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Fwiw the finger contortions needed by eMacs were also giving me RSIs - other than cutting my computer use (basically don’t spend every waking moment typing) I s

Fwiw the finger contortions needed by eMacs were also giving me RSIs - other than cutting my computer use (basically don’t spend every waking moment typing) I switched to vim since I figured its modal nature would require fewer multi-finger combos. I’ve been mostly free of issues for over 15 years now.

ParetoOptimal 3y ago
I switched from vim, to emacs evil, to vanilla emacs, had pain, bought a keyboard with a thumb cluster, been good ever since.
- dempedempe 3y ago
  Keyboards with thumb clusters are definitely the best option, but in my experience, even on a normal keyboard, simply remapping your keys makes a world of difference. Here are some of my most useful remaps: - Swap enter and semicolon. Enter is one of my most used keys. It should be "directly accessible" - Make right command backspace. Backspace is another key I very commonly use, but it's far away and causes a lot of pain. Now, it's right under my thumb! (Regular backspace key is now forward delete). - Make caps lock and enter control. (When pressed with other keys). This is useful for Emacs commands. - Caps lock is escape when not pressed with other keys. - Enter is semicolon when not pressed with other keys. I use Karabiner for Mac to do my remappings.
  - globular-toast 3y ago
    The "when not pressed with other keys" stuff is interesting. I never thought about that. The only trouble I can see with this is being unable to type effectively on a normie keyboard. I've had the ctrl/caps swap for years and I regular mess it up on a normie keyboard, although it's no big deal to accidentally press caps, of course. What I like is my portable mechanical keyboard has a physical switch, so it works whatever computer I plug it in to.
- globular-toast 3y ago
  What keyboard do you use? Even though, as I wrote above, Emacs does not require finger contortions, I do do finger contortions. I doubt I'll ever stop using Emacs but I have always been a little concerned about my little fingers ("pinkies"). So the options seem to be either evil mode, or a new keyboard, both of which require busting a decade's worth of muscle memory...
globular-toast 3y ago
Emacs does not require finger contortions. You can use M-x commands (like VS Code), or use evil (like vim).
- jbd0 3y ago
  I make it a point to always press the modifier key with my other hand to reduce finger contortions. For pressing multiple modifiers, I take my hand off of home row to avoid using my pinky. (I also use a ortho-linear mechanical keyboard with thumb clusters and a Colemak-DH layout.)
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago
  Escape-meta-alt-control-shift :)

ParetoOptimal 3y ago

I switched from vim, to emacs evil, to vanilla emacs, had pain, bought a keyboard with a thumb cluster, been good ever since.

dempedempe 3y ago
Keyboards with thumb clusters are definitely the best option, but in my experience, even on a normal keyboard, simply remapping your keys makes a world of difference. Here are some of my most useful remaps: - Swap enter and semicolon. Enter is one of my most used keys. It should be "directly accessible" - Make right command backspace. Backspace is another key I very commonly use, but it's far away and causes a lot of pain. Now, it's right under my thumb! (Regular backspace key is now forward delete). - Make caps lock and enter control. (When pressed with other keys). This is useful for Emacs commands. - Caps lock is escape when not pressed with other keys. - Enter is semicolon when not pressed with other keys. I use Karabiner for Mac to do my remappings.
- globular-toast 3y ago
  The "when not pressed with other keys" stuff is interesting. I never thought about that. The only trouble I can see with this is being unable to type effectively on a normie keyboard. I've had the ctrl/caps swap for years and I regular mess it up on a normie keyboard, although it's no big deal to accidentally press caps, of course. What I like is my portable mechanical keyboard has a physical switch, so it works whatever computer I plug it in to.
globular-toast 3y ago
What keyboard do you use? Even though, as I wrote above, Emacs does not require finger contortions, I do do finger contortions. I doubt I'll ever stop using Emacs but I have always been a little concerned about my little fingers ("pinkies"). So the options seem to be either evil mode, or a new keyboard, both of which require busting a decade's worth of muscle memory...

globular-toast 3y ago

Emacs does not require finger contortions. You can use M-x commands (like VS Code), or use evil (like vim).

jbd0 3y ago
I make it a point to always press the modifier key with my other hand to reduce finger contortions. For pressing multiple modifiers, I take my hand off of home row to avoid using my pinky. (I also use a ortho-linear mechanical keyboard with thumb clusters and a Colemak-DH layout.)
loloquwowndueo 3y ago
Escape-meta-alt-control-shift :)