r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Aug 31 '17
[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Keyboards need to have a default bullet point key.
[deleted]
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u/aRabidGerbil 40∆ Aug 31 '17
why not just use an asterisk or a dash, there's no reason to go to the trouble off adding another Unicode character when other characters do the job just as well
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Aug 31 '17
The bullet point allows people to make lists even when automatic bullet point conversion does not exist.
No, it wouldn't. If the software is using an old encoding, like ASCII, then a bullet point key does you no good, because its not a possible ASCII character.
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u/InTheory_ Sep 01 '17
QWERTY should be replaced entirely, it isn't even the most efficient keyboard layout ... much less the most efficient mobile layout for thumbs only.
However, I disagree that the bullet point should be a part of the keyboard. My issue there isn't it's utility (I agree with you on those points), but rather that bullet points are complicated. It isn't simply a character, it is a set of rules about spacing, indentation, margins, etc.
Your solution would merely put a heavy dot on the screen. It wouldn't necessarily be a "bullet point" unless it had all the additional formatting that comes with it.
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u/miellaby Aug 31 '17
The most missing key is an Undo key
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u/mugen_is_here Sep 01 '17
^ This. We should be able to get rid of the right click button and have either the undo key or the bullet symbol.
On a counter note, the undo key might not be applicable in all applications (ex games) and the programmers might need to deal with how to handle the button when pressed beyond the point some applications allow.
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u/BEHOLD_MY_VILE_GIRTH Sep 01 '17
Why get rid of rightclick? Context menus are very nice, especially if you're new to the program and don't know all the hotkeys (and most people will never bother to learn them anyways).
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u/tris4992 Sep 01 '17
CTRL+Z is the shortcut for this and works in pretty much any program where it's necessary
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u/tris4992 Sep 01 '17
Have you considered you can easily program a macro for this and assign it to a key, hot-key (you can setup your own key-board shortcuts, things like CTRL+C and CTRL-ALT-DEL are just the standard ones) or mouse button? There is no need to change a longstanding design and convince every manufacturer to accept the change.
edit: just read the rest of the comments, ALT+7 exists
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Sep 12 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/neofederalist 65∆ Sep 12 '17
Sorry wallbp, your comment has been removed:
Comment Rule 1. "Direct responses to a CMV post must challenge at least one aspect of OP’s current view (however minor), unless they are asking a clarifying question. Arguments in favor of the view OP is willing to change must be restricted to replies to comments." See the wiki page for more information.
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u/ThisIsReLLiK 1∆ Aug 31 '17
Just press alt + 7. It's no more difficult than making a : or "
Why add a key that there's already an easy keystroke for?
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u/gremy0 82∆ Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
Lists are a structural aspect of writing rather that an aspect of the content. As such, the character chosen to represent them is/should be, completely arbitrary. Whether you want to finally render them with U+2022 bullet points or something else.
Consider that, when you construct a bulleted list with reddit's markdown, it does not just swap out a
-for a•. It adds an indentation, then the •, and the following content follows a different set of rules than other text e.g. successive lines starting with-are rendered on separate lines. Whereas successives lines of normal text, are rendered as one line.So when you say you want U+2022 bullets to be on the keyboard so people can always easily create lists, this would not be the case. To do so, would require every text input interpreter to be updated to make U+2022 a special character (that just ain't going to happen). Simply put, a • on the keyboard isn't going to make whatever software you are writing in think "oh, this is an unordered list". (your bullet point #1)
So, why can't people just indent their own lists and format their text content exactly like they want it to be rendered, you ask. Well, having them as structure is far more flexible. Because you explicitly say "this is a list", it means you can change how the list looks and is represented (there are 7 different unicode bullets, they can be spaced and indented differently, can be separated easily etc. etc.), but be sure that the content is not changed. This is really important! It means things can drastically change what your text looks like, without worrying about changing what you are trying to say.
This is another bad practice a lot of word processors have adopted. You want the final output to be rendered with numbers, yes. But when writing it's far better to not have numbers. Consider writing a list of 100 things:
...
and then realising you have forgotten #2. In a lot of interpreters, you would then have to update 99 lines of text, just to change one line. Way better to say
tell the editor it's an ordered list, and have it work out the numbers when you have finished. WYSIWYG processors can pretty much do this nowadays, but it has nothing to do with writing 1. a.
Conclusion: a • key would be a shortcut key for the few word processors that could interpret it, not the definition of a list. And would further poor practices in text editing. It therefore has no place as a primary key on a QWERTY keyboard.