two spaces between sentences

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theorist @ Aug 1 2006, 05:55 AM) [snapback]295631[/snapback]</div>

Yes, I too miss the double space between sentences as I was taught in typing school. (Ahhh, IBM Selectrics had just started getting common but they had to be warmed up!) My hand still naturally does the double tap. But then when I was younger, I always thought that adults that don't listen to what the world is (and *I* am) saying are closed minded. So when I realized that the world has changed this and it is now taught one space between sentences in schools, I've started to change my view and typing style. It is more efficient to only tap once (after trying to get used to it,) it can still understood by anyone who can read what the end of the sentence and the beginning of another is, and lastly it is part of the ever changing standard. However, I still like to follow the capitalization rules.(!) I have many friends that have started writing to me without any regard to using capital letters at the beginning of a sentence.

This is similar to the change over from the 10-2 steering wheel position that I was trained to do in driving school to the newly trained four and eight position. (And the reason why the spoke of the Prius' buttons are perfectly suited to it.) It is for safer use of the airbag in an accident so we don't get as hurt. It is still hard for me to go to that driving position, but at least I'm trying.

This old dog is at least trying to learn new tricks

 

I think the reason it removes the second space character is primarily a function of HTML. In HTML (hypertext markup language) duplicate spaces are always ignored; i.e. "Hello(SPACE)(SPACE)World" becomes "Hello(SPACE)World." We probably can't blame the board software for this one.

If you want to enter a second consecutive space using HTML, you would use the non-breaking space character, but this is not easily reproduced in this forum (the "edit" function actually populates the the form with a (SPACE) instead of the code for a (SPACE)).

The non-breaking space character:

Code:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theorist @ Aug 1 2006, 08:55 AM) [snapback]295631[/snapback]</div>

"Two spaces between sentences" is a carry-over from the old typwriter days, when every letter was given the same amount of space, and all were wide by today's standards. Nowadays, people are used to reading text that has narrower fonts (more characters per inch), is proportionally spaced ("M" gets more space than "I"), and more tightly set (less space between letters).

In this environment, it's commonly believed that having a wide space after a period is unnecessary. (I don't know about you, but my right thumb always wants to make two spaces anyway!)

Blair

 

The fonts used in wordprocessing are different than those used by typewriters. The additional space isn't needed. I forget where I read the justification for this, but I broke myself of the doublespace habit long ago when I got my first computer (1986).

Time to let go and give the thumb a rest. (BTW I learned on a manual Royal typewriter. Still have my electric Smith Corona...never could afford even a used IBM selectric.)