# What the hell is up with the Caps Lock people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161 "2008-02-11T16:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/1 "2008-02-11T16:38:54Z")
I see it every day and it’s just crawling up my bemused last nerve. There are all these people in the world who, instead of holding down the Shift key while they type a letter to get a capital letter, they hit “Caps Lock”, the letter, and then “Caps Lock” again. WTF? Were they dropped on the head too much as babies? Unable to muster the minute amount of coordination required to hit two keys at once? Sorry, I just had to share my complete non-understanding of why any human being who can comprehend the act of typing would _do_ that. Some of them are really fast at it too - decent typists who have the world’s stupidest method. Seriously, WTF? I hope any of you who do that have the decency to hide your heads in shame rather than come out with your perversion in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/2 "2008-02-11T16:42:42Z")
Sheesh, I only type with **two fingers** , and I **still** hold down the shift key! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/3 "2008-02-11T16:50:44Z")
It’s not complicated it’s mainly just basic literacy issues. The only people using all CAPS these days are old people (and not the smart ones), people with mental issues, young kids (not the smart ones), and people with very limited writing skills and/or very rudimentary educations. AT LEAST THAT"S WHAT I BELIEVE!!! ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/4 "2008-02-11T17:20:18Z")
You’re talking about people who use the Caps Lock key instead of the shift key, right? I rarely see this; it’s probably a result of people who learned to type on typewriters, or whose jobs consist of nothing but plain typing – they’re not used to making two-key combinations (Ctrl- and Alt-). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/5 "2008-02-11T17:29:29Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I see it every day and it’s just crawling up my bemused last nerve. There are all these people in the world who, instead of holding down the Shift key while they type a letter to get a capital letter, they hit “Caps Lock”, the letter, and then “Caps Lock” again. WTF? [/QUOTE] IIRC, that’s how our old Olivetti typewriter’s “shift” key worked. Perhaps these people learned on a mechanical typewriter, or were taught to type by a course that neglected that things have moved on a bit recently? ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/6 "2008-02-11T17:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=Jeep’s Phoenix] You’re talking about people who use the Caps Lock key instead of the shift key, right? I rarely see this; it’s probably a result of people who learned to type on typewriters, or whose jobs consist of nothing but plain typing – they’re not used to making two-key combinations (Ctrl- and Alt-). [/QUOTE] Nah - can’t be this. Typewriters are where the shift key originated - it _shifted_ the carriage up to allow the upper-case letters to be put on the paper. Two key combinations like holding shift and pressing a letter goes back to the beginning. If this is related at all, it’s the other way around. The Caps-lock, type-a-letter, Caps-lock pattern is probably people to don’t type much, never got the hang of the keyboard, and are basically hunting and pecking. I, on the other hand, will avoid the caps-lock key. I’ll type an ALL-CAPS word by holding the shit-key, typing all my letters, then release the shift key. Sometimes I have to switch from the left to the right shift key and back again to make it all work out. I’ve never gotten good at the caps lock key. Caps-lock is for when I type a whole paragraphs in caps, and even then I’ll hit the shift key accidentally making the paragraphs have scattered lower case letters like, “iT WAS A dARK and sTORMY NIGHT.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/7 "2008-02-11T18:41:29Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] IIRC, that’s how our old Olivetti typewriter’s “shift” key worked. Perhaps these people learned on a mechanical typewriter, or were taught to type by a course that neglected that things have moved on a bit recently? [/QUOTE] Today, it was an eight year old. The thing is, the kid was quite a competent typist speed-wise. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/8 "2008-02-11T18:44:49Z")
Why are you watching that closely to see how the typist in question is shifting? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/9 "2008-02-11T18:51:27Z")
I seem to recollect that when I typed on a mechanical typewriter (in the 1970s) I often used the Caps Lock key in that way - because the carriage was so heavy (for my weak teen fingers) to lift that I preferred to make sure of the heavy lifting before typing the capital. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/10 "2008-02-11T18:51:27Z")
