this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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me_irl
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Qwerty was introduced to slow down typing speed so that skilled typists wouldn't damage the typewriters.
I don't think you can argue it's good design for keeping pace with computers and phones when it literally slows people down compared to layouts like Dvorak.
This! It was made specifically to limit functionality to match mechanical constraints. Nothing about QWERTY is inherently 'good' for English.
Additionally QWERTZ and AZERTY were adapted from QWERTY to perform the same role for other languages - to reduce jamming by slowing down common letter combinations or separating their input across two hands