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Do you double space when typing?

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S

SD-Ness

Member
I recently realized that the correct way to type is to press the spacebar twice after ending a sentence. Up until that time I had always just pressed the spacebar once.

I don't think it really matters on forums or chats, but for formal word processing do you do it?
 
F

Flaming Duck

Member
Yes, I use two spaces after ending a sentence. It's the correct way! I also learned that when typing addresses, you are supposed to include two spaces between the state abbreviation and the zip code.
 
R

Ryo

Member
Yes, I use two spaces after ending a sentence. It's the correct way! I also learned that when typing addresses, you are supposed to include two spaces between the state abbreviation and the zip code.
Click to expand...

No you don't..
 
R

Ristamar

Member
Zero said:
I recently realized that the correct way to type is to press the spacebar twice after ending a sentence. Up until that time I had always just pressed the spacebar once.

I don't think it really matters on forums or chats, but for formal word processing do you do it?
Click to expand...


Yeah, all the time (formal and informal), and I think I learned that in first grade. Damn kids these days...
 
M

Meier

Member
It's odd that in all your years a teacher never included a # sign in a paper of yours after a sentence, heh. Oddly enough though, I work in the text book industry and we only use 1 space after a period.
 
D

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
I've always double-spaced after sentences, although I think my parents taught me that. Sucks that it doesn't show up (at least I think) in forum posts.
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
Yes, after ending with a period I hit the space bar twice. Just how I learned I guess. (Sometimes I forget, though)
 
R

Ryo

Member
That's what I was taught And they were anal about those things, too. God forbid you only include ONE space.
Click to expand...

Just sayed "No you don't.." becuase you didn't use double spacing in your post there. No one else has done so either...
 
E

Ecrofirt

Member
Ryo said:
Just sayed "No you don't.." becuase you didn't use double spacing in your post there. No one else has done so either...
Click to expand...

It doesn't show up in the forum posts. It's an HTML thing.
 
T

toohectic

Member
Ryo said:
Just sayed "No you don't.." becuase you didn't use double spacing in your post there. No one else has done so either...
Click to expand...

The forum software doesn't show more than 1 space. I quadruple spaced between these two sentences, and it will only 1 space. Anyway, to answer the question... yes, I double space. It just feels better.

Edit: a little late =/
 
A

aoi tsuki

Member
Ryo said:
Just sayed "No you don't.." becuase you didn't use double spacing in your post there. No one else has done so either...
Click to expand...
How can you misspell "said" and "because" in a thread about sentence formatting?!

i think the spacing after periods is a personal thing when it comes to informal writing. My MLA handbook from '92 says to use two spaces, but according to an English teacher i spoke to recently, it's changed since then to one space for formal writing.
 
R

Ryo

Member
lol

How can you misspell "said" and "because" in a thread about sentence formatting?!
Click to expand...

because I am tired, and my native tongue isn't English. I have an excuse :)

But I admit the irony of it
 
K

Kon Tiki

Banned
Zero said:
I recently realized that the correct way to type is to press the spacebar twice after ending a sentence. Up until that time I had always just pressed the spacebar once.

I don't think it really matters on forums or chats, but for formal word processing do you do it?
Click to expand...
You may of learned it, but you did not apply it. I seriously thought this was a joke thread. :p
 
B

bjork

Member
Never heard of this. So instead of it looking like this, it should look like the sentence below?
Never heard of this. So instead of it looking like the sentence above, it should look like this?

Weird. I'll not do that.

:edit: - wtf? omg auto format
 
Burger

Burger

Member
Yes, it's the law of typing. 2 after a period, one after a comma, question mark or exclamation mark (+ many others.)

It's the way things are done.
 
K

Kon Tiki

Banned
Burger said:
Yes, it's the law of typing. 2 after a period, one after a comma, question mark or exclamation mark (+ many others.)

It's the way things are done.
Click to expand...


Then why does the forum reformat to one space? Huh? Huh?
 
L

luxsol

Member
aoi tsuki said:
How can you misspell "said" and "because" in a thread about sentence formatting?!

i think the spacing after periods is a personal thing when it comes to informal writing. My MLA handbook from '92 says to use two spaces, but according to an English teacher i spoke to recently, it's changed since then to one space for formal writing.
Click to expand...
Yep, the reason we're only supposed to use one space now is because computer fonts are proportional.
The reason two spaces were used before was because type writers used fonts whose letters took up the same amount of room. So to make it easier to read and know where a sentence stopped two spaces were used.

dodododo.... People who use two spaces in papers today are cheating...unless the teacher actually counts the words.
 
