Unfortunately I think that most users do not even know about copy/paste (even the menu options), much less know the keyboard shortcuts.

Just recently I witnessed a relative take these steps to open a URL that was received in an email (and this relative claims to be of above average technical savvy):

    1) Opens email in mail.app
    2) Sees a link and wants to open it
    3) Doesn't realize you can click on it
    4) Hits F9 (expose key) to reveal literally 100 open windows
    5) Finds a Safari window
    6) Clicks "File -> New" (doesn't know about tabs)
    7) F9's again to find mail.app
    8) *Memorizes* URL
    9) F9 again to find new Safari window
    10) Types URL into the Google Search bar (not the address bar)
    11) Finally clicks through to website from google results

I remember several years ago teaching my mom about copy/paste and it changed her life. I think people can learn, but they need to be shown/taught to realize it exists.

I disagree with his conclusion, because I disagree with the assertion that copy/paste would be easier for his other example codes ("GETORGANIZED", "CLZTWEETZ".) To copy/paste from my email client, I have go to for the mouse to double-click or manually select a word, come back to the keyboard (obviously better than working through menus) to copy, and then head back to the mouse to navigate. That's more work right there than it would be for me to type getorganized into the form field later on.

Assuming I can remember the text, the break-even point when I would rather copy/paste is closer to 30 characters than 10.

I suspect that his users just weren't able to remember ITRYB4IBUY, because they saw it as a random collection of letters rather than a phrase. The author notes this explanation but seems needlessly dissatisfied with it.

Copy/paste is even slower if you don't know about the keyboard shortcuts. Which a lot of people don't.

I thought this was going to be about emacs until I realized that C-c C-v didn't do anything (at least on my setup).