Poll: Most useless key on your keyboard

[Signa]

I have legitimately used every key on my keyboard, but as someone said, numlock is probably the most useless. Not because I hate its function, but because it should never be turned off. It's caused me more grief by existing and turning itself off than any other single button on the keyboard.

As for being completely functionally useless, I'll go with scroll lock. I've only ever used that outside of KVM switches (I'm sure KVM switches use it only because NO one uses it) back in the days of Loom, where I found it would change the way the scenery would scroll as you moved around the screen. That did NOTHING for gameplay, but it was interesting.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

ScrollLock for for quickly testing keyboard functionality

Care to explain? According to wiki it's supposed to lock up the arrow key scrolling or scrolling all together or something, but it does not seem to do jack.

One of my jobs as AV tech is testing and upgrading the lecture theatre PC equipment. Using the ScrollLock key's LED indicator is the quickest test if to see if there is any issues with the drivers.

Ah I see, but doesn't Num lock do the same thing? I've actually done that a few times when setting up a new computer or switching keyboard. Just glance at the led and see if it is connected or not.
That to me would make the Num lock slightly more usefull, slightly.

The trouble with using the NumLock LED is that it can generate false positives. It can be used to indicate the keyboard is plugged in but not if the PC is receiving any input from it.

 

[lacktheknack]

I can't decide between F6, scroll lock and pause/break.

Screw it, I'm going with Pause/Break, because I still don't know what the sucker does.

...other than pause and break things, obviously.

 

[Strazdas]

I use a program called WhatPulse to count, amonth other things, all of my keypresses. so i can easily see how many times i pressed each button today/this week/ect.

according to that program the most useless key on my keyboard was the pagelup/pagedown/home/end keys. insert and delete (especially delete) actually got used quite a bit)

window key and rightclick key are awesome
and i do use capslock sometimes... in some games... as a close button to WASD

 

[lacktheknack]

Given that this is ostensibly a videogame forum, I'm surprised so many people find the Pause key useless.

Because it used to ... you know ... pause videogames, when you pressed it.

Is that what it does? I'll have to try that later.

 

[AJ_Lethal]

Pause/Break. The only program I see that key working is MUGEN.

 

[JayRPG]

Insert and Scroll lock are the worst fucking keys, what are they even used for other than fucking up your day after having accidentally pressed one?

 

[Callate]

I'd argue for "Insert". I never want insert off when I'm typing an extended document; why would I want my typing to erase the existing text when there are so many easier ways to handle text editing (not least, if that's what I want, to highlight the existing text and type over it?) On that line, "Insert" is arguably worse than useless.

 

[laggyteabag]

Scroll Lock for me. So much so that I:
A) Didn't know where it was
B) Didn't even know it existed

As for the most irritating key, tilde is definitely a contender for whenever I accidentally press it instead of "1", Windows, if my keyboard didn't have a setting that disabled it, but the cake definitely goes to CAPS LOCK because I almost always use SHIFT and I always accidentally press it instead of SHIFT or TAB and end up typing in caps in the chat or whenever I try to enter my password of case sensitive websites.

 

[FPLOON]

None of them.... Because I don't like using any keyboard with any missing keys in general...

Other than that, I don't press the wi-fi button because all it does it switch the wi-fi to "Airplane Mode"... and I don't think I would even bring my laptop on an airplane, anyway...

 

[Eeeee0000]

I don't have a pause break key, so that one can't be it even though I don't know what it does. I've also never used the home, page up, page down and end buttons on my keyboard, and am not exactly sure what home and end do, so I'll have to vote for those.

 

[SquidSponge]

Windows key is f*ckin' awesome, you wouldn't believe the amount of time that key saves if you know the right shortcuts.

I voted for numlock, because I can't think of a single reason to disable it. But then I realised I'd completely forgotten about scroll lock, because I've literally never used it. Never. Not even once. In a quarter of a century, zero times cumulative grand total. Holy balls, that's pretty damn useless.

 

[Kinitawowi]

Either Caps Lock (CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL!... yeah, because that's a good thing - seriously, it creates stupid people and encourages horriffic typing habits), or Alt Gr (it lets me type either ¦ or ?, and I've never needed to type either; the áéíóú it also provides for, I've always overridden with Alt codes).

We sold a wireless keyboard to a customer the other day. He brought it back the next day - see if you can spot why.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Caps lock is really useless in my opinion, happend way to many times that I actually pushed it instead of the shift key which annoyed me to no end.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Either Caps Lock (CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL!... yeah, because that's a good thing - seriously, it creates stupid people and encourages horriffic typing habits), or Alt Gr (it lets me type either ¦ or ?, and I've never needed to type either; the áéíóú it also provides for, I've always overridden with Alt codes).

We sold a wireless keyboard to a customer the other day. He brought it back the next day - see if you can spot why.

Alt GR is atleast in a place on the keyboard where the chances of actually pushing it is low. However, my laptop has a key next to it that functions the same as the right mouse button, just as useless as Caps lock.

The windows key is the most aggravating, accidentally pressing it (which happens a lot) during games boots you out to the desktop. I have to go into the registry and turn it off, frustrating.

Luckily didn't had this happen. Some of my installed games outright ignore this key for some reason.

 

[DirgeNovak]

I voted Caps Lock (that fucking thing should not fucking exist fucking fuck), since I'm using a laptop with most of the more arcane keys like insert, pause or scroll lock either missing entirely or paired to another key with Fn, but then @shootthebandit reminded me of Right Ctrl, which I don't think I have ever pressed, intentionally or not. I've pressed Caps Lock by accident many times, so Right Ctrl wins.

 

[Kinitawowi]

@shootthebandit reminded me of Right Ctrl, which I don't think I have ever pressed, intentionally or not. I've pressed Caps Lock by accident many times, so Right Ctrl wins.

See, I've always liked Right Ctrl; before WASD became the default configuration, my PC gaming tended to gravitate towards the arrow keys, and the Right Shift / Right Ctrl / Right Alt (this was before Alt Gr became a thing) / Space group was a suitable array for most games. Right Ctrl in particular was basically my Jump button in everything released by Apogee. That's still the key block I use for most games in MAME these days too, for that matter.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I voted "pause break" because I've never even heard of that key.

My current keyboard, i.e. the one on my laptop lacks the pause break, scroll lock and num lock keys, and doesn't have a numpad. I never used the numpad, either; I always had the numbers on-hand above my alphabet keys.

 

[Snotnarok]

I don't even use my number pad, either blame years of having a mini keyboard then laptops or the top row of keys being more serviceable.

 

[Valiance]

Everyone saying "pause-break" needs to hit Win+Pause-Break at least once.

I'm gonna go with... This one:

Spoiler

It changes the brightness of the keys, but only on a three-way toggle of "off" "not bright enough" and "as bright as it gets"

I always leave it on the latter of the options, so, no need for the key for me.

Other than "Delete" and "print screen" ive never willingly used any of that patch of buttons above the arrow keys.

My keyboard has Keys labeled "G1, G2, G3 etc." I think they can be set for certain macros but I've never used them. Same goes for the M1 M2 M3 at the top which i think changes the keys to some sort of custom configuration? I dunno both those things were boasted as features on the box but i never thought id use them so I didnt read into them too far

You don't know what you're missing, friend.