GOOGLE HAS REVEALED (sorry my Caps Lock key was stuck) that its new Notebooks, based on its Chrome operating system, won’t have a Caps Lock key. At last, the bane of internet conversations will be banished.
Ah, the Caps Lock key. Its propensity to write everything in capitals has been used by excitable internet debaters since the dawn of time. But do we actually need it?
Google doesn’t think so, after announcing that Notebooks based on its Chrome operating system won’t feature the key. Its Cr-48 Chrome Notebook, which is being used in to test the company’s new OS, is already missing it.
Farewell Caps Lock, we won’t miss you
And it’s about time as far as I’m concerned. We’ve often smirked at the use of caps on Which? Conversation – we point out in our guidelines that TYPING IN CAPS SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING. See, that didn’t make you feel very good now did it?
I’ve often had to manually change capped up comments (I won’t name names) into a more dignified lowercased spouting. And let’s just say that it was more time consuming than it should have been. Sure, I’ll admit that I’ve often left the Caps Lock on by mistake, leaving me to re-write whole swathes of content. We’ve all done it.
So do we actually need the Caps Lock? Does anybody use it apart from internet trolls who want to rouse an angry response out of others? Of course, the Shift key will still be with us, letting you put capitals at the beginning of words (though not in front of all words as another of our favourite commenters likes to do). So You’ll Still Be Able To Put Caps In If You So Wish.
Plus, Google has said that you’ll be able to bring back the Caps Lock on your Chrome laptop by trawling through its keyboard settings, so there shouldn’t be any hard feelings.
Are bad comments the fault of Caps Lock?
Nevertheless, are we being disingenuous to the poor old Caps Lock? Is it really responsible for rubbish comments on the web? I’m inclined to agree with Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo who says that people who like to insult others on the net will continue to do so.
For me, the quality of comments stem from not only moderation but from the maturity of the commenters themselves. And thankfully we’re lucky here on Which? Convo. Though I still think killing the Caps Lock key is a step in the right direction, and SHAME ON YOU FOR DISAGREEING WITH ME.
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