I work in a shared office space and two people that sit across from me have mechanical keyboards which are very, very loud and very, very annoying. I don't always want to listen to music, and since it's a shared office space, I can't go to my boss/manager.
What can I say to these individuals? They probably don't even know that it's bothering anybody.
What can I say to these individuals? They probably don't even know that it's bothering anybody.
I'm not sure they don't know as much as they don't care. It is not uncommon for people who type quite a bit as part of their day to day work to prefer the firm, loud, resilient old style mechanical keyboards. They provide better tactile and audible feedback that the keystrokes land properly, and they last years longer. These keyboards likely make these people quite a bit more productive.
So I expect you can't say much to these individuals to make them sacrifice their productivity for yours. You might be better off working with your boss to perhaps arrange the office so that they're near others who are less impacted by the noise. The other common noise reducing techniques (as found in the linked questions) are also options of course.
They know, and they're probably proud of it - or they at least enjoy the sound. I say this because I myself use a loud mechanical keyboard (but I work in my own space so it doesn't bother anyone).
The noise is probably due to the type of switch they are using, if they are as loud as it sounds, they are probably using a switch from the Cherry company called and MX Blue. There are silent, or at least quieter switches out there, but changing between them typically requires getting a different keyboard.
As for changing their behavior, that could be difficult. You could ask them if they have a keyboard that uses Cherry MX Brown switches that would produce less noise. If nothing else your knowledge of the niche interest may impress them enough to give you some social leverage to induce a change.
Ultimately it doesn't seem fair to use a loud keyboard in a shared space if everyone present isn't on board with the noise level. You should talk to them, and to your manager and see what kind of compromise can be struck.
Of course, you could also try a mechanical keyboard of your own... Perhaps you'd become a fan of the satisfying clickity-clack your coworkers enjoy...