T

toohectic

Member
Ok I did a search on it, and it turns out that using a double-space is incorrect. Actually, it depends on what type of font you are using. Monospaced fonts like Courier need double spaces while proportional fonts only require a single space. Since most fonts used these days are proportional, single spaces are the way to go.

http://www.julieolsen.com/near/onespace.html

The problem exists because it is correct to place two spaces after a period on a typewriter. Characters on a typewriter are monospaced, which means all the letters take up the same amount of space and it is visually necessary to place an extra space after a period for the eye to recognize a new sentence.

Today, almost all fonts are proportional, which means the letters take up a unique amount of space, i.e. an "i" takes up only about one-fifth the space of the letter "m." Therefore, unless you are typing in a monospaced font, like Courier (which is not advisable) or have located a typewriter that still works and are using it because you have far too much spare time on your hands, you need only put one space between sentences.

With proportional fonts, the extra space after the period is already built in, therefore adding another space is redundant and inappropriate. This one-space rule applies to colons, semi-colons, question marks, quotation marks, exclamation points and all other punctuation. If you're still a nonbeliever, check out this report compiled by John S. Rhodes, (which presents for/against arguments) or just look at any book or magazine professionally published—you'll never find a double space.
Click to expand...
 
E

Error Macro

Member
I always double space after sentences, but since almost every forum software disregards the second space, single spacing on message boards has long been a habit of mine.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
jiji said:
Yes, thanks to junior high keyboarding classes. A lot of good it does me with my website and forum posts, since browsers contract multiple spaces into one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I hate that. Any situation requiring just a bit more space requires going into goofy HTML mode with things like  
 
C

Cerebral Palsy

Banned
I've never done it before... But ever since I started college I've got a lot of shit about it from people I've had proof read my papers. Now I try to when I can remember.
 
F

Flynn

Member
The first day at my first job in publishing I learned that the double space after a period is only correct with high-school typing teachers.
 
A

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
Ristamar said:
Yeah, all the time (formal and informal), and I think I learned that in first grade. Damn kids these days...
Click to expand...


You had a computer in your first grade class? And you call other's kids? When did you get the internet in your school? 5th grade? :p
 
R

Ristamar

Member
skinnyrattler said:
You had a computer in your first grade class? And you call other's kids?
Click to expand...

We had computer classes a few times a week using Apple IIEs. They weren't that hard to come by in '85 or '86. Pardon me, it may have been second or third grade. *snicker* My mistake. :p
 
A

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
I've always used two spaces. It is such a habbit that I'd have trouble using just one if I were told to.
 
Q

Quadrophenic

Member
I still double space out of habit, even though single space is the correct way to go. I am pretty sure most word processors automatically correct it anyways...and even if they don't, no one really gives a shit (unless you are using a monotype font/typewriter....then single spacing after a period can get annoying).
 
L

LizardKing

Member
I didn't think I double spaced when typing formally. But then I checked some essays I wrote and it turns out that I actually do! +1 autopilot
 
C

ChrisReid

Member
I put two spaces after a period, but it doesn't matter on the web since standardized HTML browsers interpret any number of spaces as just one space. It comes across in word documents and such though.
 
C

calder

Member
Ferrio said:
Two spaces, it's the correct way.
Click to expand...

Yep. It may not show up on the forum, but I always notice if someone doesn't do it in an actual document. It's not "wrong" I guess because plenty of ppl do it both ways, but two spaces after a period always looks right to me.

In addition to be being the proper way, it really makes for a cleaner format for reading. Especially in email, or in any doc of length.
 
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
Again, it depends on your font. Double-spacing is a holdover from the days of the typewriter and DOS, when EVERYTHING was monospaced. Computers nowadays can do letters of various spacing, which is why the "i"s in this post are snugly placed in their respective words, and periods come immediately after the last letter of a sentence.

As said before, HTML treats any amount of spacing as a single space.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
About the monospace/variable width font thing... that doesn't make sense to me. It would seem to indicate that spaces are made wider so you don't need two of them between sentences... but even though each character in a variable width font can be a different width, the same character is always the same width. Thus a single space between sentences will be the same width as a single space between individual words. So I don't see how that makes a difference between monospace and variable width fonts, as why would we want the ratio to be 2:1 for one, and 1:1 for the other?

Also, the reasoning seems backward. Doing a comparison of Times New Roman and Courier New, the monospace space looks wider than the variable width double space, so if any of them was to use fewer spaces between sentences I'd think it would be the monospace.

monovwf.gif
 
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