Do you use two spaces after a period?

[Anonymous]

Yuck...

[Anonymous]

Two spaces later and I'm getting turned on-move this thread to the Explicit Forum-maybe those assholes will take their hands off their knobs long enough to learn a thing or two about appropriate puncuation and fonts for Chrissakes! If a period can liven up that party, well, then anything is possible.

[Anonymous]

No, I use one space and have for years. I forget exactly the reason - but I remember someone explained to me years ago that the double space was leftover from type writers or something and from then on, I used one space. I think two spacers are old fashioned and never learned the rules!

Agree that once you start using one space, you will never go back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an editor and writer. Two spaces after a period is wrong if you are using a proportional font (like Times New Roman or Helvetica). The font builds in enough space automatically.

Yes, it is a pain to re-teach yourself, but you should do it. Using two spaces after a period telegraphs (!) that you are old and learned to type on a typewriter. It puts you in the camp of people who don't understand Track Changes and manually apply red color and the "strike-out" style to their text to show a deletion (Yes, there really are lots of these people out there, and I work with some of them, and they are all die-hard double spacers).

It telegraphs that someone else should be taking down my damn redline comments and handling the revisions. We pay lawyers for that. Of course I know how to use track changes. I just won't, and I have my reasons Period Space Space

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, get with the program. Chicago, AP say ONE.

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spaces-period-end-of-sentence.aspx
FROM THE ABOVE LINK:
Grammar Girl here.
This week I have two topics for you: The number of spaces after a period at the end of a sentence, and whether you should use "who" or "that" to refer to people (and pets).
Now here's our first listener question.
<His friends believe it is antiquated to use two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.>
Yes, the caller is correct and he's also right that a lot of people haven't heard about the change.
Two Spaces After a Period--The Old Way
Here's the deal: Most typewriter fonts are what are called monospaced fonts. That means every character takes up the same amount of space. An "i" takes up as much space as an "m," for example. When using a monospaced font, where everything is the same width, it makes sense to type two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence to create a visual break. For that reason, people who learned to type on a typewriter were taught to put two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.
One Space After a Period--The New Way
But when you're typing on a computer, most fonts are proportional fonts, which means that characters are different widths. An "i" is more narrow than an "m," for example, and putting extra space between sentences doesn't do anything to improve readability.
Notice how in this example, the "i's" and "t" take up much less space in the proportional font than they do in the monospaced font.

Although how many spaces you use is ultimately a style choice, using one space is by far the most widely accepted and logical style. The Chicago Manual of Style (1), the AP Stylebook (2), and the Modern Language Association (3) all recommend using one space after a period at the end of a sentence. Furthermore, page designers have written in begging me to encourage people to use one space because if you send them a document with two spaces after the periods, they have to go in and take all the extra spaces out.
I know it's a hard habit to break if you were trained to use two spaces, but if you can, give one space a try.

Someone should teach them the magic of "replace all". Not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I just throw out there that anyone who uses Comic Sans in any professional setting is doing major damage to their career. Say no to Comic Sans!

Oh my damn yes. Get this: my assistant once sent out an email for me because I was having trouble accessing my system from the road. I forwarded her an email from my personal account and she sent it out from my work account. But her default email font for some reason carried over, and a professional memo went out to my board of directors in comic sans.

I got it via cc and spent a 4 hour flight stressing over what they were going to think of me and wondering if there was some way to pleasantly but clearly mention that I didn't intentionally use comic sans, or if that would make me seem even loonier than using it in the first place.

I also used to use the ole double space, but about a year ago. I was a hold out for a long time and was NOT persuaded by anybody telling me it was right, because I've always thought it was a stylistic choice where both were correct. But I was persuaded by logic and do feel it looks better this way.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. I have been so surprised this year that my middle schooler REFUSES to double space, although I keep telling him to, and the teacher never corrects him. Now I understand why!!

[Anonymous]

If you learned to type properly and are a fast typist, it is actually very hard to change as it is built into the rhythm of your fingers. If you mostly type for the web, you can be lazy because the browsers all auto-correct and render everything with one space.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone still read anything on Slate other than Dear Prudence? (If you've never read Dear Prudence, I highly recommend it -- check the archives for her account of a week at a nudist camp. Much, much funnier than the boring, self-righteous, wanna-be-hipster but sounding more like Andy Rooney rant about double-spacing. (And, yes, as you can see, I do double-space between sentences. I learned to type in the '70s, am a lawyer, and like the visual relief it provides.)

[Anonymous]

I think DCUM self-corrects to one space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you learned to type properly and are a fast typist, it is actually very hard to change as it is built into the rhythm of your fingers. If you mostly type for the web, you can be lazy because the browsers all auto-correct and render everything with one space.

This. I type very fast, and double-spacing is part of my rhythm. But now that somebody's explained that there is actually a reason for the single-spacing, I guess I'll try to switch over. Sigh.

I wouldn't care at all, except I'm writing a novel on the side and I read in a book for authors that editors really hate to get single spaces.

[Anonymous]

11:32 I don't think that's accurate. One space is the standard. I know several published authors who did not use two spaces after sentences in the manuscripts they submitted per their editor's instructions.

[Anonymous]

41 year old here. always have used two spaces. don't care enough to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:32 I don't think that's accurate. One space is the standard. I know several published authors who did not use two spaces after sentences in the manuscripts they submitted per their editor's instructions.

Ooops, I meant to say that editors hate to get double spaces. I should stop multi-tasking, clearly I'm not as good at it as my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:41 year old here. always have used two spaces. don't care enough to change.

40 year old here, and as well I don't know if I can change to one space. Two spaces is what I was taught and changing after all these years is hard.