SHP Forums

http://www.slate.com/?id=2281146

I feel so ignorant. I pride myself on checking and re-checking my 'written-word' (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc). I'd love to know where I picked up the training on the 2 spaces after a period - maybe it was it in typing class way back in 8th grade, but I seem to remember doing it before then. It will take a long time to retrain myself (and I'm still doing it!).

I remember being taught it and thinking how stupid it was. I never did it in practical application. And now they're saying not to do it officially. Who has the last laugh now, teachers!

BTW, did anyone else find the tone of that article's writer to be extremely condensing and overall insulting?

Here's my response to that article's author: You know that it's "one space" instead of "two spaces." Great, now f*ck off.

I'm sure I know lots of information that asshole doesn't, but... guess what? It's "information anyone should know" simply because I know it and maybe some other people don't.

As you can all probably guess, I hate it when people act that way. Just because YOU know something that doesn't make you somehow superior to others.

Having said that, I learned to type when computer fonts were all monospaced. My Dad, who was originally taught on a typewriter and then used older computers, still double-spaces (and it doesn't help that he originally taught me that way, as well). He still doesn't believe you now use a single space.

I have to constantly remind myself to NOT double-space as it's an almost automatic thing. As an example, I've had to correct myself after each sentence in this post. I keep double spacing!

Yeah DPX, I was wondering if it was a 'generational-thing'. I believe I learned how to type on a typewriter at home & my mother might have been the one who got me to double-space. I'll have to check with her.

That article was really in-your-face. I didn't like the tone either, but the point certainly struck home.

It may be just me but If I ever had to write anything to the author of that article or people who take similar tones in these kinds of topics, I'd put two spaces after each period out of spite. Hell, maybe I'd go crazy and on occasion put three.

Test, test. This is a test. Oh, crap - I am double-spacing. I didn't even realize it until now. Double-crap! I once wrote a whole book like this!

Switching style. Does this look better? This really bothers me, actually. All my my sentences look plugged into each other.

Unfortunately, I can't relate to this issue.

Here in Italy, as soon as we start typewriting, every teacher tell us to put only one space after a period and only one space after every comma. It's just the way it is.

A lot of the tone is probably recoil from receiving tone of equal or greater intensity by double-spacers.

Why does it seem logical to me not to use double space? They didn't even bother to teach us in typing lessons. Why waste space? (Only exception to the rule is teletext, because a space after a period looks so bad on that they don't use spaces after periods.)

The point is that it once was logical -- and in fact necessary -- to use a double-space between a period and a new sentence. Mono-spaced fonts were all that existed and without double-spacing, each sentence looked as if it was mashed together.

Some of us remember the early days of computers when mono-spaced fonts were used, probably due to technological limitations, but also that developers were accustomed to that style. Most of them probably grew up using a typewriter.

What's weird is that with the majority of modern fonts (at least those that aren't stylized and actually usable for regular writing) it really doesn't seem to matter. Unless you look closely, you probably won't notice the difference between single-spacing and double-spacing after a period.

I don't think most people care, to be honest. I've written numerous research papers in the past and even though different writing guides say "single space after a period" I never did that. No professor I've ever had commented or corrected me.

Who gives a good god damn. DPX is right, you can't tell the difference.

DeadPoolX wrote: I don't think most people care, to be honest. I've written numerous research papers in the past and even though different writing guides say "single space after a period" I never did that. No professor I've ever had commented or corrected me.

You must have a nice techie study field then. In all classes I followed on history (my first study) and musicology and language, it's like teachers love to stumble on things like that, like it finally gives them an excuse to give you a lower grade.

I've had people in classes that I've taken that have gotten lower grades on papers for using two spaces. It's unnecessary to use two spaces after a period now, so I guess I agree with the article.

I was never taught the double space "rule" when I took typing. I never used it, out side of by accident, but it never bothered me when others did. Perhaps, as suggested, he is just reacting to extreme double space advocates that he has encountered, but when writing an article for the internet that will be read by far greater numbers than the ones he is reacting to, he should be addressing that audience, not just those few. As so many these days, he comes across as someone that needs to go back to school to take a few classes in rhetoric. Really, what was the point in bringing in Assange as justification for his argument? The use of ad hominem attacks is the recourse of someone incapable of logically presenting his argument.

DeadPoolX wrote:Mono-spaced fonts were all that existed

Not to nitpick, but this was only true of typewriters, teletypes and early computers/terminals. Type setters have had access to proportional fonts since the beginning of printing. But then, that is the point of the schism between type setters and the average writer.

I didn't find the article tonal at all but I'm not a double-spacer so I don't really take offense.