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Subject:Re: Spaces after periods 'n such From:Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:31:09 -0700
On 10/28/2010 12:17 AM, David Neeley wrote:
> It always astounds me that there are still questions among
> professional writers regarding spaces following periods and other
> stops.
It is always amazing when this discussion comes around every couple of
years and the same arguments are raised and the same disagreements arise.
> Today, with typewriters mostly confined to museums, most type is
> proportional. The width designed into the fonts used makes a double
> space after a period far too open.
I still like that visual break between sentences.
> The only place where you should consider using a double space after a
> period is in the rare instance in which you might be actually writing
> text in a monospaced font--for the same reason it was used in
> typewritten text for all those years.
What about for people who receive text-only emails and do not care for
the variable width fonts when viewing text-only emails?
> If you look at proportional text with double spaces at an angle, you
> can easily notice "rivers" of white space running through it from the
> extra spacing. When you do this, it becomes a bit jarring to the eye,
> in fact.
Your eye, perhaps. I am reading your email in a mono-spaced, text-only
font because the variable width fonts cause my eyes too much strain.
> However, the single take-away here is a simple rule for the most
> effective appearance of your work: when using a proportional font,
> single space after periods.
I use double-space.
> (When editing someone else's work, one of my first activities is to do
> a search and replace for all double spaces after periods, replacing
> them with single spaces. It's surprising, too, how many people
> actually mix the two up in the same piece.)
Funny. I search and replace all of the single spaces with double,
unless there is a controlling style guide or format requirements that
state otherwise. Let's work together! ;-)
> As for "looking funny"--that is usually, if not universally, a problem
> with the eye of the beholder.
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