Do You Still. . . Double Space?
By rummygus
@rummygus (32)
United States
November 24, 2008 12:32am CST
Recently, after years of reading online articles and composing emails, an odd thought struck me. Actually it was more of a long forgotten memory that smacked me in the back of the head.
To confirm this sudden wallop of enlightenment I dug out a book... you remember those don't you? They are portable objects that have a front and back and are filled with pages of paper that have words printed on them. They don't even require batteries! Yeah, those things.
Well anyway, I brushed the dust off of the book and opened it.
Yup. There it was. Right there on paper.
The beginning of each paragraph was indented two spaces. There was even a double space between each sentence in all of the paragraphs!
I looked up at the Internet article that was displayed on my computer monitor.
Nope. No double space. Nowhere.
So what happened? Did the rules change? I don't remember much from my days of learning how to type by banging away at an old, black, lever-style typewriter. I do remember, now, that you were supposed to use double space for starting paragraphs and between sentences.
Is it just an ancient typing technicality that got lost in all the new technical stuff of modern technology? Technically speaking.
Or did people get lazy, like me?
Is anyone rebellious enough to use three spaces?
Come on. Just three little spaces. I dare you. :0)
3 people like this
6 responses
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
25 Nov 08
I still use a double space after the period.
If the program permits indents, I don't double space between paragraphs.
But here, the print is so small and the program itself tried to single space - if any at all, that people want you to leave the distance between paragraphs.
I still read books, when I have time (and the cat permit) so I am still used to not having double spaces between paragraphs.
@rummygus (32)
• United States
30 Nov 08
Your cat permits you to read! You're so lucky. ;)
My cat tries to help me type but he is a terrible speller.
When the phone rings he starts "talking" loudly and won't stop throughout the phone conversation. The stubborn fur ball doesn't believe me when I tell him it is not a conference call. He is just old and very opinionated. :O)
1 person likes this
@Undertheoath (365)
• United States
25 Nov 08
I do not double space because it is truly annoying. I go for speed and streamlined approaches for almost everything, including paragraph and sentence structure.
@rummygus (32)
• United States
25 Nov 08
When I fire off a quick note, yeah, sure I skip the formal stuff and try to get to the point.
But when I want to craft my writing I like to take my time and shape my composition bother literally and visually.
Hot tea and cookies are excellent writing tools. ;)
@wayz12 (2059)
• United States
24 Nov 08
Wow..this sure made me think. I remember when I was going to school, and we didn't have computers yet, but typewriters. I remember learning to type blindfolded in order to get the right fingers. And yes, I did learn to double space after each sentence.
Now, I tried to observe myself when I was typing this comment, and I realize that I still pressed twice on the space bar before beginning my new sentence. It was almost like an automatic thing. I guess, its hard to undone ingrained typing habits..LOL..
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
24 Nov 08
It's just two different technologies used for two different purposes. If you're sending a print manuscript to a publisher, they'll probably still want it typed using the old rules. The spaces between lines are for corrections, so if the publisher wants to make hand corrections or comments, that space allows the him to. The interent uses different standards, for different reasons. Indents to identify the beginning of a paragraph aren't necessary if the paragraphs are separated by a space. The extra white space is preferred on the net because solid blocks of text are much harder to read on a screen than they are in print.
So, the differences have nothing to do with laziness, and everything to do with the difference between reading a printed page and reading a computer screen.
@rummygus (32)
• United States
25 Nov 08
Good points.
My teachers used up a whole lotta red ink "editing" my typed papers.
Along the same line of thought as the difference between print and display is the choice of serif or sans-serif fonts. I remember reading that in printed media, serif fonts were considered easier for the eye to follow the text where as sans-serif was preferred for display. A difference of intensity between reflected light and projected light seemed to be one of the technical reasons behind that theory.
@_sketch_ (5742)
• United States
24 Nov 08
I put the space at the start of paragraphs, but I have never heard of putting 2 spaces between sentences. I dont even really see a purpose to that one.
@PrincessKitten (790)
• United States
24 Nov 08
Back when you only had two font options (Pica or Elite), you had to double space, because some of the charachters were would be too close together if you didn't.
Computers with their billion-and-one font types and kerning pretty much solved that problem, eliminating the need to double space.
People who learned to type on a typewriter were taught to double-space after a period and it's difficult to break that habit if you've been typing for years, which if you learned to type on a typewriter, you HAVE been typing for years!
Happy MyLotting!
@rummygus (32)
• United States
25 Nov 08
A Billion-and-One Fonts...
Hey, I think I might have that CD... buried...
under one of my piles of stuff...
umm... somewhere. (???)
Back in the stone ages, if you had told me I could have my choice of a billion different fonts in which to type with I would have imagined a warehouse full of typewriters.
Yup, kerning, legibility and editing have vastly improved with computers. Don't have to change dried out ribbons or pry apart two or three levers that collided and jammed. Typewriter letters that floated a little higher or lower than others on paper added to the visual effect.
Even with improved kerning I wish we had more spacing control over our posts. Not just myLot but wherever we post on the Internet. Reading long posts and comments that are composed as unbroken, dense blocks of text is difficult. Kinda like a "Star Wars" introduction except with out the over-priced popcorn. :)-
