Chrome removes Backspace to go back • Hacker News Board

Re: Chrome removes Backspace to go back

#591

Post by Illotus » Mon, May 23, 2016, 11:45 AM UTC

bsder wrote: post #478

klodolph wrote: post #239

I'm going to take a somewhat contrarian view and say, "Thank you, Chrome developers." It's always easy to tell apart the people who know shortcuts from the people who don't, if you watch them use their computers. Someone with a few shortcuts on tap will zoom around their monitors, switching between mouse and keyboard only when necessary. But there are a few shortcuts and user interface quirks that are too outdated an…

> I'm going to take a somewhat contrarian view and say, "Thank you, Chrome developers." While I agree with you, the problem is that keyboard shortcuts aren't completely configurable. If they were, the Chrome developers could just tell the whiners to go pound sand and configure it themselves. The problem is that the Chrome developers don't want to put in the hard work to make keyboard shortcuts properly configurable.…

The problem for Chrome developers is likely priorities. Tough to sell that hard work you do for a small minority when there are likely a lot more pressing tasks to be done.

Re: Chrome removes Backspace to go back

#592

Post by lorenzhs » Tue, May 24, 2016, 12:00 AM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #573

lorenzhs wrote: post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most of my desktop use is on a Thinkpad laptop with no mouse and the trackpad disabled. > I don't have a scroll wheel or a touch screen. I use the middle button + trackpoint for scrolling - works great. That's the default on most Linux distros/desktop environments, might require some configuration on Windows.

Spacebar is a far larger target. Fitts' Law.

But the middle track point button is just the right distance. When I relax my hand muscles and place it on the keyboard so that the tip of the index finger is on the track point, the thumb is on the track point buttons. Perfect distance. Using the space bar would be uncomfortable.

Re: Chrome removes Backspace to go back

#593

Post by hammock » Tue, May 24, 2016, 1:16 PM UTC

klodolph wrote: post #239

I'm going to take a somewhat contrarian view and say, "Thank you, Chrome developers." It's always easy to tell apart the people who know shortcuts from the people who don't, if you watch them use their computers. Someone with a few shortcuts on tap will zoom around their monitors, switching between mouse and keyboard only when necessary. But there are a few shortcuts and user interface quirks that are too outdated an…

>Backspace to go back is a similar surprise. It's supposed to delete text

Spoken like someone who never used a typewriter. Backspace is not an eraser key, it historically does what it says. Takes you back a space. Making it an eraser key is what was "weird...when people were still figuring things out in new UI paradigms."

Having backspace take you back, may be closer to the original function of the key.

Re: Chrome removes Backspace to go back

#594

Post by hnal943 » Fri, May 27, 2016, 6:06 PM UTC

This is one of the reasons I first moved away from internet explorer - this seems to happen constantly on that browser. I've never had a problem on Chrome or Netscape/FF, but I'm generally supportive of getting rid of this concept.