Two spaces after a period -- yes or no?

[Bertha Venation]

Someone here in the law firm where I work told me that putting two spaces after a period is no longer done.

Have you heard this? What do you think?

23 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	two spaces after period always
	12 (52%)
	two spaces after period sometimes (explain)
	2 (9%)
	one space after period always
	9 (39%)
	one space after period sometimes (explain)
	0 (0%)
	other
	0 (0%)
	Robb is a Dingbat
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[CurtEastPoint]

1. if it's a period marking the end of a sentence, two spaces. I have read though...

...this with modern computers and word processing, people use one space, as it seems to adjust white space accordingly. Or so I've heard!

[Auggie]

2. In the digital age it's one space. Always.

[Phentex]

30. That's how I see it.

No longer necessary to use two.

[petronius]

3. I always do one space because I was never taught any different - but I wouldn't

go so far as to say it's no longer done, or that it's wrong. As long as it's consistent through a document and doesn't impair readability, I'd call it writer's choice...

[pinboy3niner]

4. Here, it's one space

Even if you put two in your msg, it will display as one in your DU post.

The single-space convention continues to be adopted throughtout the internets, so those of us trained on typewriters and the double-space rule are shit outta luck.

[LynneSin]

5. Damn kids - they need to get off my lawn!

Two periods. End of discussion!

[pinboy3niner]

6. Hey, Old Fart

I think you meant two spaces. But I had trouble hearing you, because I'm old. So I could be wrong.

Gotta go, those damn kids are on my lawn again...

[pipi_k]

7. Because I'm an old fart...

I need to see that extra space after a period to mark the end of a sentence because I don't always SEE the period.

Otherwise it gets confusing.


PS...once all of us seniors are dead and gone, the young whippersnappers can do whatever the hell they want to with their damned spaces.

[pinboy3niner]

10. Our revenge will come when they cut themselves down to 1/2 space

And it wi be THEIR turn to piss their pants over dealing with change! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

[A Simple Game]

35. Yes! It makes seeing the sentence breaks easier.

The only reason computer people went to a single space was to conserve hard disc space. Very little need for that now.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. My 31 yr old daughter told me it is now 1. Used to be 2. Doesn't look right with 1, though!

Yes change is hard!

[Curtland1015]

11. I know, right? It looks WEIRD with just one space!

I blame texting!

[hunter]

9. It took a long time, but I eventually did train my thumbs to do one space.

But I can still feel my seventh grade typing teacher circling the omission with her angry red pen. And I still hit each key with equal force because she'd circle lightly impressed or cut-into-the-paper characters too.

I brought out a manual typewriter when my kids were taking their seventh grade "computer skills" class and they were fascinated by it. Even though their keyboard skills were good, typing on the manual machine frustrated them.

[Orrex]

12. Two spaces.

Anyone who says otherwise is a monstrous deviant.

[blueknight]

13. miss bertha!

why are you dicking around at work making polls?

[Bertha Venation]

16. hahahahahaha

Next question, please!

[Wounded Bear]

14. I was taught two..

and so it remains for me.

[JaneQPublic]

15. One space with Word Processing software; two spaces with a typewriter

Microsoft Word and other such word processing applications will justify type to smooth out big gaps between words, so two spaces are obsolete.

In addition, spellcheck in MS Word will snag on double spaces and tell you it needs to be fixed.

That said, if you're still using an old manual Smith Corona typewriter, go ahead and knock out those double spaces!

[Bertha Venation]

18. We don't use justify in our documents.

I guess in making this poll I should've distinguished between printed and electronic documents.

[JaneQPublic]

19. "Grammar Girl" explains it better than I.

I should have said "proportional" instead of "justified" type.

Two Spaces After a Period? The Old Way
Here's the deal: Most typewriter fonts are what are called monospaced fonts. That means every character takes up the same amount of space. An "i" takes up as much space as an "m," for example. When using a monospaced font, where everything is the same width, it makes sense to type two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence to create a visual break. For that reason, people who learned to type on a typewriter were taught to put two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.

One Space After a Period?The New Way
But when you're typing on a computer, most fonts are proportional fonts, which means that characters are different widths. An "i" is more narrow than an "m," for example, and putting extra space between sentences doesn't do anything to improve readability.

MORE HERE: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spaces-period-end-of-sentence.aspx

[Bertha Venation]

22. Ah . . . very interesting

Thank you, Jane! (from a fellow Marylander)

[ManiacJoe]

34. Right on the money.

[Alduin]

17. There's only one space after a period in academia.

[hobbit709]

20. Only if you indent 5 spaces for each paragraph.

[a2liberal]

21. Absolutely

It is the "one true way". I don't care what the typography crowd says... single space after a period makes text harder to read.

[ohiosmith]

23. Hard copy two. Electronic copy one.

[Liberal Veteran]

24. Yeah, it has something to do with font sizing.

Or something. The two space rule only applies if you are using a typewriter.

(And my typing class in high school used manual typewriters. Man-oh-man, did those things make a lot of racket and make you damned sorry if you made a mistake.....correction tape usage was taught, but you couldn't actually use the stuff in class.)

[HopeHoops]

26. I learned on a Selectric.

[HopeHoops]

25. Two. That's how I learned to type (thank you Mrs. Hunter), but modern publishing says one.

And DU eliminates more than one space in all posts. For example I put five spaces between each word in this sentence.

[fishwax]

27. one space unless you're using a fixed-width font

such as Courier or Courier New, in which all letters and spaces take up the same width on the page. But that's a relatively rare exception.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. It's two for me, but my editor made me take out the extra ones. Digital writing only gets one,

apparently.

[NV Whino]

29. Only Luddites continue to use two spaces

If you use a typewriter, as Luddites often do, use two spaces. The computer age requires only one space.

[baldguy]

31. Do you put two spaces after a period when you write something out in longhand?

Of course not. But it makes about as much sense as doing it while typing.

[Kali]

32. That is how I learned it back in typing class in the mid 70s.

that is - on a manual typewriter.

I have since learned - here on DU, no less - that it is no longer the rule. In fact DU's software removes it even if you are an old fuddy duddy like me and can't help yourself from doing it.

you punks git offa my lawn!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

33. It's only sometimes.

In Journalistic publications, there's one to save room, and I believe this may be a stylistic thing. It's how I roll because that's how I started writing. But two would be appropriate for papers and such for school, according to the books.

[Ter]

36. One

Two spaces went out of style 20 years ago. Most who use two are over 40.

[whistler162]

37. Give her as much space as she wants!

especially if it is a bad one.

sorry the devil made me type it!

[NoPasaran]

38. One is enough

We shouldn't run the risk of running out of blank spaces by squandering them in this age of international brouhaha.

[grasswire]

39. One. You CAN unlearn the habit of two.

It takes a while, but it can be unlearned.

Always one.

[elleng]

40. Interesting. Used to be required,

I've stopped it, but no longer in a law firm, just at The Lounge! Whatever the 'bosses' say, I guess.

[Arkansas Granny]

41. Two spaces. That was drilled into me by Mrs. Walker. One space was considered a mistake and

we would be graded accordingly. It's such a reflex action that I don't feel like training myself to do otherwise. I have officially become and old fart.

[orleans]

42. screw two

only one! takes up less space
especially if you're submitting material on hard copies