Tom Baker ✅ Oct 14, 2023

Oh, no! Someone wanted to keep "one space vs two spaces after a period" alive.

In a 2018 study... Evidently, people read faster with two spaces after a period.

NOTE: The APA changed to "one space" in 2019.

And I'm still trying to break that deeply ingrained habit from high-school typing.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-018-1527-6

#StyleGuide #Readability #Debate #TwoSpaces

Are two spaces better than one? The effect of spacing following periods and commas during reading - Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics

The most recent edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Manual states that two spaces should follow the punctuation at the end of a sentence. This is in contrast to the one-space requirement from previous editions. However, to date, there has been no empirical support for either convention. In the current study, participants performed (1) a typing task to assess spacing usage and (2) an eye-tracking experiment to assess the effect that punctuation spacing has on reading performance. Although comprehension was not affected by punctuation spacing, the eye movement record suggested that initial processing of the text was facilitated when periods were followed by two spaces, supporting the change made to the APA Manual. Individuals’ typing usage also influenced these effects such that those who use two spaces following a period showed the greatest overall facilitation from reading with two spaces.

SpringerLink
Show threadGregory P. Smith (he/him)  🚲🦝 Sep 7, 2023

@mpirnat Scientific Proof that two spaces after a period is the way! https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-018-1527-6

#TwoSpaces #2spaces #typography

Are two spaces better than one? The effect of spacing following periods and commas during reading - Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics

The most recent edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Manual states that two spaces should follow the punctuation at the end of a sentence. This is in contrast to the one-space requirement from previous editions. However, to date, there has been no empirical support for either convention. In the current study, participants performed (1) a typing task to assess spacing usage and (2) an eye-tracking experiment to assess the effect that punctuation spacing has on reading performance. Although comprehension was not affected by punctuation spacing, the eye movement record suggested that initial processing of the text was facilitated when periods were followed by two spaces, supporting the change made to the APA Manual. Individuals’ typing usage also influenced these effects such that those who use two spaces following a period showed the greatest overall facilitation from reading with two spaces.

SpringerLink
Wolf Munroe ☎Jul 3, 2023

I guess it's time for an #Introduction again.

I like #gamemastering #Pathfinder1e #TTRPG.

I like #FountainPens and looped #cursive. I have a few "entry-level" fountain pens.

I like #MiniaturePainting.

I like #writing fiction sometimes.

I like corded telephones. I own a red Cortelco Kellogg 2500 Desk Telephone.

I recently switched to #Linux (#LinuxMint) from Windows10.

I like #vampires, #werewolves, #fae (#fey), #SpookyStuff, and #Halloween.

#OxfordComma & #TwoSpaces

Neil Carpenter Jun 1, 2023

"Where no question of good taste or good logic is involved, deference should be shown to the expressed wishes of the author."

I wonder if this will convince the folks who edit my work writing to stop replacing two spaces after a period with this infernal one space nonsense.

https://www.reproof.app/blog/original-chicago-manual-of-style

#grammar #curmudgeon #style #TwoSpaces

Exceptions will constantly occur: Advice from the original Chicago Manual of Style · Reproof

To fellow gropers in the labyrinth of typographical style...

i_give_u_wormsMar 9, 2023
#TwoSpaces i work with plain text a lot and after trying to switch to one space after a period to throw a bone to young people it's not worth it, they're lucky I don't make a ding sound and reach for a metal handle to add CR, and, I need a real gap between : and ;.
RS, Author, Novelist, ProsaistFeb 4, 2023

I learned to type on a manual typewriter, but had a Smith-Corona light-blue electric typewriter I wrote my first novella on back in the mid-70s. (Gee, I have to rewrite that story and publish it!) My agent instructed me how to format manuscripts.

Following end-of-sentence punctuation, I was told to type two blanks. Tap tap. You had a monospace font (Courier), so this differentiated between attribution of one blank to make it easier for the typesetter, I presume.

Attribution or statement below? Two blanks makes that obvious, one blank doesn't and you must rely on context.

"Halt. right there!" Agent Arrow held up a hand.

I am throwing in the towel. Done. Ring the bell. Stick a fork in it. Everyone hates me, so I'm going to fold. One blank always. I get it already! Web formatting HTML that always eats additional spaces wins the round.

Muscle memory of hitting the space bar twice is hard to retrain! I'm doing it. 100K words is good practice for that.

Am I the only one who's experienced this? Are there other hold-outs?

#writingcommunity #writing #writinglife #twospaces #webformat

Wyatt BregeDec 2, 2022

@malanalysis I learned it in the late 90's in Visual Basic class, I think in Jr. High (MI-US). Although my teacher was old enough to have also taught shop to my dad. I never did kick that habit.. #twospaces gang

Oh, it's a hidden feature on the android keyboard too 🫡

Doc Edward Morbius ❌​Sep 16, 2019

@lj_writes Yes, text editor: vim. I've used it (or vi precursors) for over 30 years now.

As well as a slew of word-processors and other editors, none of which have stuck, emacs excepted.

For both Markdown and LaTeX, a paragraph is indicated by a double carriage return (two line breaks). That's then typeset according to the style rules when rendered.

Double-spacing as an end-of-sentence convention makes finding sentence boundaries far more reliable as well ;-)

#oldschool #twospaces