ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN: Typewriter & Computer

Jeremy says:
i have a question
Jeremy says:
should I use double spaces after the end of a sentence on my blogs or single spaces?
Chrispynutt says:
single you aren’t using a mono space typewriter
Chrispynutt says:
the whole double space thing annoys me no end
Chrispynutt says:
also more than one space is ignored by html
Jeremy says:
i always thought that proper style was to use two spaces after a period
Jeremy says:
“Because it is increasingly common for papers and manuscripts to be prepared with a single space after all punctuation marks, this spacing is shown in the examples in the MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual. As a practical matter, however, there is nothing wrong with using two spaces after concluding punctuation marks unless an instructor or editor requests that you do otherwise.” Link
Jeremy says:
i am pretty sure teachers drilled in the 2 space rule back in my non computer having days
Jeremy says:
so therefore I am changing to single space from here on out.
Chrispynutt says:
I hate it, but it is controllable via CSS
Chrispynutt says:
so you write with single and display double or more if you like
Chrispynutt says:
basically, back when typewriter used the same space for . as for W, the . had space either side so to highlight the end of a sentence you double spaced to make it really clear
Jeremy says:
interesting
Chrispynutt says:
then when PCs became good enough you had proportional fonts, so the . was tight in on the left there for only needing a single space, but because thats how we have always done it since the 190X times it’s right
Chrispynutt says:
ie people are using a typewriter hack for traditions sake

Chrispynutt says:
font designers tear their hair out when people ignore all the manual balancing at the end of sentences they do
Jeremy says:
such as yourself I am betting
Chrispynutt says:
yeah
Chrispynutt says:
a hack is a hack no matter how long you have it
Jeremy says:
i apologize on behalf of people everywhere chris, you can tell your other font friends
Chrispynutt says:
another annoy fact is word encodes the second space specially so when you upload that text it becomes junk characters so people like me have to clean word files before use
Jeremy says:
ouch
Chrispynutt says:
yeah tell me about it, I do some stuff for internal newsletter
Chrispynutt says:
all comes in messy word files
Jeremy says:
i think i’m going to do a blog about this
Chrispynutt says:
could you hear the veins popping on my head about it?
Jeremy says:
yes i could