[TheVillageChicken]

I did not know this.

Now that I do, I am still not changing the way I write. So there!

[rhood]

It is a habit. Couldn't change if I wanted to.

[Hankg42]

Good information. I had no idea why 2 spaces after punctuation had gone away, now I know. (Please note the 2 spaces after each period.)

Edit: It actually looks like the posting process eliminates one of the spaces. Or is it my 64 year old eyes?

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by TheVillageChicken

I did not know this.

Now that I do, I am still not changing the way I write. So there!

I have been using two spaces too. Now I think it may be time for a change. Okay, I just changed over to one space and it looks just fine. Hey, it works! From now on it will be one space. Think of all the energy I'll save.

[TheVillageChicken]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

I have been using two spaces too. Now I think it may be time for a change. Okay, I just changed over to one space and it looks just fine. Hey, it works! From now on it will be one space. Think of all the energy I'll save.

Not to mention the space you'll save. I crack me up.

[DonH57]

I've been doing it wrong all these years using only one? Never heard it was two. Who started that?

[Hankg42]

Originally Posted by DonH57

I've been doing it wrong all these years using only one? Never heard it was two. Who started that?

For me, I'm guessing it was the nuns at Catholic school!

[Shimpy]

I've noticed for quite some time that my computer will remove one space when I go back and read it.

[redwitch]

I blame the court system. At first, briefs were limited to a certain page length. Once we legal secretaries learned how to manipulate a computer so that we could add our attorneys' extra five pages to fit the limited length, the courts went to word length. Well, a word was considered five characters regardless of length. Two spaces added several words and, thus, one space it was.

[bkcunningham1]

Originally Posted by redwitch

I blame the court system. At first, briefs were limited to a certain page length. Once we legal secretaries learned how to manipulate a computer so that we could add our attorneys' extra five pages to fit the limited length, the courts went to word length. Well, a word was considered five characters regardless of length. Two spaces added several words and, thus, one space it was.

Here's what the linked article states:...Here’s why: Back when we used typewriters, every character was given the exact same amount of space on the page. That meant the letter i was given the same amount of space as the letter m, even though it clearly didn’t need it. This is called monospaced typesetting and it’s, well, spacey. We needed that extra space between sentences to make it easier to see the beginning of new sentences.

Word processors and computers and everything that is not a very old typewriter use mostly proportionally spaced fonts, which adjust spacing to the size of the letter...

[Indydealmaker]

Why fix it if it isn't broken? Change for the sake of change. I asked a buddy of mine who was a pioneer in digital typesetting about this. He said he knows of no change.

[phillygirl]

If you took typing in high school we were always taught two spaces. Any professional letter you get will have two unless their not teaching that anymore. With email I guess lots of formalities have gone by wayside.

[Yung Dum]

nowadays their are no rules for punctuation or spelling just type whatever you feel like and let the reader try to figger out what your trying to say it don't matter to no one if it makes cents or not

[Carl in Tampa]

The lady who wrote the article did a follow up in the comment section where she acknowledged that the rule had changed back to two spaces.

"Well, here’s a new wrinkle: One of my facebook readers pointed out the although APA guidelines at one time reduced the required spacing after a period from two down to one, they returned it to two in 2009 in the 6th Edition (see section 4, first bullet)."

Perhaps she should have just removed her posting.

Now, here's how it works on computers. If you type something and leave ragged right margins, then spaces have the same value as letters. But, if you go up to the format line and select "justified margins" so the right edge is even, as in a book, then you get differences in the sizes of the spaces between words to make the right margin even. That option is not available on the TOTV format line.

By the way, no "rulemaker" is going to prevent me from doing two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.

[PattyCakes]

Originally Posted by redwitch

I blame the court system. At first, briefs were limited to a certain page length. Once we legal secretaries learned how to manipulate a computer so that we could add our attorneys' extra five pages to fit the limited length, the courts went to word length. Well, a word was considered five characters regardless of length. Two spaces added several words and, thus, one space it was.

I worked for attorneys as well, but I was taught the "two space rule" in high school typing. I didn't know it had changed either.