July 2, 2026
Keys, clicks, and comment war
My Favorite Keyboards
From clunky old school keys to a dream setup — and the comments got gloriously petty
TLDR: A keyboard enthusiast says the Moonlander finally beat years of wrist strain and ended a long hunt for the perfect typing setup. But in the comments, people instantly turned it into a battle over whether standard keyboard layouts are broken, split keyboards are awkward, and whether someone could jokingly nominate a synthesizer instead.
A love letter to keyboards somehow turned into a full-on comment section showdown. The original post is sweetly obsessive: one writer ranks the keyboards that shaped their life, from the truly miserable school machines of the 1980s to the legendary chunky IBM Model M, a beloved old keyboard famous for its loud, satisfying click. There’s nostalgia, a treasure-hunt story involving a dusty Toronto computer shop, and even a cameo from game legend John Carmack’s favorite keyboard. But the real spark came when the writer declared the ZSA Moonlander their new endgame after years of wrist pain and a frustratingly wobbly older split keyboard.
That’s when the keyboard faithful stormed in. One commenter kicked the doors open with the kind of take designed to start fights at brunch: any QWERTY-style layout is silly. In plain English, they argued that the standard keyboard most of us use is fundamentally flawed, so fancy upgrades are just polishing a bad idea. Others were less apocalyptic but just as passionate. One Moonlander owner said they love typing on it but hate the awkward hand shuffle back to the mouse, turning the whole discussion into a mini-drama about whether comfort keyboards actually make everyday work harder. Then came the keyboard aristocrats: fans of curved designs, Topre devotees preaching their favorite ultra-premium feel, and one comedy genius who answered “favorite keyboard?” with Yamaha DX7, as if we’d all wandered into a synthesizer convention by mistake. In other words: heartfelt geek memoir on top, glorious nerd civil war underneath.
Key Points
- •The article presents a personal history of preferred keyboards, beginning with negative typing experiences on early Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Thomson MO5 systems.
- •The IBM Model M became a long-term favorite after the author first used one in 1993 and later restored one from damaged units purchased in a Toronto-area shop.
- •In 2025, the author discovered the more compact IBM Model M SSK and judged it more convenient than the standard full-size Model M.
- •The NMB ConcertMaster RT-9100W is described as the keyboard used with Intergraph TDZ RealiZm workstations at id Software during development of Quake-related projects and later titles such as Quake II, Quake III, and Doom 3.
- •After using the Ergodox EZ for 10 years to address RSI issues, the author switched to a ZSA Moonlander with the Platform accessory because it provided a more stable tilted ergonomic setup.