Posted on 03/27/2011 5:42:59 PM PDT by Yardstick
Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.
And yet people who use two spaces are everywhere, their ugly error crossing every social boundary of class, education, and taste.[snip]
What galls me about two-spacers isn't just their numbers. It's their certainty that they're right. Over Thanksgiving dinner last year, I asked people what they considered to be the "correct" number of spaces between sentences. The diners included doctors, computer programmers, and other highly accomplished professionals. Everyone—everyone!—said it was proper to use two spaces. Some people admitted to slipping sometimes and using a single space—but when writing something formal, they were always careful to use two. Others explained they mostly used a single space but felt guilty for violating the two-space "rule." Still others said they used two spaces all the time, and they were thrilled to be so proper. When I pointed out that they were doing it wrong—that, in fact, the correct way to end a sentence is with a period followed by a single, proud, beautiful space—the table balked. "Who says two spaces is wrong?" they wanted to know.
Typographers, that's who. The people who study and design the typewritten word decided long ago that we should use one space, not two, between sentences. That convention was not arrived at casually.[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
My high school typing teacher just died. She was a two space freak. This story would kill her.
The guy who wrote this is a know-it-all. We were taught in typing class in high school 45 yrs. ago, that in order to keep from cramming & jamming & crowding & confusing the proper way to do it was to SPACE TWICE.
It’s not a law; and the yahoo who wrote this may do as he pleases, but I’ll continue as taught. (Ha. I even spaced twice between WORDS in the last sentence. That’ll aggravate his Anal Retentiveness.)
Two spaces after a period was standard practice
on monospace paper typewriters. The current
world is based on proportional fonts displayed on
graphical displays. The kerning built into the rendering
engines makes a single space satisfactory.
I would say at least fifteen feet back if they have eaten a burrito.
Perhaps an admission of error in your initial reply to me would be apropos as well.
IncelebrationofEarthhourI’msavingelectronsbynotusinanyspaces!
I had to deal with problem years ago on a old typewriter. The lady complained that her machine kept adding extra spaces. Every time I typed no problems. It was adjusted right. So she said I will show you. She sat down and started to type, she was typing a letter and would lean forward once in a while to see it better. Being a full figured lady she bumped in to the keyboard hitting the space bar. I had just been hired and this was a large account. I was in my early 20’s and she seemed really old to me. I was not sure how to tell her. So I told her it would take a few minutes and she had time for a short break and get a cup of coffee. Once she left I raised her chair about one inch. No more extra spaces.
Further than that for a large male Lab who’d gotten into some red seedless grapes. He painted the walls before I got him to the vet. No damage done, just painting the hallway, bathroom and master bedroom, and steam cleaning the carpets.
With pleasure! Sorry for my mistake. And I'm single spacing too. :-)
When you get that settled you can determine if a reference is best after the period or before. And bathroom tissue the over the top or from the bottom?
When you get that settled you can determine if a reference is best after the period or before. And the period outside the quote marks or within. World wide of course, And bathroom tissue over the top or from the bottom.
Don't you just love the new English, today? I see it all the time, but hey who has the time, or will even take the time to make a decent coherent point or argument any longer? It is not the facts that count, it is just the quick BS that matters!
Heh, thanks for that. Funny story.
I will have to keep track of you Travis. I’m the author of Harry: Money Mob and Influence (click my name for some links). I’m a double spacer, but with a million words under my belt, that’s a million keystrokes potentially saved.
This from the same people who think “OMG” belongs in the dictionary and “email” is acceptable usage.
Two spaces for me, thanks.
Damn. What a waste. I’ll never get those two minutes back.
Or who do not even use commas, or make sentences, but write one giant paragraph.
I was taught two spaces both for handwriting and typewriting. I remember that being specified in our schoolbooks as well.
Thank you. I’d double space since this is a personal communication, but FR removes it, so just use your imagination, lol.
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