h,j,k,l in vi

[Mark Brader]

I don't use conventional touch-typing (but I typed this sentence without
looking at the keyboard, and used the backspace key only twice along the way);
I don't use conventional touch-typing (but I typed these two lines without
looking at the keys and having to use the backspace only twice), but I can
see the advantage of hjkl on the home row for those who do.  And I don't use
vi either, but that doesn't disqualify me from commenting on hjkl, because
I do play rogue.

I find that all terminals that I have used that have up and down arrow keys
have the up before the down, i.e., either to the left of it or above it.
I must not have ever used the ADM-3a, then, because in the hjkl scheme,
up(k) comes AFTER down(j).  (I CAN think of terminals where control-J was
linefeed and control-K reverse linefeed, but this is nonstandard since
control-K is supposed to be vertical tab.)  I claim that if my experience
is representative then hjkl is braindamaged.

Mild flame: What can you expect from the place that gave us "more", where
the functions of interrupt and quit are reversed, space has the job that
belongs to return, and the standard end-of-file character is an ordinary
command?  ...No counterflames please, I know all this is opinion...

Mark Brader