Following a period, one or two spaces?

[Grenage]

When I was in school (25 now), I'm sure that I was taught to use two spaces after a period; in fact I am positive. Regardless, to this day I still use two spaces at the beginning of each new sentence following a period.

The reason I bring this up is because nobody else in my office has ever heard of this rule (apparently). Have any of you?

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[Glenn9999]

Yes. That's how I was taught typing back in the day. Two spaces after a period which ends a sentence.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I was taught the same thing. I made a change a while back because of a discussion on this very board.

I'll see if I can find the link.

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[sleipnir214]

I was taught that rule, too. If I remember correctly, someone came up with a link which talked about proportional fonts and those spaces. It didn't make me change my style.


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[gbaughma]

Yes. Two spaces after a period. I don't even think about it any more... I just type that way.



Just my 2¢
"Life gets mighty precious when there's less of it to waste." -Bonnie Raitt "Nick of Time"
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[CajunCenturion]

I am a two spaces after period person also, but I don't think that rule is still in vogue. Nevertheless, old habits die hard, and I still put two spaces after the period.

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[AnotherHiggins]

> old habits die hard

Funny, that's generally true for me, too. But for some reason once I was persuaded that a single space made sense it was very easy for me to change. Before, typing two spaces was just habit, but as soon as I changed I still didn't have to think about it - it's still just second nature.

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[IknowMe]

Not sure where I picked it up or why but I'm on the two spaces side of the fence also. At this point it's just muscle memory. I'm certain it'd take more effort than I'm willing to put forth to change the habit.

Wow, I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.
I think I've forgotten this before.

 

[Grenage]

Ah wonderful, both are deemed acceptable. Thank you kindly for that! I was reminded of this fact due to another forum's forms automatically removing 'superfluous' spaces, after submission. A major irritation.

I should probably get out more.

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[SantaMufasa]

We (old folks) all learned the "two spaces..." rule at a time long before word processors automatically handled the appropriate (extra) spacing following a period.

There was a reason for the "two spaces" rule before technology handled the issue and there are certainly reasons not to use "two spaces" now that technology properly deals with the visual results of our previous "manual responsibilities."

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[Thadeus]

Two spaces was literally whacked into the very fiber of my knuckles by the very capable wielder of a metal ruler in typing class. Father Roberecht was a strict disciplinarian and had been a Golden Gloves boxer in his earlier days.

In his thick German accent he would call us "dumb chickens" as he paced the aisles with that ruler looking for students lifting their heads as they were learning to touch type.

~Thadeus

 

[traingamer]

I don't remember that rule at all (although I did have a different knuckle-whacking man-of-the-cloth instructor).
period space 'new sentence'

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[Welshbird]

I go for full stop two spaces usually.... If I remember! I've got lazy recently thought I think.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[mmerlinn]

Two spaces here too.

Learned to type on an old Underwood manual typewriter, probably about a 40s or 50s vintage machine. And, of course, the font was probably what is called 'Courier' today.

The reason given for the two spaces was that the extra space emphasized the end of the sentence and therefore gave an extra clue when the thought was finished. On that old Underwood the comma many times looked very similar to the period, so the extra space was a godsend for quickly seeing which was which.

To this day I still use two spaces. When I fail to, the sentence just seems harder for me to read.


mmerlinn

"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"

 

[Gooser]

Here on Earth, human beings use two spaces after a period. Period.

v/r
Gooser

 

[sleipnir214]

If I recall correctly, all sentence-ending punctuation marks ('?', '!', '.') were to have two spaces after them.

But there was at least one other mark that was to be followed by a space, too, and I think, but am not sure, it was the colon. Does anyone else remember this?


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[mmerlinn]

Now that my memory has been jogged, I also remember two spaces after the '?' & '!' and I insert them so automatically I never even think about them.

Seems to me you are correct about the colon, also. When I type it I put two spaces automatically, so I am either right or wrong in my use of it.


mmerlinn

"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"

 

[traingamer]

No real reason for two spaces. See wikipedia and a slew of articles (on both sides) of the question. e.g.

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/OneSpaceorTwo/OneSpaceorTwo_questions01.html

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[johnherman]

Definitely two spaces back when I took my 7th Grade "Basic Business and Typing" course (an elective). Of course, that was in the sixties (gasp!).

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The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright

 

[Lunatic]

Keyboarding class, freshman year in HS (mid 90's):

2 spaces after the end of sentence. Period or otherwise.

A quick Google search:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_spacing

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm

Both agree the start was due to monospaced manual typewriters and with the advent of proportional spacing the debate began on the need.

Personally, I like the double space. I think it makes it easier to read lines when you differentiate between an abr. and and actual end of a sentence. Sure context counts for something, but who wants to trust the reader to pick up on context 100% of the time?

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