Slate article on 2 spaces after sentences...

Originally Posted by RSS

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60+

lol and i considerered myself old(ish)

Originally Posted by frenchy

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lol and i considerered myself old(ish)
Mind your manners you whipper-snapper!

Two spaces is a relic from the days of the typewriter. It is anachronistic and incorrect.

Originally Posted by Don Carlos

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Two spaces is a relic from the days of the typewriter. It is anachronistic and incorrect.

somebody got a thesaurus for christmas!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Don Carlos

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Two spaces is a relic from the days of the typewriter. It is anachronistic and incorrect.
I often here this ... I just don't agree. I still prefer two spaces; I don't see that much difference between using a typewriter and a computer key board (except when it comes to correcting mistakes). Then again ... as NorCal says -- wait a minute ... what does he say? Oh yes, here it is -- "RSS you're basically a reanimated corpse..."

Originally Posted by RSS

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I often here this ... I just don't agree. I still prefer two spaces; I don't see that much difference between using a typewriter and a computer key board (except when it comes to correcting mistakes). Then again ... as NorCal says -- wait a minute ... what does he say? Oh yes, here it is -- "RSS you're basically a reanimated corpse..."

You can prefer it all you want, but you'd still be wrong. It's a rule, not a choice. Would it be correct to have no spaces? A line break? It's archaic and no longer correct, simple as that. FWIW, I was was also taught two spaces by an elderly teacher in the early 80's, but I think it was also incorrect then.

Originally Posted by frenchy

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somebody got a thesaurus for christmas!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Baron

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You can prefer it all you want, but you'd still be wrong. It's a rule, not a choice. Would it be correct to have no spaces? A line break? It's archaic and no longer correct, simple as that. FWIW, I was was also taught two spaces by an elderly teacher in the early 80's, but I think it was also incorrect then.

+1

Loved the article. Was seriously tempted to forward it to my boss who is a 2 space nazi - I never use the 2 spaces and he always calls me out on it.

Modern proportional fonts have automatic kerning that expands or contracts the amount of space between successive characters for (roughly) optimal readability. For instance, the character pair 'tt' is going to get smushed together because of the excessive amount of white space above and below the crossbeam of the 't's, whereas the charater pair 'db' will get spaced apart because of the lack of white space between the characters. The same thing happens with the character pair '. '. Adding two spaces after a period is redundant, because the white space between the terminal period of one sentence and the first letter of the next is going to be greater than the white space between two words within a sentence anyway. By adding two spaces, you are negating the efforts the typogropher took to make the font readable.

That said, I think the article's contention that the rules for spacing are as prescribed as those for proper spelling or punctuation is a little misplaced. Using one space over two is an element of neither style nor form. A space only counts as a 'charater' for typographers and typists, not for readers.

Originally Posted by tagutcow

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Blah blah blah.
You know a lot about random things. I like it.

I'm 49 (black and white baby pictures). I was taught to double space in typing class back in high school. I still use it.

Loved the hyperbole in the OP about how this sort of crime deserve the death penalty or some ****.

Please...if this is the worst mistake I make in my life I think I'll still make it into heaven. Cracks me up that folks get so worked up over this stuff.

I like to use 10 spaces. It gives my writing that "talking through a respirator" feel. Also helps me think between sentences.

*EDIT* Even VBB agrees w/one space.

Originally Posted by tagutcow

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stuff

This is right on, but for tl;dr monospace fonts space everything the same and if you do one space after a period, it's a little hard to differentiate it from a space that comes midsentence. (Typewriters use monospace fonts, hence this part of the argument.) For kerned (non-monospace) typefaces, the smaller space between the last letter of the sentence and the period makes the space after the period more prominent, eliminating the need for two spaces.

Actually, one thing I often do that would make most typographers look askance is use a double-minus sign to set off a parenthetical comment at the end of a sentences-- the kind of punctuation I use in this sentence, for instance. Technically one should use an em dash character, but the em dashes in the fonts used by web forums are usually too short to be distingishable from en dashes or minus signs.