How did you learn to touch type?
pic unrelated
>>54066365
Technically I don't type touch, I type some weird almost-touch thing because I sometimes stray from the homerow.
I learned it from using a keyboard a lot.
I typed
MMORPG
>>54066383
/thread
>>54066378
>I learned it from using a keyboard a lot.
This.
I don't know any of that home key bullshit, I just started typing a lot as a kid because of Internet and video games and now I can do it fast.
I've been typing on keyboards since I was 2 years old, noticed the protrusions on the home keys so I thought that's where index fingers were supposed to go, everything else came naturally.
>>54066365
I was a fucking fast QWERTY typist from growing up playing MUDs and IRC but I only used like 2-3 fingers on each hand, so I switched to Colemak and forced myself to touch type properly as I learned it. It worked.
>>54066365
Typing Tutor I think it was called or something I can't really remember since it was back when I was in elementary school
With a Hunchback of Notre-Dame PC game
>>54066365
realised I was typing really slow and badly in my first year of uni and that if this was something I was going to have to do for the rest of my life I might as well learn to do it properly. Installed klavaro and worked through the exercises every night for about an hour and a half. It took a long time because I was making sure my fingers always returned to the home row after pressing a key and that the right finger pressed the right key. After finishing the learning part I did the speed and consistency exercises for ~10 mins every night and in 5 months could get above 60wpm consistently. that was some time ago and I've since adjusted my style to suit the way I use a touchpad: my left hand handles T and space and the right b.
>>54066365
IRC definitely helped me as well especially the fast channels. Also the website 10fastfingers.com is pretty useful.
>>54067464
How hard is it to switch to Colemak? I've tried Dvorak but I quit after a few days because I just don't have months to learn a new layout.
>>54066365
I just decided at one point to stop looking at the keyboard so I can look cool while I type.
It took a bit to stop making mistakes, but it wasn't too hard to learn.
Been using computers for 16 years and my method of typing doesn't involve the home row and it's pretty weird and probably counterintuitive.
I've been trying and trying to learn home row but I go desperate with how slow it is for me.
IRC/chat rooms
>>54069596
Oh, and I was on a *very* active listserv for Nerf gun modification.
>>54069502
Every time you start typing, first put your index fingers on the two homerow keys with bumps. Then just type. Do it every time you place your hands on the keyboard and eventually your efficiency will improve.
after 15 years of working on computers still do not use homerow bullshit
>>54066365
Runescape and MSN, honestly.
4chan and Typing of the Dead
Eve Online, couldnt always use TS.
>>54066365
Learned by typing, never had any sort of trainging/self-training. After 20 years of typing I decided to relearn everything. I used to make a lot of mistakes due my short pinky fingers and I had problems with numbers and special characters. I actually made an analysis of what I was doing wrong and then corrected it and practiced some 100 hours.
>if one of your fingers can't reach a key comfortably, use another finger.
Now I can type 50-60 wpm without mistakes which is great.
>>54069753
>Typing of the Dead
What a fun game.
Op here, i want to get better. Any tips?
>>54070133
Initially practice slowly, think about which finger is moving to which key and be sure you are using the right finger. This will be painful and slow, it'l probably take you a month of working every night to learn every key.
When you are relatively sure about the positions of all the keys and the correct fingers, type at a steady pace. Have a rhythm and try to stick to it. At this stage you are trying to build up the muscle memory, don't rock your fingers across the board or lash out to the characters you are familiar with but stall on the tricky ones. This is quite therapeutic, but can be boring. The returns are slow but you will notice them stacking up when you are typing day to day.
It's a lot like driving; a skill you will hone your entire life and although the initial learning curve is the steepest and it can be discouraging at times, discipline and practice are guaranteed to push you through (unlike... say learning chemistry, for which discipline and practice are a necessity but more is required)
>>54070698
But i'm a girl
>>54066365
hurling abuse in mmorpgs
>>54066365
8th grade, using this typing software in typing class. Teacher even made us type with a black cover over the keyboard. That was 13 years ago, currently up to 80+ wpm. :D
>>54066391
Similar, I used to play MUDs a lot. Good way to learn typing as well as speed-reading/skimming for info.
But seriously, touch typing is not difficult as long as you don't have motor cortex issues.
>>54066365
WoW raids without voice, seriously
internet was limited for me in 2005, and our group consisted of people with same problem
everyone learned to type lightning fast
second best skill i got from that game
>>54066365
Step 1: take out all of the letter keys
Step 2: Put them all back but in completely different order
Step 3: Use this keyboard for 2-3 months.
I honestly learned to type from growing up in mmos. I don't know if I would strictly call it touch typing though.
What is a reasonable wpm to be at? I average around 80.
>>54066365
By typing a lot? With your hands just naturally know where the keys at.
I even know how to type in russian/ukrainian on a US layout by just memorizing. First it was just knowing 1st, 2nd or 3rd row, then the general location and now if I make a mistake it's either the key before or after
Playing a lot of roguelikes with vi-keys got me used to the layout.
>>54066365
During a mandatory summer class in 9th grade. I didn't think of it as a special skill at that time. Funny thing was my friend, years later, got extremely butthurt that I'm able to touch type and wanted me to touch while looking at the keyboard because I was "showing off".
>>54069753
>typing of the dead
mahnigga.jpg
>>54066383
>>54066391
This, on runescape
Some typing teacher program and a piece of cardboard over my keys.
I didn't.
>>54070760
I don't understand?
