This is yet another digest about a subject which Snit blew way out of proportion. It all began with Steve Carroll describing some problems with his Leopard install:
Where he describes that he has had some keyboard issues, which types "false characters"
Dave Fritzinger asked whether the US keyboard was selected in the Preferences (something that would require that Steve was able to log in)
Yes. I get a gray character on the right side of the login field when the keyboard exhibits this behavior.
Ok, so what do we know. We know that it is not always behaving this way, presumably, since typing false characters would prevent him to login and he has confirmed that he has been able to log in meaning that it sometimes works. Steve also later verifies that the problem is intermittent.
We also know that when this happens, and he is trying to login, he sees a "gray character on the right side of the login field". That's strange. What grey character is this? Snit thinks he has the answer:
A gray character? Is this "character" an up arrow? If so you have your caps lock on.
The character Snit is in reference to here is this one. It is on the right side of the password field, which could of course be described as the "login field". Also, it is a white character in a gray square with round corners. But sure, the entire symbol could surely loosely be described as a "gray character".
Steve does however, clarify in response to John:
I was getting a gray character (an exclamation point inside of a geometric shape) on the right side of the login field.
Ok, so it being the caps lock key symbol above seems rather implausible given this clarification. Not only is it not an exclamation character, but the character itself is not gray. Just to further show the difference I have created a faux image that fits Steve's description. Note that this is not a screen shot, nor a claim that this is what Steve saw.
As noted, this completely different character fits Steves description 100% where the caps lock symbol does not.
This doesn't help Snit though, who is now certain that he has exposed some form of ignorance in Steve, who supposedly didn't even know about the caps lock symbol
A "geometric shape"? That is not exactly descriptive. :) Is it possible your "exclamation point" was really an up arrow? I suspect that was the case - and if so you have your caps lock on, Steve. That is your "problem" with Leopard.
Steve had Snit on killfile at the time, so he never replied to Snit, nor described the character/symbol further (since there was no need).
Snit had no problem adding this to his list of things he will use to try to ridicule Steve though. In a later, completely unrelated thread:
Keyboard "issue": my favorite - Steve had his caps lock on and thought the arrow indicator was an "exclamation mark" in a "geometric shape". He blamed Apple and Leopard for this.
Note that Snit has shifted from merely asking Steve if what he saw looked like an upward facing arrow to flatly state that Steve mistook the caps lock symbol for something else.
Wally takes issue with this and a Snit Circus ensues where Snit is adamant about the symbol not he, but Steve, saw was a particular symbol and no other. Snit does not propose a possible scenario, asking for further information, he is flatly stating that the scenario he has described is what actually happened, presumably because that would mean that this item of anti-Steve belittling could remain on his list.