Hello.
I couldn't find a discussion about this topic that is really generic, so i thought i'd start one. Since i still can't wrap my head around these tiny boards people seem to like.
About myself and my background, i'm in my thirties and work in IT - which means i type a lot. Both normal text and a lot of CLI stuff in ssh/terminal emulators and so on. I also game a lot at home.
In the office i've been using an IBM Model M for about 12 years now and at home i was using a Cherry G80-3000 with MX blues for about 10 years until a few weeks ago. At the moment i use a GMMK (full iso 105 layout) with Kailh Box Navy Switches and some pretty nice PBT keycaps from some AliExpress seller at home. (Yes, i also game with the Navy switches
)
That's also what started my journey down the "custom keyboard" rabbit hole.. a few weeks in and i already have stuff for a few hundred euros in the mail. Send help.
Maybe i'm just to old and/or used to the full layout, but i really don't get this small form factor hype. In my opinion you just give up valuable keys you can use for stuff and that are really useful sometimes, even if you don't use them all the time. Especially when you're using text editors a lot (nav keys) or have to enter numbers from time to time (numpad). Something without real arrow keys is completely unusable imho.
I've seen people claiming that it's more ergonomic since they can place the mouse further to the left. But .. just why? I mean, yeah, i'm a pretty big guy with broad shoulders, but my mouse usually rests at least 20cm from the right end of my full size board. If i wanted to make use of the space e.g. a TKL frees up i would have to move the mouse 30cm to the left.. you'd have to be a 5 year old to have shoulders that narrow (or a really tiny woman maybe).
So, what is your personal opinion on this topic? Why do you like the specific layout you use? Why don't you like other layouts? And so on.