5 ms·

I think that just shows the age of the person. I learned how to type correctly on a typewriter, and that is the way that we learned. It means, for me, that SN

I think that just shows the age of the person. I learned how to type correctly on a typewriter, and that is the way that we learned. It means, for me, that SN, like me, was educated in the 70's and 80's, and formally learned how to type. Disclosure : Am not satoshi.

aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA 9y ago
Counting spaces... story checks out.
giarc 9y ago
I was educated in the 90's and not on a typewriter. I use two spaces. There's likely more at play than just typewriter vs non-typewriter.
- bendecoste 9y ago
  You only used one space in this comment ;)
  - yonilevy 9y ago
    Check the source.
  - giarc 9y ago
    I wonder if that gets changed by the site or something. I remember thinking "I better be sure to use two spaces otherwise someone will call me out on it." Here's a test. I definitely put two spaces prior to this sentence. EDIT - indeed it seems that HN changes the spacing.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- mtpn 9y ago
  The anecdote I heard was that the extra space made it more clear when sentences were ending based on how the fixed-width typeface would read. With proportional fonts the spacing is already clear enough with 1 space, and that has become the conventional thing. So adding the extra space creates too much space now. It certainly sends a signal to me that the person has absorbed a “rule”, but not its purpose, which I think doesn’t reflect well on that person. But on the whole that’s a minor side note and I try to not go overboard interpreting details like that.
  - goialoq 9y ago
    > With proportional fonts the spacing is already clear enough with 1 space. That's your opinion, and a bizarre one at that, since one-space isn't any more clear in a proportional font than a non-proportional font. Proportional fonts help pack letters within a word, not pack words within/between sentences. > It certainly sends a signal to me that the person has absorbed a “rule”, but not its purpose, It sends a signal to me that a person looks for bizarre ways to feel superior to others, instead of trying to understand why someone behaves differently.
    - mtpn 9y ago
      > Proportional fonts help pack letters within a word, not pack words within/between sentences. I was probably wrong to try and fuzzily remember an anecdote rather than look it up :) but my understanding was that in a proportional font the combination of a period and space was good enough to show the end of the sentence clearly for whatever reason. > It sends a signal to me that a person looks for bizarre ways to feel superior to others, instead of trying to understand why someone behaves differently. This is fair. Though I promise I don’t feel superior to pretty much anybody if that helps. Learning about this actually came from wondering why some people used two spaces after sentences, not starting out judgmental. I think I was mainly thinking of formal contexts where you would already be judging somebody's choices (resume, professional portfolio, publications) more so than just random language use in comments or whatever. But I didn't put my finger on that last night! I had this uneasiness writing my own comment and reading your comment, and did some actual reading this morning, and this turns out to be one of those things where the story I absorbed about it was too simple. There seems to be ongoing debate about this just like everything else, and even though most publishers and editors prefer 1 space after a sentence. I had though I heard that spaces after periods actually render a little wider anyway but that seems to be wrong? I knew I worded my comment kind of badly and probably shouldn’t have made it in the first place. But at lest posting it helped me get corrected on my assumptions.
cableshaft 9y ago
I didn't learn how to type on a typewriter, but it was still considered proper formatting to use two spaces after a period when I went to school, and I used two spaces after a period for a really long time on the internet. I finally got out of the habit awhile back.
- uncoder0 9y ago
  Likewise. Learned 'typing' in 2nd grade in '95 alongside logo programming.
  - Frogolocalypse 9y ago
    I got my first typewriter when i was nine, and started programming when i was 10 back in early 80's. But i didn't formally learn how to type until i had a school subject for it when i was 15. It was the best thing i could possibly have done. By the end of the course i could type error free at 65 words a minute. Now i can type faster than i can speak. I can't recommend it enough.
- Frogolocalypse 9y ago
  It's so ingrained for me I probably won't ever stop. Unless I'm on a phone that does automatic spacing. The fact that you stopped to me indicates you probably didn't do it that way for 20 years.
bdcravens 9y ago
I learned on a typewriter (early 90's), and when I moved to a computer (I was poor and really didn't have access to one growing up) I initially used double spaces after the period, but at some point I switched.
- Harelin 9y ago
  I also went a long time double-spacing and can't remember when I made the switch. I don't think it was a conscious decision. Wonder what prompted it.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
nfoz 9y ago
Curious, what are the reasons to prefer one-space-after-period over two? Regardless of old or new medium, proportional or monospaced font, I find it more legible when there's more space between sentences. Sometimes periods find themselves within a sentence (especially in technical writing), so ideally that would have a different markup I guess. HTML frustrates me; I don't know why it defaults to collapsing spaces, when so often my spaces are intentionally semantic.
- sowbug 9y ago
  Not that anyone will ever change their mind about this, but here's a good justification of the correct usage. "Two Spaces After a Period: Why You Should Never, Ever Do It": http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/...
  - monocasa 9y ago
    And here's a great response to that article. "Why two spaces after a period isn’t wrong (or, the lies typographers tell about history)" http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324 http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324
- daeken 9y ago
  The reduction of whitespace in HTML is there to allow you to split text as desired in the source file without adding unintentional newlines/tabs/whatever -- it all just gets collapsed to a single space. (Outside of pre-styled tags at least)
drakenot 9y ago
They still taught double space after period in typing class in the late 90s. It has been a difficult habit for me to break.

aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA 9y ago

Counting spaces... story checks out.

giarc 9y ago

I was educated in the 90's and not on a typewriter. I use two spaces. There's likely more at play than just typewriter vs non-typewriter.

bendecoste 9y ago
You only used one space in this comment ;)
- yonilevy 9y ago
  Check the source.
- giarc 9y ago
  I wonder if that gets changed by the site or something. I remember thinking "I better be sure to use two spaces otherwise someone will call me out on it." Here's a test. I definitely put two spaces prior to this sentence. EDIT - indeed it seems that HN changes the spacing.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
mtpn 9y ago
The anecdote I heard was that the extra space made it more clear when sentences were ending based on how the fixed-width typeface would read. With proportional fonts the spacing is already clear enough with 1 space, and that has become the conventional thing. So adding the extra space creates too much space now. It certainly sends a signal to me that the person has absorbed a “rule”, but not its purpose, which I think doesn’t reflect well on that person. But on the whole that’s a minor side note and I try to not go overboard interpreting details like that.
- goialoq 9y ago
  > With proportional fonts the spacing is already clear enough with 1 space. That's your opinion, and a bizarre one at that, since one-space isn't any more clear in a proportional font than a non-proportional font. Proportional fonts help pack letters within a word, not pack words within/between sentences. > It certainly sends a signal to me that the person has absorbed a “rule”, but not its purpose, It sends a signal to me that a person looks for bizarre ways to feel superior to others, instead of trying to understand why someone behaves differently.
  - mtpn 9y ago
    > Proportional fonts help pack letters within a word, not pack words within/between sentences. I was probably wrong to try and fuzzily remember an anecdote rather than look it up :) but my understanding was that in a proportional font the combination of a period and space was good enough to show the end of the sentence clearly for whatever reason. > It sends a signal to me that a person looks for bizarre ways to feel superior to others, instead of trying to understand why someone behaves differently. This is fair. Though I promise I don’t feel superior to pretty much anybody if that helps. Learning about this actually came from wondering why some people used two spaces after sentences, not starting out judgmental. I think I was mainly thinking of formal contexts where you would already be judging somebody's choices (resume, professional portfolio, publications) more so than just random language use in comments or whatever. But I didn't put my finger on that last night! I had this uneasiness writing my own comment and reading your comment, and did some actual reading this morning, and this turns out to be one of those things where the story I absorbed about it was too simple. There seems to be ongoing debate about this just like everything else, and even though most publishers and editors prefer 1 space after a sentence. I had though I heard that spaces after periods actually render a little wider anyway but that seems to be wrong? I knew I worded my comment kind of badly and probably shouldn’t have made it in the first place. But at lest posting it helped me get corrected on my assumptions.

cableshaft 9y ago

I didn't learn how to type on a typewriter, but it was still considered proper formatting to use two spaces after a period when I went to school, and I used two spaces after a period for a really long time on the internet. I finally got out of the habit awhile back.

uncoder0 9y ago
Likewise. Learned 'typing' in 2nd grade in '95 alongside logo programming.
- Frogolocalypse 9y ago
  I got my first typewriter when i was nine, and started programming when i was 10 back in early 80's. But i didn't formally learn how to type until i had a school subject for it when i was 15. It was the best thing i could possibly have done. By the end of the course i could type error free at 65 words a minute. Now i can type faster than i can speak. I can't recommend it enough.
Frogolocalypse 9y ago
It's so ingrained for me I probably won't ever stop. Unless I'm on a phone that does automatic spacing. The fact that you stopped to me indicates you probably didn't do it that way for 20 years.

bdcravens 9y ago

I learned on a typewriter (early 90's), and when I moved to a computer (I was poor and really didn't have access to one growing up) I initially used double spaces after the period, but at some point I switched.

Harelin 9y ago
I also went a long time double-spacing and can't remember when I made the switch. I don't think it was a conscious decision. Wonder what prompted it.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

nfoz 9y ago

Curious, what are the reasons to prefer one-space-after-period over two? Regardless of old or new medium, proportional or monospaced font, I find it more legible when there's more space between sentences. Sometimes periods find themselves within a sentence (especially in technical writing), so ideally that would have a different markup I guess. HTML frustrates me; I don't know why it defaults to collapsing spaces, when so often my spaces are intentionally semantic.

sowbug 9y ago
Not that anyone will ever change their mind about this, but here's a good justification of the correct usage. "Two Spaces After a Period: Why You Should Never, Ever Do It": http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/...
- monocasa 9y ago
  And here's a great response to that article. "Why two spaces after a period isn’t wrong (or, the lies typographers tell about history)" http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324 http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324
daeken 9y ago
The reduction of whitespace in HTML is there to allow you to split text as desired in the source file without adding unintentional newlines/tabs/whatever -- it all just gets collapsed to a single space. (Outside of pre-styled tags at least)

drakenot 9y ago

They still taught double space after period in typing class in the late 90s. It has been a difficult habit for me to break.