alt Hacker NewsThe fact that most people think the Tab key is the correct choice is a perfect example of why it was not.
It had a purpose, and it got hijacked and made its actual purpose more difficult to use.
It's not dissimilar to Apples initial Touch Bar and then removing the Escape key.
Average user might never use that key; average developer doesn't got long without using that key for its purpose.
When you type a table on a typewriter you use the tab to advance to the next column (how many you have depends on the typewriter - you often had margins and one or two tabs). In typewriters, tab doesn’t have a specific width and you don’t have tab stops at every 8 columns. At least on the ones I have here.