Are you a "two spacer"? (1 Viewer)

[Citizen87645]

Sounds like what you're describing in Newsweek is (full) justification.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justification_(typesetting)


This is also interesting: http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/OtherArticles/JustifyNot.htm

 

[cafink]

I especially like the author's claim that, "typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong," followed by: "What galls me about two-spacers isn't just their numbers. It's their certainty that they're right."

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'm a "two-spacer," and I don't generally give a good GD what Slate has to say anyway.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Is it really about what's right/wrong as opposed to what was taught a few years ago vs. what's taught now? People sure do get worked up about the darndest things. I remember a quite vociferous debate in this space a few years ago about the use of the Oxford comma. Now THAT was fun!


I'm a two-spacer (to my wife's consternation). I could try to break myself of the habit...but why? Who am I hurting? I also like rotary dial telephones.

For some reason, I have been fairly successful in reminding myself to single space after a colon. Don't know why. It just is.

 

[Citizen87645]

The documentary Helvetica showed that typographers and especially type designers are on a whole other plane of existence. It's kind of understandable since their job is to be concerned about the minutest of details, but it still kind of blows your mind when you see what they're doing on a daily basis.

People sure do get worked up about the darndest things. I remember a quite vociferous debate in this space a few years ago about the use of the Oxford comma. Now THAT was fun!

Looks like we're not going to have a one-space society until a bunch of geezers kick the bucket.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon /forum/thread/307879/are-you-a-two-spacer#post_3772431

 

[KeithAP]

Monospace font, two spaces after punctuation, with a proportional font one space is used. As far as I know, as long as proportional fonts have been around, this has always been the proper way to do it. The reason we were taught two spaces in typing class is because those typewriters used monospace lettering (I am 46 so I had those classes in my younger days myself).


Using two spaces after punctuation with a proportional font you end up what is sometimes called "rivers of white" on the page. Justification settings also cause this effect. Basically, while looking at the page, you can see a white "river" going down the page formed by the extra gaps.


However, it seems silly to me to criticize people that are not professional typographers/designers for not following professional standards especially in personal correspondence. The guy has basically written an over the top "link bait" style article. No sane person really cares about the number of spaces you are using.


-Keith

 

[gene c]

Thankfully, I've always used one space after a period. I'd hate to think I was partially responsible for us not advancing as a nation!


Oh, what the hey. I'm going to two spaces after this one. Now I feel a little bit naughty!

 

[Philip Hamm]

I learned two spaces when I learned to type and I still do it. It's easier to read a paragraph when the sentences are broken up by two spaces. There should be a difference between the delineation after a comma or semicolon in the middle of a sentence and a sentence proper.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Originally Posted by Keith Plucker

However, it seems silly to me to criticize people that are not professional typographers/designers for not following professional standards especially in personal correspondence. The guy has basically written an over the top "link bait" style article. No sane person really cares about the number of spaces you are using.


-Keith

Agreed 100%

 

[DaveF]

My practical view: if we needed an extra wide space, we'd have one. As there are three dashes (hyphen, en dash, em dash), there would be, say, a space and an em space if such padding was necessary. To my knowledge there isn't, except as used for some mathematics tools.

 

[Ken Chan]

Unicode spaces

 

[Tim Hoover]

Originally Posted by Jay H

I strangely find myself countingthe spaces in this thread.


Jay

I strangely find myself reading this sentence aloud in a Christopher Walken voice...although William Shatner would work as well.

 

[Todd H]

I used to be a two spacer but switched after doing some programming years ago. Wasn't that hard to make the switch.

 

[Cees Alons]

Originally Posted by Keith Plucker

Monospace font, two spaces after punctuation, with a proportional font one space is used. As far as I know, as long as proportional fonts have been around, this has always been the proper way to do it. The reason we were taught two spaces in typing class is because those typewriters used monospace lettering (I am 46 so I had those classes in my younger days myself).


Using two spaces after punctuation with a proportional font you end up what is sometimes called "rivers of white" on the page. Justification settings also cause this effect. Basically, while looking at the page, you can see a white "river" going down the page formed by the extra gaps.


However, it seems silly to me to criticize people that are not professional typographers/designers for not following professional standards especially in personal correspondence. The guy has basically written an over the top "link bait" style article. No sane person really cares about the number of spaces you are using.


-Keith

Finally someone posting here what my point would have been.

It was necessary with monospaced fonts. It's not necessary now, generally speaking.


No harm done either way as well.



Cees

 

[Ruz-El]

I thought single space was for news papers and what not where page space is precious, and the two-spacer was for formal writing. I'm a two-spacer having been taught it, and really, I'm more concerned with spelling/correct variations of words (there/their/they're) and other nitpicks that dyslexia throws up then I am with counting the spaces I use after a period ha ha.

w shld jst skp vwls.

 

[DaveF]

So what are the rules for all the Unicode spaces? Are they used by any word processor or layout program?

 

[Ken Chan]

There are specific uses for the smaller spaces (hair, thin, figure) that regular folks might encounter. The larger ones (en, em, X per em) seem to exist only if you want to simulate hand-typeset material; no need for them with modern computer justification.

 

[nolesrule]

Two spaces are appropriate with monospace fonts like Courier (a carryover from the mechanical typewriter days) because it creates a visual break at the end of sentences where all letters and spaces use the same amount of space. With proportional fonts, the extra space doesn't impact readability, and therefore is not necessary.


AP, the MLA and desktop publishing guides all recommend a single space after periods in their style guides. If something is to be published, editors would have to strip out the extra space anyway, so you might as well skip it. Obviously, for informal correspondence, it doesn't really matter one way or the other, except for the extra keystroke.

 

[Ricardo C]

Two spaces is a great general rule of thumb:


-After periods.

-In parking lots.

-At the movies.

-In public restrooms.


It's like a law of nature. Slate can bite it.