Holy crap! My keyboard DOES have this “Shift” key you guys are talking about. How long has this been around? My computer was replaced last fall, so I’m assuming “Shift” came out around then. People get set in their ways; you can’t expect everyone to dive into a new way of doing things immediately. Wait, my keyboard actually has _two_ of these things. I’m going to wait until the competing placements of “Shift” work themselves out before I try to use it. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/11 "2008-02-11T18:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I see it every day and it’s just crawling up my bemused last nerve. There are all these people in the world who, instead of holding down the Shift key while they type a letter to get a capital letter, they hit “Caps Lock”, the letter, and then “Caps Lock” again. WTF? Were they dropped on the head too much as babies? Unable to muster the minute amount of coordination required to hit two keys at once? Sorry, I just had to share my complete non-understanding of why any human being who can comprehend the act of typing would _do_ that. Some of them are really fast at it too - decent typists who have the world’s stupidest method. Seriously, WTF? I hope any of you who do that have the decency to hide your heads in shame rather than come out with your perversion in this thread. [/QUOTE] I’d take you out back to the Pit and thrash you justly, but I just can’t be bothered right now. No, I wasn’t dropped on my head too much as a baby. No, I’m not unable to muster the minute amount of coordination required to hit two keys at once. I’m sorry that my chosen style of typing qualifies as “the world’s stupidest method,” but with all due respect, shove it. I have no reason to hide my head in shame – perhaps, instead, you should… who are you watching so closely as to notice how they are typing? And why? FWIW, I type at roughly 90-95 WPM. I don’t really use the shift key. What’s it to you? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/12 "2008-02-11T19:02:14Z")
ANYBODY ELSE THOUGHT THAT THIS THREAD WOULD BE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO POST IN CAPS ALL THE TIME? Well I did. aT leAsT It iS bEttEr thaN tHosE pEopLe wHo TypE iN TorGO-sPeAk… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/13 "2008-02-11T19:10:35Z")
The Caps Lock key says ‘Caps’ on it, so it’s obvious that it’s something to do with capital letters. The shift key gets you the other symbol on those keys that have two symbols. I’m betting that if standard keyboards had upper and lower case legends on all the letter keys the people who use Caps Lock would have twigged. I worked with people who turned Caps Lock on first thing in the morning and left it on all day - in some cases, they thought typing in all caps looked better, in other cases, they were to stupid to know when to capitalise, so they left Caps Lock on to make the issue moot. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/14 "2008-02-11T19:25:38Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Why are you watching that closely to see how the typist in question is shifting? [/QUOTE] Because people can’t remember their passwords for printing and you have to watch them to make sure it isn’t mixed caps or all caps or something - the passwords are case sensitive. Of course he forgot his password and we had to go fishing around in the system to retrieve it. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/15 "2008-02-11T19:32:22Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Because people can’t remember their passwords for printing and you have to watch them to make sure it isn’t mixed caps or all caps or something - the passwords are case sensitive. Of course he forgot his password and we had to go fishing around in the system to retrieve it. [/QUOTE] In other words, he had actually lost his password, and it wasn’t a case of improper capitalization. Ergo, there was no functional error in his choice to use the caps lock key vs. the shift key. Remind me again why you’re so bothered by the habits of others that don’t affect you in the slightest? ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/16 "2008-02-11T19:35:31Z")
**atomicbadgerrace** , I’ve been watching you type your posts here. Did you know your wrist was leaning against the “Taking this all too seriously” key the whole time? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/17 "2008-02-11T19:36:14Z")
[QUOTE=atomicbadgerrace] FWIW, I type at roughly 90-95 WPM. I don’t really use the shift key. What’s it to you? [/QUOTE] You could probably get it up to 100-105 WPM if you used the keyboard properly! :d&r: ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/18 "2008-02-11T19:39:37Z")
[QUOTE=Borborygmi] **atomicbadgerrace** , I’ve been watching you type your posts here. Did you know your wrist was leaning against the “Taking this all too seriously” key the whole time? [/QUOTE] Perhaps. Rough day and all. Carry on. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/19 "2008-02-11T19:40:29Z")
[QUOTE=atomicbadgerrace] In other words, he had actually lost his password, and it wasn’t a case of improper capitalization. Ergo, there was no functional error in his choice to use the caps lock key vs. the shift key. Remind me again why you’re so bothered by the habits of others that don’t affect you in the slightest? [/QUOTE] Because somebody allowed this little boy to acquire a bad habit which will only slow him down later in life? ETA - yes, yes, you’re about to tell me how fast you type with a handicap like that, but, you know, there’s no need not to give a child the best of technique and advantage. There’s a kid who’s a high school wrestler even though he’s missing his forearms, hands, and legs - yeah, but he’s a great wrestler _in spite_ of that and it would be better for him in life if he had all his limbs. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161/20 "2008-02-11T19:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Because somebody allowed this little boy to acquire a bad habit which will only slow him down later in life? [/QUOTE] Well, I’m sorry that you don’t approve. Sucks to be you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-caps-lock-people/437161.md?page=2)