Two spaces after a period

[nancylebov]

One space!

Two spaces!

I was taught to use two spaces after a period (let's take "a period at the end of a sentence" as implied for this discussion) when I learned to type on an electric typewriter, but nobody seemed to care very much or enforce the rule. I used one space because two seemed unnecessary.

I also independently invented the European style of eating meat-- fork in left hand, knife in right, and use the fork to transfer the meat to my mouth. My father didn't like it, but he wasn't a very forceful person, so that's how I keep eating. I find it impossible to empathize with people caring strongly about such things, and I wonder if I'm a little bit on the autism spectrum.

And I was feeling the same way about the spaces after a period issue, especially after reading that very bad-tempered first link. However, I've been reading a facebook discussion where at least a couple of people said having two spaces after a period really does help them read, so I'm posting a poll. It's at livejournal because they don't propagate from dreamwidth and I don't want to create the poll twice.

http://nancylebov.livejournal.com/603223.html

Comments

[twistedchick]

I am biforktional -- I eat American style in America and European style in Europe.

[lethargic_man]

What is the American way? I'm confused!

[twistedchick]

European style (at least where I was): Knife in right hand, fork in left; cut food up, then keep the fork in the left hand to eat it.

American style: Knife in right hand, fork in left, cut food up, put down knife, move fork to right hand, eat.

[lethargic_man]

And this is why the United States has never achieved anything of note: because they're spending twice the length of time as the rest of the world over their mealtimes switching cutlery between their hands! ;^b

[twistedchick]

Oh, we managed the Marshall Plan, despite the time involved in switching forks.

[thnidu]

Red space!

Blue space!

[robinturner]

How do non-Europeans eat meat? (Not counting people who use chopsticks or fingers, of course.)

[schemingreader]

OK, the second link goes into historical typesetting, and that's definitely my jam, but--what is the relevance of that to how people should space their prose now?

I'll tell you what. Farhan Manjoo is right in substance, if not in style. (Though what he's arguing about is accepted style, so I guess that's sort of funny.) We only need one space, and the reason we use two is that a lot of us were trained on typewriters. Arguments from 18th century typesetting are... decorative. I am happy that many people space incorrectly, because it gives me something easy to do when I'm editing their work. It is incorrect because it doesn't conform to currently accepted styles, not because it is sloth, lust or gluttony.

I don't know why people go all judgmental over how to spell OK (okay? OK? okay?) or whether color should have a u in there somewhere, when what really matters is the correct placement of apostrophes.