Why won't DU allow the requisite two spaces after a period?

Bertha Venation

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:03 AM
Original message

Why won't DU allow the requisite two spaces after a period?

Try it. :(

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Tuesday Afternoon

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:05 AM
Response to Original message

1. bandwidth? space saving default?

Noticed it a Long Time Ago........:shrug:

:hi:

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Ptah

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:06 AM
Response to Original message

2. It can be done :sp: . :sp: :sp: Yes?

Edited on Sat Jan-16-10 10:16 AM by Ptah

Like this . I think .

:silly:

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MiddleFingerMom

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:19 AM
Response to Reply #2

5. Fuddie-duddies.

.
I assume that's what we are.
.
I, also, still have the compulsion to double-space after a
period, but I started realizing long ago that it seemed to
have become an archaic form of punctuation, probably due to
the Intertubes.
.
Ever'thing's due to that young whippersnapper these days.
.
Personally, I welcome our new Overlord. Reluctantly.
.
Thanks for the tip, Ptah!
.

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MorningGlow

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:12 AM
Response to Original message

3. Standard within the HTML format

Edited on Sat Jan-16-10 10:13 AM by MorningGlow

It's never allowed two spaces after a period. I'm not an HTML pro by any means (not even close), so I don't know why it was set up that way. However, as a writer, editor, and proofreader, I do know that in print only one space after a period has been the standard for quite some time (a couple of decades at least). Two spaces died out with the typewriter.

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Bertha Venation

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:24 AM
Response to Reply #3

6. Nope.

In every document I've ever worked on as a legal secretary for nearly ten years, double space is the standard.

:hi:

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MorningGlow

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:29 AM
Response to Reply #6

7. Ahhh you legal folks--you always have your own set of rules

(I can say that; my brother's a lawyer. :evilgrin:) I mean in publishing type of print--advertising, magazines, books, etc. etc. etc.--one space. Take it from a proofreader. :hi:

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Bertha Venation

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:47 AM
Response to Reply #7

9. Ah - I didn't know that.

:) Learn something new every day.

It bums me out, man. I'm too old for them to go changing the rules on me. :(

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MorningGlow

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Sat Jan-16-10 11:10 AM
Response to Reply #9

10. No worries

DU is taking care of it for you, apparently! :D

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Gormy Cuss

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Sat Jan-16-10 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #9

19. Morning Glow is right -- it changed with the age of PCs.

Some style books still use two spaces after a period as a standard.

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Auggie

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:30 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. Single space is standard in professional typography

Different standards for different uses

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Catshrink

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Sat Jan-16-10 03:47 PM
Response to Reply #6

18. I've noticed lately that it's been dropped in many documents.

Must the web's influence. I've always used two spaces after a period.

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astral

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Sat Jan-16-10 02:39 PM
Response to Reply #3

14. Typewriter days.

It was taught that way in typing class. Electric typewriters, no correction tape.

It still looks better to me to see two spaces after a period.

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Catshrink

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Sat Jan-16-10 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #14

20. Me too.

That's what I'm used to and text looks crowded without the two spaces.

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NoPasaran

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Sat Jan-16-10 10:19 AM
Response to Original message

4. Another DLC BETRAYAL!

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Systematic Chaos

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Sat Jan-16-10 11:22 AM
Response to Original message

11. Hmm...

Edited on Sat Jan-16-10 11:22 AM by Systematic Chaos

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. :shrug:

Fuckin' A, you're right. :rofl:

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Sweet Freedom

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Sat Jan-16-10 12:14 PM
Response to Original message

12. Morning Glow is correct.

Two spaces are needed when using a typewriter because typewriters allot the same size space for each character. For example, an m uses as much space as a period. Computers compensate for character width, so the two spaces after a period rule became obsolete with the advent of the computer.

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hippywife

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Sat Jan-16-10 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #12

15. I dunno but I think

print size has always been measured in m's and n's rather than just allotting an m sized space for every letter.

I'm used to double spacing at the end of a period, too. I don't think any message boards will allow that space allocation anymore. You can do it but it defaults it back to only one space.

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fishwax

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Sat Jan-16-10 03:44 PM
Response to Reply #15

17. printers yes, but typewriters no

Printers used variable-width fonts, but when typewriters were developed they required fixed-width fonts because the carriage could only move forward a specific amount with each stroke. So all letters had to take up the same amount of space. (The most common typewriter font was Courier, and if you use the Courier New font in microsoft word you can see that a row of 10 lower-case i's take up the same amount of space as ten lower case m's.)

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CaliforniaPeggy

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Sat Jan-16-10 12:29 PM
Response to Original message

13. Funny, I never noticed that...

I'm just stumbling along here, blindly typing away...

Who knew?

Hey Bertha!

:hi:

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Ivan Sputnik

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Sat Jan-16-10 03:24 PM
Response to Original message

16. It drives me crazy

when people put two spaces after a period. It is completely unnecessary and a waste of space today, unless you are using a typewriter. I'm a copy editor, and I have to delete the extra spaces--big pain.

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av8rdave

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Sat Jan-16-10 04:02 PM
Response to Original message

21. We're progressives. We don't believe in wasting resources

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