 »I hear what you're saying. When I started out in this hobby, I questioned why there were Icons plus text bottom row, and it didn't make sense to me.
When I first started this IC, I started out with Text only, because it generally made sense to me to keep it consistent - text only or icon only, for mods. I don't mind Icon only (where bottom row is also Icon - GMK Mecha 01 is one my go to key sets that I like to use) but I know a lot of the community don't like it at all, so I ended up with Text only mods. But over the period that this IC has been out, people have been more vocal against the text only mods, than they have been in favour of it - to be fair, some are indifferent about the choice of mods generally.
The current choice of icons plus text bottom row has been the leader so far, based on what I've read on feedback on the IC, and the poll I recently posted on Discord (I can't post a poll here, so I ended up posting on Discord in the GMK server). A set that I've referenced, and personally love, is GMK Kaiju and that uses the same mod choice (Icon and Text bottom row). I've posted on r/MechanicalKeyboards a while back too, and also even KeebTalk, so I've tried to get this out to as many avenues, that have been recommended, to get a gauge of what would work the best.
I'm still open to feedback, and thinking about it, maybe the compromise is that the mods are text+icon, so then the bottom row doesn't look too wildly different. I'm still thinking about what the mod choice will do to my love for the HHKB keys (bottom row), as now it'll be a far cry from the regular HHKB keys (though, I'm still not a fan of the R2 1.5u delete key, and would rather to inverted Backspace / Delete front print key, but that'll be a tough ask, given that there's already a R2 1.5u backspace key in the base.
The only thing that I might change is the R2 1u backspace key in the 40s kit, which is still Text; having it in text, balances out the Esc, but to be consistent, I should change to icon I think.
When I first started this IC, I started out with Text only, because it generally made sense to me to keep it consistent - text only or icon only, for mods. I don't mind Icon only (where bottom row is also Icon - GMK Mecha 01 is one my go to key sets that I like to use) but I know a lot of the community don't like it at all, so I ended up with Text only mods. But over the period that this IC has been out, people have been more vocal against the text only mods, than they have been in favour of it - to be fair, some are indifferent about the choice of mods generally.
The current choice of icons plus text bottom row has been the leader so far, based on what I've read on feedback on the IC, and the poll I recently posted on Discord (I can't post a poll here, so I ended up posting on Discord in the GMK server). A set that I've referenced, and personally love, is GMK Kaiju and that uses the same mod choice (Icon and Text bottom row). I've posted on r/MechanicalKeyboards a while back too, and also even KeebTalk, so I've tried to get this out to as many avenues, that have been recommended, to get a gauge of what would work the best.
I'm still open to feedback, and thinking about it, maybe the compromise is that the mods are text+icon, so then the bottom row doesn't look too wildly different. I'm still thinking about what the mod choice will do to my love for the HHKB keys (bottom row), as now it'll be a far cry from the regular HHKB keys (though, I'm still not a fan of the R2 1.5u delete key, and would rather to inverted Backspace / Delete front print key, but that'll be a tough ask, given that there's already a R2 1.5u backspace key in the base.
The only thing that I might change is the R2 1u backspace key in the 40s kit, which is still Text; having it in text, balances out the Esc, but to be consistent, I should change to icon I think.