3 ms·

Two spaces after a period: Why you should never, ever do it.

5 points by rpledge 14y ago

sp332 14y ago
Until 4 paragraphs in I was hoping this was a joke. It's 100% arbitrary and based completely on aesthetic judgment. And even though the author explicitly admits this, he's still comfortable condemning anyone who disagrees with him as ignorant and championing his opinion as "the one true way".
- lysol 14y ago
  100% arbitrary? He cites plenty of sources in the article.
  - sp332 14y ago
    Sources like "I asked people what they considered to be the "correct" number of spaces between sentences... Everyone—everyone!—said it was proper to use two spaces." or "some typesetters would end sentences with a double space, others would use a single space, and a few renegades would use three or four spaces." or "on a typewriter, an extra space after a sentence makes text easier to read." or "Typographers can point to no studies or any other evidence proving that single spaces improve readability. When you press them on it, they tend to cite their aesthetic sensibilities." or "Is this arbitrary? Sure it is." Those sources?
- antidoh 14y ago
  Every rule we have about spelling and punctuation is arbitrary, yet I notice you follow current arbitrary convention in your post. We agree on convention, and on arbiters of convention like the Chicago Manual of Style cited in the article, because of convenience. Seeing words spelled the same way means that we can see the words and move on, rather than the letters as we try to figure out, however briefly, what word is being spelled. Convention is good, however arbitrary. If fussy people at the CMS said to use two spaces then I would. But they say one, and I move with the well understood herd.
  - sp332 14y ago
    HTML generally renders any number of spaces as a single space. (Try it!) I often put two spaces in proportional fonts, but I don't usually put two spaces after a period in monospace (which is the font HN uses for editing posts) because it's already pretty wide. I don't complain if people use other styles though. The article is adamant that everyone is wrong. "Why you should never, ever use it" says the title. Except for old publications, or if you're using a monospaced or very irregular font, says the body. Or really any time we feel like it, say the typographers. He derides the opposition as being equally arbitrary, not actually any worse.
    - antidoh 14y ago
      I took the author's hysterics as just a literary tool to make a point in an interesting way. I doubt if he's worried about a two-spaced apocalypse.
opminion 14y ago
The article just argues by referring to convention, which is rather unfulfilling. It succeeds in pointing out that the two space convention made sense with monospaced fonts. For many of us monospaced fonts are not a thing of the past...
- dkersten 14y ago
  For many of us monospaced fonts are not a thing of the past... Indeed. I use monospaced fonts all the time. Mostly for programming, but also if I am writing a plain text file, I like my editor to use monospaced fonts. Yet I have never had a problem with the words seeming too "loose" or had any difficulty determining the end of sentences or words. I also never learned to use two spaces. Maybe its because I'm in Europe, but afaik everyone I know here uses one space and would never even consider that two spaces could be correct.
droberts 14y ago
I agree with the author, especially since any modern typesetting program should automatically detect a period followed by a space and automatically set the optimum distance for the particular font being used. My biggest pet peeve is people who insist on putting hard returns after every line of text, thereby creating a huge amount of work for anyone who needs to reformat it.
plant42 14y ago
Complaining or arguing about whether one space or two is correct or the "one true way" is just a little bit silly. I figure the vast majority will use which ever way they were taught or that which they are most comfortable with. Me, I use the two space way for no other reason than it is a habit from being taught that way. Some people have far too much time on their hands.

5 points by rpledge 14y ago

sp332 14y ago

Until 4 paragraphs in I was hoping this was a joke. It's 100% arbitrary and based completely on aesthetic judgment. And even though the author explicitly admits this, he's still comfortable condemning anyone who disagrees with him as ignorant and championing his opinion as "the one true way".

lysol 14y ago
100% arbitrary? He cites plenty of sources in the article.
- sp332 14y ago
  Sources like "I asked people what they considered to be the "correct" number of spaces between sentences... Everyone—everyone!—said it was proper to use two spaces." or "some typesetters would end sentences with a double space, others would use a single space, and a few renegades would use three or four spaces." or "on a typewriter, an extra space after a sentence makes text easier to read." or "Typographers can point to no studies or any other evidence proving that single spaces improve readability. When you press them on it, they tend to cite their aesthetic sensibilities." or "Is this arbitrary? Sure it is." Those sources?
antidoh 14y ago
Every rule we have about spelling and punctuation is arbitrary, yet I notice you follow current arbitrary convention in your post. We agree on convention, and on arbiters of convention like the Chicago Manual of Style cited in the article, because of convenience. Seeing words spelled the same way means that we can see the words and move on, rather than the letters as we try to figure out, however briefly, what word is being spelled. Convention is good, however arbitrary. If fussy people at the CMS said to use two spaces then I would. But they say one, and I move with the well understood herd.
- sp332 14y ago
  HTML generally renders any number of spaces as a single space. (Try it!) I often put two spaces in proportional fonts, but I don't usually put two spaces after a period in monospace (which is the font HN uses for editing posts) because it's already pretty wide. I don't complain if people use other styles though. The article is adamant that everyone is wrong. "Why you should never, ever use it" says the title. Except for old publications, or if you're using a monospaced or very irregular font, says the body. Or really any time we feel like it, say the typographers. He derides the opposition as being equally arbitrary, not actually any worse.
  - antidoh 14y ago
    I took the author's hysterics as just a literary tool to make a point in an interesting way. I doubt if he's worried about a two-spaced apocalypse.

opminion 14y ago

The article just argues by referring to convention, which is rather unfulfilling. It succeeds in pointing out that the two space convention made sense with monospaced fonts. For many of us monospaced fonts are not a thing of the past...

dkersten 14y ago
For many of us monospaced fonts are not a thing of the past... Indeed. I use monospaced fonts all the time. Mostly for programming, but also if I am writing a plain text file, I like my editor to use monospaced fonts. Yet I have never had a problem with the words seeming too "loose" or had any difficulty determining the end of sentences or words. I also never learned to use two spaces. Maybe its because I'm in Europe, but afaik everyone I know here uses one space and would never even consider that two spaces could be correct.

droberts 14y ago

I agree with the author, especially since any modern typesetting program should automatically detect a period followed by a space and automatically set the optimum distance for the particular font being used. My biggest pet peeve is people who insist on putting hard returns after every line of text, thereby creating a huge amount of work for anyone who needs to reformat it.

plant42 14y ago

Complaining or arguing about whether one space or two is correct or the "one true way" is just a little bit silly. I figure the vast majority will use which ever way they were taught or that which they are most comfortable with. Me, I use the two space way for no other reason than it is a habit from being taught that way. Some people have far too much time on their hands.