[JHonaker]

I’ve switched to Dvorak and Colemak before. I always come crawling back to Qwerty.

The reality is the benefits you get from switching keyboard layouts is marginal at best.

The real benefits (in terms of RSI) come from things like a split keyboard or other modifications. Once I switched to a split (and tented, but I did both at once) keyboard I have had zero issues with any RSI.

The other big benefit comes from modifying the placement of modifier keys if you are a heavy keyboard shortcut person. I am, as an Emacs user, but for me it was “Emacs wrist.” I’ve had no problems at all after moving Alt and Ctrl to my thumbs with the split keyboard.

[irisman]

Why'd you switch back?

[JHonaker]

I got frustrated with how much other things were designed around Qwerty. Plus I occasionally had to help others on a different computer, and it was always a weird thing to spam the wrong keys for a minute or two while my brain switched back.

Plus, like I said, the benefits were really from being able to put my hands far apart with a split keyboard. The slight rotation made it even more comfortable. Modifiers under thumbs, even better.

I never noticed a real improvement from just Colemak or Dvorak.