Comments on: Spaces After Period

By: Mister Peabody

Mister Peabody — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:28:44 +0000

Chicago Manual of Style says one space:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/OneSpaceorTwo/OneSpaceorTwo_questions01.html

The visual appeal you might find from double spaces after periods, colons, etc., is merely a visual holdover from your youth when you were taught on the typewriter. There is no visual appeal for computer systems that are using variable width fonts and that adjust fonts for various layout appeal issues.

Unless you type in a monospaced font like Courier or use a metal press (as I still get to do sometimes). Then by golly, use double spaces.

But if you hand your copy over to a designer to design with a computer, he will gleefully do a search and replace on the double spaces before publishing your copy.

Your best bet for your Manifesto that will be found by the police after your arrest is double spacing after periods. Or if you’re a screenwriter, where the norm is to type in a monotype font.

As someone who works on a computer continually, I save myself from early carpal tunnel syndrome by saving thousands of keystrokes a day.

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By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:01:43 +0000

I got a lot out of this discussion. I'm a 2-spacer and have been doing it so long that it doesn't slow me down to hit that key twice instead of once. I do it automatically even when I know the extra space will be remove, e.g., in this post.

I found a great article on the readability factor of 2 spaces at http://roselli.org/adrian/articles/2spaces.asp.

Clearly, newspaper columns and paperback books need to conserve space and need to use 1 space. I write in 8.5×11 where it's not an issue. I too use 1" margins instead of MS's default, which probably gains me more than eliminating my extra space. I'm all about white space, but JUDICIOUS use of white space. (Admittedly it's somewhat of an art to white space wisely.)

And while I'm on the subject, why did MS Word's Normal Style go from TNR 10 (too small) to TNR 12 (too big) instead of TNR 11 (just right)??? I always customize my default to TNR 11.

Several people have provided examples of where that extra space is really needed for the meaning of the writing to be clear. I think it would be GREAT if we had a new character for the full stop so we could end this argument, which — as shown above — can get downright nasty. Maybe we can get a referendum going. In the meantime, please be kind to each other.

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By: Steeeeverino

Steeeeverino — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:55:01 +0000

Two observations: 1. This thread has lasted over six years! 2. I am a double-spacer at heart, but - people! - notice that this very blog page converts everything to single spacing. Q.E.D., baby! A new age has dawned.

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By: porsche

porsche — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:28:17 +0000

Yes, if you look at it, the base of the r is the same distance from the period as the I is. If I had used a letter wider than l, my point would have been even more obvious.

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By: porsche

porsche — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:24:37 +0000

Has anyone noticed that on this very website, the absence of doublespacing is occasionally quite jarring? Depending on the exact combination of letters, it sometimes appears as if there's no space at all after the period, especially with tall and straight, or bottom-heavy letters. For example, Y's and T's look ok, but S's, I's, or H's almost seem like they're as close the the letter preceding the period as they are to the 2nd following letter, as if there's no space at all after the period. I don't know if this will work, but look at, say, ...car. Illogic... It almost seems like the I is the same distance from the r as it is from the second l, as if it's all one word separated by a period.

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By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:07:12 +0000

I'm sorry for all of you one-spacers. You seem to completely be ignoring the fact that the world isn't solely comprised of proportional fonts. Monospaced fonts are still used far and wide, especially in every day computer system administration and programming. Riddle me this, why is it that my HTML rendered email still honors the two spaces, but my browser doesn't? This debate is likely to rage on for quite a while, but I will continue to default to two spaces except for when I want to be artsy-fartsy. Modern typesetting systems (LaTex) can automatically deal with this issue either direction you want to force it. Editors that complain about fixing the two-spacers "mistakes" should talk to their typesetters (or themselves) about the options within their software.

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By: Maj. "Bat" Guano

Maj. "Bat" Guano — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:25:02 +0000

Two Space Bandit sez: ... two spaces after every period improves readability and differentiates between comas and periods. Comas? I can see you are really good at proofreading! And you ... write professional documents for the government everyday... Hmmm.

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By: Dewi Sri

Dewi Sri — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:33:58 +0000

I was instructed to leave two spaces after a period when I learned to type on a typewriter in the seventies, but my study of typography has led me to believe that the use of two spaces is a remnant from the Victorian era.

The last thing I do after editing a translation I've proofread is to remove all double spaces. Fonts are now designed for one space after the period.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online has this to say:

http://tinyurl.com/5jyl26

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By: The Two Space Bandit

The Two Space Bandit — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:21:11 +0000

Yes, folks, I am the one who will secretly run behind your document and "correct" it to have two spaces behind every period. Yes, I am the Two Space Bandit. Call me old-fashioned or just call me crazy, but I believe that two spaces after every period improves readability and differentiates between comas and periods. And yet, for those who insist that the two space generation is dead and buried, what I find instead are some people who use both one space and two spaces after a period since they're really not paying attention to how they are writing in terms of punctuation. In my opinion, its a personal preference, but regardless, it it important to maintain consistency throughout your entire document. That's ok, these people will be mocked and ridiculed by their peers while I ride off into the sunset after a hard day of helping others reduce eye strain and improve the format of the world's documents. And for those who believe that two space rule is not a standard among professional documents, well think again, I write professional documents for the government everyday, as well as countless academic documents back in grad school. So yes! The two space movement lives on!! Viva la two spaces!!

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By: MRK

MRK — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:11:45 +0000

Now if only I could figure out how to keep M$ Word 2003 from sometimes moving the second space after the period to the next line - thus causing an intent in the next line. There seems to be no convention to its actions and it's annoying because if I remove one space to align the next line, a slight revision up in the paragraph will cause havoc below... Oh well...Gee, I do so miss Word Perfect for DOS...

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