4 ms·

Nope. Raging against double-spaces post-period was all the rage a few years back[1], so I'm sure it raises quite a few curmudgeonly hackles. [1] http://www.sla

by bmpafa 9y ago

Nope. Raging against double-spaces post-period was all the rage a few years back[1], so I'm sure it raises quite a few curmudgeonly hackles. [1] http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/...

SquareWheel 9y ago
I see this article quoted all the time, and every time I read it I get frustrated again. >But I actually think aesthetics are the best argument in favor of one space over two. One space is simpler, cleaner, and more visually pleasing. Okay, great? So your best argument is that you subjectively prefer it over two spaces. >The diners included doctors, computer programmers, and other highly accomplished professionals. Everyone—everyone!—said it was proper to use two spaces. Ah, but our valiant author sure was ready to put them in their place! I find this whole article oozes condescension and faulty logic, and I can't help but get my dander up whenever I see it referenced.
alanfalcon 9y ago
My sixth grade teacher cured me of this right quick. “Pick up a book,” she said, “—go on.” I did so. I looked up at her but she just looked back down at me. I opened the book. I looked at the spacing. I closed the book, looked back up at my teacher and said, simply, “I see.”
- alanfalcon 9y ago
  That selfsame teacher admonished me for turning in a creative writing assignment with single sentence paragraphs in dialog: “Paragraphs consist of a topic sentence, supporting arguments, and a concluding statement,” she insisted. I looked up at her, “But... books—!” She wouldn’t have it. “When you write a 40,000 word novel you can use one sentence paragraphs.” So, 19 years later, I did.
KC8ZKF 9y ago
I am an unapologetic curmudgeon who uses two spaces. Or rather, my right thumb does. I learned to type on an IBM Selectric, I use mostly mono-spaced fonts, and two spaces after a full stop makes perfect sense. I went thirty years between learning it and thinking about it, and then some point-and-drool twee bloggers made it unfashionable.
- paulcole 9y ago
  > then some point-and-drool twee bloggers made it unfashionable. Outside of newspapers, it was always unfashionable. I mean just look at a book, magazine, or even this site.
  - KC8ZKF 9y ago
    Hacker News eats the second space. Which is fine. I'm not saying that typesetters should show two spaces between sentences, rather the edict against typing two spaces between sentences is wrong. Two spaces even has a (small) amount of semantic information. i.e. "This is a full stop and not part of an acronym or radix point, etc."
    - ScottBurson 9y ago
      It's not Hacker News eating the space; it's actually how the browser renders text. That said, I agree. What I type into the computer is not typesetting commands; it's input to the renderer, whose job is to understand what I'm telling it and lay it out appropriately. So, putting one space after a period indicates an abbreviation rather than the end of a sentence; the renderer may or may not choose to lay these out differently, but at least it has the option.
      - dredmorbius 9y ago
        HN could if it wanted to insert an  <space> following a full stop. It doesn't. One reason being Mr. Twee I-don't-use-two-spaces-after-a-full-stop, that it's awfully hard to tell if "Mr. Twee" is a sentence end or not, or if "stop. It" is supposed to be something else. That is, in the typewritten manuscript, the double-space following the full stop carries meaning which the typesetting system (HN's HTML encoder, here), would have to guess at. Or, you know, there's another way. Those of us who learnt to type properly can tip it off with our fuddly double-spaces.

by bmpafa 9y ago

SquareWheel 9y ago

I see this article quoted all the time, and every time I read it I get frustrated again. >But I actually think aesthetics are the best argument in favor of one space over two. One space is simpler, cleaner, and more visually pleasing. Okay, great? So your best argument is that you subjectively prefer it over two spaces. >The diners included doctors, computer programmers, and other highly accomplished professionals. Everyone—everyone!—said it was proper to use two spaces. Ah, but our valiant author sure was ready to put them in their place! I find this whole article oozes condescension and faulty logic, and I can't help but get my dander up whenever I see it referenced.

alanfalcon 9y ago

My sixth grade teacher cured me of this right quick. “Pick up a book,” she said, “—go on.” I did so. I looked up at her but she just looked back down at me. I opened the book. I looked at the spacing. I closed the book, looked back up at my teacher and said, simply, “I see.”

alanfalcon 9y ago
That selfsame teacher admonished me for turning in a creative writing assignment with single sentence paragraphs in dialog: “Paragraphs consist of a topic sentence, supporting arguments, and a concluding statement,” she insisted. I looked up at her, “But... books—!” She wouldn’t have it. “When you write a 40,000 word novel you can use one sentence paragraphs.” So, 19 years later, I did.

KC8ZKF 9y ago

I am an unapologetic curmudgeon who uses two spaces. Or rather, my right thumb does. I learned to type on an IBM Selectric, I use mostly mono-spaced fonts, and two spaces after a full stop makes perfect sense. I went thirty years between learning it and thinking about it, and then some point-and-drool twee bloggers made it unfashionable.

paulcole 9y ago
> then some point-and-drool twee bloggers made it unfashionable. Outside of newspapers, it was always unfashionable. I mean just look at a book, magazine, or even this site.
- KC8ZKF 9y ago
  Hacker News eats the second space. Which is fine. I'm not saying that typesetters should show two spaces between sentences, rather the edict against typing two spaces between sentences is wrong. Two spaces even has a (small) amount of semantic information. i.e. "This is a full stop and not part of an acronym or radix point, etc."
  - ScottBurson 9y ago
    It's not Hacker News eating the space; it's actually how the browser renders text. That said, I agree. What I type into the computer is not typesetting commands; it's input to the renderer, whose job is to understand what I'm telling it and lay it out appropriately. So, putting one space after a period indicates an abbreviation rather than the end of a sentence; the renderer may or may not choose to lay these out differently, but at least it has the option.
    - dredmorbius 9y ago
      HN could if it wanted to insert an  <space> following a full stop. It doesn't. One reason being Mr. Twee I-don't-use-two-spaces-after-a-full-stop, that it's awfully hard to tell if "Mr. Twee" is a sentence end or not, or if "stop. It" is supposed to be something else. That is, in the typewritten manuscript, the double-space following the full stop carries meaning which the typesetting system (HN's HTML encoder, here), would have to guess at. Or, you know, there's another way. Those of us who learnt to type properly can tip it off with our fuddly double-spaces.