One Space or Two?

[Babbles]

I have been working on some MBA application essays and I just surfed around online to find out what is the current proper method of punctuation when it comes to putting spaces after a period.

Apparently one space has been the norm for quite a while.

However I - and I imagine many of you fine folks here on ATOT - have been taught to put two spaces following a period. I type fast enough that it is a negligible amount of time to hit the space bar twice following a period. As such I really do not feel that it would save any meaningful amount of time to eliminate a space. I also am not sure if there is a significant difference in readability between sentences delineated with one space or two.

I still put in two spaces because of force of habit; muscle memory I am sure. Maybe I'll try to get rid of that one extra space, but I would wager that would actually slow my typing down since I would have to make a conscious effort to type differently.

How about you guys??!!

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Repost.

Zim Hosein

Off Topic Moderator.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

ONE SPACE.

Besides, FuseTalk automatically keeps you from adding two. Test. See?

 

[RichUK]

One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

 

[rudeguy]

Remember when we indented paragraphs?

 

[Babbles]

I know HTML will only acknowledge one space unless you take more time to force in two spaces, which is a total waste of time. However again, as a force of habit, even in regards to intraweb stuff I still typically hit the space bar twice.

 

[SmoochyTX]

I use two spaces.

 

[Barfo]

one

 

[LtPage1]

Originally posted by: RichUK
One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

Do we still use English? I can't remember.

 

[Schfifty Five]

How do some people get more than one space here on AT? There must be some kind of indent command.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: LtPage1

Originally posted by: RichUK
One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

Do we still use English? I can't remember.

Do we now make use of word processing?

 

[Babbles]

Originally posted by: RichUK
One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

And that is why we no longer have typewriters. All of the old typewriters stopped breeding and no younger typewriters were born.

Such a sad story.

 

[dbk]

Two...force of habit

 

[LtPage1]

Originally posted by: RichUK

Originally posted by: LtPage1

Originally posted by: RichUK
One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

Do we still use English? I can't remember.

Do we now make use of word processing?

who uses a werd prcessor?! i txt evry1 neways. Seriously though, I was unaware that this was even up for discussion. Text just looks weird to me when there aren't two spaces.

 

[boardsportsrule]

look up the MLA regulations....do what it says..last i saw it was one space...

 

[Whisper]

I may be wrong, but as far as I know, most writing styles (MLA, APA, etc.) at this point leave it up to the author's discretion whether they would like to use one or two spaces following a period. I prefer one, as I feel that it makes everything look "cleaner," but that's just me.

 

[Babbles]

I Googled up Chicago's style and they mentioned only one space. I do not know what the MLA style rules are, but I would wager it is just one space as well.

My thumbs keep saying two, though.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: LtPage1

Originally posted by: RichUK

Originally posted by: LtPage1

Originally posted by: RichUK
One space. We don?t use fucking typewriters anymore.

Do we still use English? I can't remember.

Do we now make use of word processing?

who uses a werd prcessor?! i txt evry1 neways. Seriously though, I was unaware that this was even up for discussion. Text just looks weird to me when there aren't two spaces.

You need to get your eyes sorted, then. We?re no longer bound to monospaced fonts.

 

[sjwaste]

Two spaces, and indent your paragraphs unless its an email (which, no matter how much people at work want to insist on it, an email will never be formal). One space after a comma, colon, and semicolon.

 

[Jumpem]

Two. I hate having to correct documents created by other people.

 

[BrownTown]

Two spaces is the correct way to do it, I don't care what any fancy pants people want to say about it. Two spaces make it easier to delineate between sentences.

EDIT: wait, fuck Anandtech for making one of my spaces disappear . Grammar Nazis should come out and boycott this forum.

 

[Babbles]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Two. I hate having to correct documents created by other people.

I prefer two, but I think the problem is that it is incorrect to use two . . . so you really are making things incorrect. If I am following you correctly.