Why do some eBay sellers constantly misuse the term "clicky"?

[keycap]

I often see listings of keyboards like Chicony KB-2961's and they are almost always listed as "clicky", sometimes the seller will even list them as a mechanical keyboard. Sure, it's easy for someone inexperienced to mistake something like an NMB dome with sliders keyboard as mechanical, but the Chicony KB-2961 is clearly a typical integrated-mount rubber dome keyboard. How would they even find it remotely similar to a mechanical in terms of feel and sound? It's obvious that the keyboard is not mechanical when you pull a key off and see a rubber dome. What's next, people listing those roll-up silicone keyboards as clicky or mechanical?

The worst thing I've spotted on eBay was when someone listed their old OEM Dell keyboard as a clicky "good condition" keyboard, but I swear this thing looked like it was covered in algae and mud, possibly with a million different diseases on it as well.

[Muirium]

This comes up quite often. A quick search, and I find myself saying this:

Even Cindy thought that linears were "clicky" when she first turned up at DT. It's normal human speak for "old fashioned style keyboards with big keys that move."

Yeah, anything with lots of travel, where bottoming out is noisy, gets called clicky. Also, more people have heard of a revival in interest in "clicky keyboards" than actually know what they are, and most important of all: sellers think there's money in it.

[keycap]

I've even seen some 71G4644 Model M's listed as "clicky". Now that's just cruel. Imagine if someone was new to mechanical keyboards and bought it — thinking that they would get a great Model M — but what they receive later that week is just a rubber dome keyboard full of disappointment. Not bad for being a rubber dome, but it's not what they would've been expecting.

[Muirium]

What is Ebay but an empire built of disappointment…

[keycap]

I rarely even find any good deals on eBay. All I find anymore are yellowed-beyond-belief Dell AT101W's listed at $60+.

[Chyros]

It's just that older keyboards make more noise when typing. Most people don't know clicky keyboards have an actual, dedicated clicker mechanism. To them "clicky" is just "louder than the rubber dome I'm using at home". They really don't intend to deceive people I'm sure.

[Muirium]

Exactly. That's the natural meaning of the word to most people. Some sellers, though, wise up and claim it even when they know the secondary, technical meaning we give to it. Just to make a buck.

Ebay is where people go to make money, not friends. It's a poisoned environment, where users are very much the product Ebay the company controls. All my best stuff came from other sources, almost all of them coordinated via DT. Do business with friends whenever you can!

[Chyros]

Exactly. That's the natural meaning of the word to most people. Some sellers, though, wise up and claim it even when they know the secondary, technical meaning we give to it. Just to make a buck.

Ebay is where people go to make money, not friends. It's a poisoned environment, where users are very much the product Ebay the company controls. All my best stuff came from other sources, almost all of them coordinated via DT. Do business with friends whenever you can!

Oh yeah, very definitely, I'd much prefer to do business with anyone here than with someone on eBay. And a few like to use buzzwords of course - I've seen so many "IBM" space invaders boards and "Steve Jobs" Apple keyboards and "buckling springs" Alps boards etc. But really most of it wasn't meant to deceive. It's like us scientists slapping "nano" and "bio" and "green" and "sustainable" on everything :p .

That said, if I buy a board online, I wouldn't just take people's word for what was inside. I'd either satisfy myself that I knew what was in it, or operate knowing that it is a gamble.

[stratokaster]

I see rubber-dome boards described as "clicky" all the time. People have either no clue or no shame (or both).

It also irks me that people often sell extremely dirty and beat-up things and describe them as being "in good condition." Sometimes sellers don't even know what exactly they are selling. One example: I liked my Motorola RAZR very much and used it for 5 years. When it finally died, I decided to buy a used one because new ones were not available by that time. One guy claimed to have an "almost new RAZR V3i" which turned out to be some cheap plastic phone in extremely ugly condition with scratches, stains and whatnot. I always wonder what's wrong with those people.

[Muirium]

Wonder instead what's wrong with the gullible customers that don't send that shit back for a refund! There's enough fools out there to make shenanigans worthwhile. Money is what keeps these things happening.

[stratokaster]

Wonder instead what's wrong with the gullible customers that don't send that shit back for a refund! There's enough fools out there to make shenanigans worthwhile. Money is what keeps these things happening.

I always return stuff I buy if I don't like it. But of course the safest way to do business is to buy things in person.

[Engicoder]

How about other common misused terms in keyboard listings: "Vintage" and "RARE", of which the later often seems to be in all caps. While both are more subjective than "clicky", they are often equally erroneous.

[Muirium]

Fun fact: on Ebay, "RARE" is pronounced "seller is a moron".

[keycap]

I kid you not, I once saw a listing that claimed the keyboard is rare because "it has a sysrq key and i've never seen that before so it's RARE!!!"

[Findecanor]

I find it understandable when a seller calls a keyboard "clicky" because it bottoms out hard which makes a sound,
But calling a squishy rubber dome "clicky" is just fraud, plain and simple.

[fohat]

I found myself in a brief ebay flame war with a woman a few years ago.

She sold me a lot of something to the effect of "3 clicky keyboards in perfect condition" (for over $100, mind you) based on a really bad photo. There was a Model M rubber dome ("Did you actually press a key to see whether it clicked?" I asked), an Alps of some sort with several dead keys ("What, I am supposed to press every button?" was her excuse) and a worn but serviceable Chicony 5181 with blue Montereys which ended up being the best of the lot.

In my opinion, the ebay definition of "rare" should be that no more than a couple of specimens turn up for sale per year, on average, regardless of whatever dollars are exchanged.

[Chyros]

I find it understandable when a seller calls a keyboard "clicky" because it bottoms out hard which makes a sound,
But calling a squishy rubber dome "clicky" is just fraud, plain and simple.

I have fairly loud rubber dome keyboards Oo .

[Engicoder]

I find it understandable when a seller calls a keyboard "clicky" because it bottoms out hard which makes a sound,
But calling a squishy rubber dome "clicky" is just fraud, plain and simple.

I have fairly loud rubber dome keyboards Oo .

Rubber domes can be clacky, not clicky

[Findecanor]

Rubber domes can be clacky, not clicky

Yeah, but I would say that those are "RARE".

[ohaimark]

Yeah... It's all about the traffic. If you put clicky in a listing it gets a lot more views. Same goes for rare. Note that, since it is a subjective term, sellers can get away with it.

Ignorance, greed, gambling, and stupidity are what keep eBay going. Even so, hidden inside the morass and dreck of humanity, there can be good deals and people.

I refer to the rule that governs groups:

"As a group grows in size its collective intelligence quotient decreases exponentially."