Thought I'd just throw some of my thoughts down for any potential newbies (I know you're out there!) The intended audience of this post isn't for frequent forum posters, but lurkers.

Anyone who is interested in getting into the layout or any other layout is bound to see this forum with its regular posters. Regulars around these parts will try to discuss the best possible way to do something on a keyboard. often using highly complex ways models of how fingers move, calculated effort, certain finger motions vs others etc. It's challenging stuff for those involved. It can be fun and it's thought-provoking for those who enjoy it.

But... there are a great deal more users of Colemak who pick up the layout, learn to use it properly over a given period of time, and just proceed to continue to use it for as long as they like with little to no community interaction. This is the majority of users. By reading this forum, you might be forgiven for thinking that Colemak is super advanced, a deep rabbit hole that knows no bounds, requires an expensive keyboard upgrade, only for the nerdiest people around, will require hours of configuration blah blah blah blah etc. This is only as true as you want it to be. In reality you really don't need to have a degree in keyboard ergonomics to use and benefit from the layout. You don't need to modify Colemak into some unique behemoth just for you (swap 'S' and R'???) for imagined benefit. You don't need to spend the next year thinking about every little scrap of anxiety-inducing detail imaginable to do with keyboards and layouts at all.

At its core, Colemak is an investment that you benefit from, every moment you type, as long as you continue to use it. Ask any ordinary Colemak user whether they'd want to go back to QWERTY and the answer is generally no. They think their fun investment learning it paid off in the end. This can be you as well as long as you give it a fair shot. Simply by using Colemak your life doesn't have to be keyboard obsessive. Colemak is no big deal.

So don't get the wrong impression of complexity. 17 keys have moved and maybe you want to change the way your fingers press the buttons a bit. That's it, it's like learning to ride a better bike!