Dear DMC
I have always believed that it is a good idea to leave two spaces after a full stop (period). This man disagrees very forcefully. I have no idea if he is right, but this looks like a good topic for discussion by dull men.
Best wishes
Steve Reszetniak
London
27 July 2012
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Dear Steve,
We didn’t realize until we read the article that “one or two spaces” has such a facinating history.
Yes, it it is a good topic for Dull Men’s Club meetings. The discussions are not likely to be as heated as the views expressed by Farhaad Manjoo, the article’s author.
I think the reason may people think two spaces are needed is that, back in the days of typewriters, that’s what typing instructors drilled into them.
It’s probably a generational thing. Use of two spaces will probably die off as the (older) typers who use two spaces die off.
Best wishes,
DMC
In today’s day and age, one space. Primarily because most of our writing today is done on the computer. Word processors do just that: they process our prose by auto-formatting it. Part of how a word processor “reads” your document so that it knows how to format it is by analyzing your “white space”. You confuse it when you double up on spaces after sentences and returns after paragraphs because of arcane typing rules you learned in high school on a Selectric back when LBJ was in the White House.
One space. Thank you very much.
In today’s day and age, one space. Primarily because most of our writing today is done on the computer. Word processors do just that: they process our prose by auto-formatting it. Part of how a word processor “reads” your document so that it knows how to format it is by analyzing your “white space”. You confuse it when you double up on spaces after sentences and returns after paragraphs because of arcane typing rules you learned in high school on a Selectric back when LBJ was in the White House.
One space. Thank you very much.
LBJ was President ? I beg to differ: I learned my typing when JFK was President.
For the record: one space after a comma and a semi colon. Two spaces after a colon and a period.
I was taught to use 2 spaces in HS but recently read that it was based on older typesetting equipment and is no longer needed. I’ve gone to single spacing and nothing bad has happened.
I always used two in booklets I have published. At the end of a sentence with a quote, do the quotes go ouside or inside of the period?