>>54071395
That got really difficult. Even now I still have trouble with the later bosses
>>54066365
Took a class in high school.
Easily the most useful class during those 4 years.
From this nigger.
Selling rune full 200k
>>54066365
Using MSN Messenger.
http://www.easytype.org/
1 year of typing class in school
>>54066378
>>54067102
Touch-typing is typing by sense, without looking at the keys. Staying on the homerow is just one (arguably the most popular) touch-typing discipline.
>>54066365
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/09/programmings-dirtiest-little-secret.html
>touch type
Well I don't really. I just know where the keys are. Can type at almost any angle. I don't use my hands equally though.
I started learning because mom wanted me to stop looking at the keyboard. I was like 6 and she's a program so it annoyed her that I was slow and 'stupid'. So she got me one of those games where letters fall and you are supposed to press them quickly and it had instructions. Never really got far with that. But I've been typing since and now i can easily type at many different angles without changing speed really. I regularly touch the home row knob to ensure alignment but it's not correct finger position.
Just not having to look at the keys.. Well text based games really sorted it quickly.
>>54066365
>>54066391
To build on that, a text based MUD.
Discworld MUD (discworld.atuin.net) is basically a text MMORPG with a shell-like interface. Bash-like syntax and aliasing etc.
I went from 80wpm to 120wpm in a few years.
Typing the same thing over and over again
Online gaming before VOIP became commonplace.
I used to do what I like to call gamer typing. My left hand was really good at touch typing and my right was awful at it.
I just made a concerted effort to get better at touch typing.
>>54066365
I used to play Warcraft III a lot, there's literally always a chat in that game. I disliked typing slow so I kept making myself type faster until I was no longer the bottleneck in conversations.
>>54072839
This article inspired me to learn to type properly, thanks for posting, I'd completely forgotten.
>>54066365
broodwar
>>54072186
Me too.
I'm amazed at how good it actually was, I went from like 10 wpm hunting and pecking to touch typing in like two afternoons, and almost 20 years later I still type pretty much exactly the same way.
Using this
https://www.tipp10.com/en/index/
Just do what it says. (I used the software version, no idea how good the web version is)
Took me about a week or two to get through all the exercises. All you have to do then is practice and never fall back into your old habits.
>>54066365
I used to finger type, then I sat down one day as a kid of about 15, forced myself to do it right, and that was it after that.
>>54066365
shit posting
I'm not even kidding
>>54068505
>How hard is it to switch to Colemak? I've tried Dvorak but I quit after a few days because I just don't have months to learn a new layout.
A lot of the important hotkeys are the same as before so it isn't that difficult. It really depends on how willing you are to type like a fucking worthless idiot for about a week.
My school had us play touch typing games. Later on I got practice by playing Diablo II.
>>54066365
typing exam
>>54066365
Runescape.
>>54066365
Chat rooms. The hot girls typed with good grammar and all that, which inspired me to teach myself. It took a few years.
I learned how to type fast from arguing on Youtube. Never use the home row. Just start on the first letter of whatever I'm about to type and then go from there.
Also, I only type with about 2-3 fingers on each hand. I'm about 90+wpm
My keyboard has never had letters on it.
>>54066365
Typing shark video game
Mario Teaches Typing. Smashin bricks and stomping on turtles, nothing will teach you faster.
School taught us wasn't good at first.
Didn't have a computer at the time either.
Later on got a PC. Then games and chatting really accelerated it.
Was fast at a certain point.
Lost my edge. Don't talk to anybody now or play games much.
Average 60-70wpm. I swear as teen I was at 100+wpm.
>>54066365
have stimulating conversations with people online using your preferred messaging service.
i could barely type when i met my ex in an aim thread six and a half years ago...
falling in love is a pretty good motivation to learn anything
Honestly I was never a quick typist until I got a job at CSD, which is a telephone service for the deaf. (Basically I typed out spoken conversation.)
I was probably ~50wpm and staring at the keyboard beforehand. Middle school had taught me the home-row, and playing gratuitous amounts of TF2 and RS was most of my experience.
After CSD I was topping out at about 120. Granted, you don't use capitalization, punctuation or symbols but still that's bredy good.
Typing programs when I was young, then it was on to games and internet chat rooms. In high school i was in a tech class so it came in handy. Not very fast or accurate, but better than a lot.
I did a 2 weeks long course when I was 11 using an old MS-DOS software.
Also practiced a bit at home on an old typewriter.
My mother imposed this tome, along with a basic computer knowledge before buying me my first computer.
Saw how much faster my mother was at typing. Thought it was pretty cool.
Blocked my view of the keyboard. SLOWLY relearned muscle memory with trial and error.
Eventually bought blank keycaps years later to keep the habit in check.
You can do it too.
>>54066365
I played WoW when I was younger. I played it a lot and talked to people a lot. Now I can get over 100 wpm on those online typing tests pretty easily.
>>54076895
Do you ever experience problems going back to qwerty keyboards?
Pirated Mavis Beacon CD which we shared in our school.
Practice.
When you type enough, your body associates certain letters with certain hand movements. Then, whenever you want to type that letter, it automatically performs that motion.
i went to typing school with a bunch of middle-aged women. true story.
>>54066378
Pretty much this. My typing is more than fast enough for my needs but I have never learned a formal typing discipline.
>>54066378
>>54067102
Pretty much this, I don't stay on the homerow but I don't have to look while typing and I can quite regularly hit 100+ wpm on typing tests.
>>54070760
>her
