Rsi

For those of you who are playing the darklife 2.0 beta: probably I've already told you but the reason why there is no progress lately is because my arm really started hurting. I've heard some really scary story's about RSI (repetetive strain injury) so I didn't want to play anymore.
But today I have an appointment with the doctor so I'll know how serious it is. If I get some good news I'll be working on darklife this day and I'm still looking for people who are interested in helping test.
That means playing the new version and looking for bugs and telling me what you think of the game etc. I don't think I'll be wiping anymore stats because the game (at least as far as the backpack concerns) it is looking fair enough and I can still modify monsters/equipment
anyway if I get good news that means we will open the game for public not this weekend but the weekend after that. I hope to see you all then!!! and wish me luck please! RSI sucks!!

wuss

RSI isn't that much of a big deal.

1) Take frequent breaks
2) Lift your wrists up from the keyboard (put your keyboard on your lap)

But yeah, make sure it isn't something else.. Talking to your doctor is always good.

Great progress there!

rsi huh? What horror stories have you heard?

You guys are so mean Have you tried using a mouse mat with wrist support added? You can also buy a strip that goes in front of your keyboard on which you can rest your wrist and if all else fails, I believe you can buy a special mouse which stops the movements you make which causes RSI. Personally I can't stand any of them but I hear they are good if you suffer from RSI.

Latonia

As a programmer by trade and avid gamer, this is something fairly close to my heart, but all people are different, so I can only really mention what worked for me:

Keep your wrists as straight as possible - low-profile ergonomic mice, allowing yourself to keep your forearm almost flat on the desk (oh yeah, use a proper-height desk too) so you're minimising movement stresses. Mouse around with elbow movements not wrist twists.
As far as keyboards are concerned, I try and keep mine as flat as possible - lose the silly little feet at the back and, again, try and maintain a neutral wrist posture. You may get some milage out of the "split" keyboards that let you keep your wrists straighter (as seen from above), but the big back->front slopes that some of these keyboards have is, personally, an non-feature.

Apols if I've said anything which seemed obvious or contrary, but this is all very much a personal issue anyway - different people in different situations will need to set themselves up accordingly, but just thought I'd drop in my 2 L$

Safe coding,
Hawk.

Also, I like having my mouse sensitivity cranked right up.. this means that you're only doing small movements not huge 'lunges' with your hands and wrists.

But that's just me

Peter

I do this too, as I have had problems in the past.

Sometimes I just have to give the PC a rest for a few days, seems to work wonders.

Yeah, RSI is annoying. Its not so much the immediate pain - we're all tough enough to handle that - as the fear that it could presage something worse in the future, as Mark says.

Azelda

yeah I don't care much about a little pain, but RSI can become permanent if you push it too hard. I know someone who had to quit his computer-science-study because his hand got numb and painfull (permanent damage by carperal tunnel syndrom) and it will never heal again So he can never decently use a computer again, until they find some sort of brain interface every tried to play SL with one hand??
I'm just not taking any risk because I do want to finish my study and ofcourse.. darklike

and I went to the doctor today... she said it wasn't bad yet and it will heal if create a decent sitting environment but also she said I should not use my PC in the next two weeks unless nessesary so it might be that the opening of darklife will be 1 or 2 weeks laters then stated earlier...

Errr I do it all the time .... oh sorry
Seriously, good luck with this Mark.
Be well

Take care of your RSI before it gets serious. I suffer from the same thing. Here's what I've learned minimizes the effect...

* First and foremost, minimize your computer use. I used to put in 8 hours at the office, then a few hours afterwards. That's when my wrists and forearms first started to lose strength and flexibility, and felt like they were burning. I stopped using the computer after-hours for a bit, which helped.

* Use an ergonomic, split keyboard with keys that are really easy to press. The hard you press while you type, the more stress you place on your wrists and forearms. The ergonomic keyboards take a couple of weeks to get used to, but once you do, you'll never go back.

* Try using a stylus instead of a mouse. Switch hands with the mouse if you can.

* Someone told me that gentle stretching before and during computer use helps, but I don't know if that's true.

* See a doctor.

I hope that helps.

Not sure if it's anything I do, but I somehow managed to avoid it after 10+ years of heavy computer use. I always keep my wrists straight when typing and using the mouse. Which means no wrist pads, and your palm should never touch the mouse, only fingertips.

I've ran into issues with this a few years ago. I've learned a few tricks, and have since had very little problems.

1) I've forced myself to learn to mouse with my entire arm as much as my wrist, except when I need extremely quick or precise motions.

2) I've actually re-trained myself as a typist. I abandoned the method taught to me in school, with hands together and fingers on certain keys. I keep my hands more like you would see on one of the split ergonomic keyboards, except on a regular keyboard (I loath split keyboards)... You have to relearn the finger motions a bit, but I managed to adjust after about a month or so, with no loss in words-per-minute (After a while. It dropped at first, of course.)

3) Do stuff to keep your wrists in shape. Work out with weights or something if nothing else... I participate in SCA combat as well as practice with a sword outside of that, so that has served me well.

4) Frequent stretches of your wrists help alot.

My advice is to take care, when setting things up to ergonomically spare your wrists, that you don't instead transfer the strain to your elbows. Mouse use can be especially bad that way.

It's easy to scarf a couple of painkillers and say to yourself, "But I gotta answer this post! I have to finish building this virtual thingie!" It is not easy to realize one morning that you are no longer capable of buttoning your own pants. If you're recovering from RSI, STOP when it hurts.

Useful info about RSI:
http://www.tifaq.com/information.html

For a while now, I've been using a Mac Powerbook almost exclusively, and left my desktop machine behind. This means that I haven't been using a mouse - instead, I use my right index finger to move the cursor on the trackpad, and my left thumb to press the "button" (with my left index finger holding CTRL, ALT, SHIFT or whatever else might be needed with a click).

I find that unless I'm typing text, I am not moving my wrists at all, just my fingers. I have also found that for the first time in over 25 years of computer use, my wrists feel no strain after a long session.

Maybe try a trackpad or trackball? It takes a while to get used to, but soon becomes second nature.

I type "improperly" with what is basically two fingers and thumbs, so I have never gotten RSI from keyboarding on a compy. However, playing piano and getting tendonitis is a different story.

To those with RSI woes, I wish you well.

Yet another suggestion: I'd been dorking with computers for nearly 25 years and had never been bitten by RSI until I got into SL. A trackball cured me. After switching to a trackball, using a mouse with the gross arm movements seems really wrong. You've more dexterity in your thumb than in your shoulder-elbow-wrist combined.