Ron Richards? You 're one of my faves on the Twit network, but I 'm Gen X (born '71) - and d...

[G+_Nate Schmolze]

Ron Richards? You're one of my faves on the Twit network, but I'm Gen X (born '71) - and double spacing after a period was a no-no in most style guides I ever edited or wrote by.

[G+_Ron Richards]

IT'S WHAT WE WERE TAUGHT!

[G+_Gary Volk]

Always double space after a period. Born in 70 and that's how I was always taught as well.

[G+_Paul Werner]

Yeah I was taught that same thing and I was born in '83. I don't follow it though. I changed a while back after reading something online and haven't went back.

[G+_Joe Morrison]

If you care about single vs double space after a period, you probably also care about over vs under when hanging toilet paper. In my opinion this either means you need a hobby, or you may want to look at therapy / medication for OCD.

[G+_Thom Thomas]

Ron Richards lol. I know, same here - in high school. In college (was an English major), I was taught that was the old way and the new way was single space. Later in some journalism classes, we learned all about style guides and how different journalism schools had different standards and how serious those standards were taken. In the digital age, two spaces are just superfluous.

[G+_Jose C Martinez]

Double spacing after a period is meant for use on typewriters.

 

...I totally made that up but it makes sense. Lol

[G+_Chris Harpner (CSharpne]

Gen X'er here too, born around the same time. ALWAYS taught to double space after period. Also, all auto spacing apps and software I've used also double spaces after periods. When I read text that doesn't do that, it looks bunched up and unprofessional.

[G+_Thom Thomas]

Chris Harpner If you're a writer, I'm sure you drive your editor crazy. :P

[G+_Elizabeth Whitmire]

Ron Richards? double spacing is for typewriting. With a typewriter. On a computer, no double spaces. And I'm older than you. ?

[G+_Chris Harpner (CSharpne]

Thom Thomas  I'm my own editor, so.... Yes!  ;)

[G+_Tom Marinello]

The reason two spaces after a period works for a typewriter, and not for a computer is because typewriters use characters that are the same width. When the proportional spaced fonts came to play, first on word processors, later on computers, the second space was no longer necessary. Word processors really started to become common in the mid-to late 70s, but not all used proportional spaced fonts - it was both a function of the software and the printer itself. Diablo printers (one example) used a "daisy wheel" impact printer that could support both PS and mono spaced fonts. I think most mainframe printers of that era were only monospaced. Once laser printers became the norm, monospaced fonts were rarely used, but are not gone.

[G+_Chris Harpner (CSharpne]

I hear that argument frequently from single space advocates, but the truth is, double space is needed even MORE on computers BECAUSE the single space is so small there.

[G+_Jack Curl]

No double space after period, period.

[G+_Chris Harpner (CSharpne]

Holly M. Paddock Also known as the Oxford comma, which I'm also a fan of. :)

[G+_Thom Thomas]

Holly M. Paddock Those that don't like the Oxford comma is also about removing the superfluous - if you have 'and' as a separator, then the preceding comma isn't necessary.

 

Personally, when I read a document, book, website, et cetera - all I care about is that the author(s) pick a style and stick with it.

 

Double space or single space - pick one and be consistent. Same with the commas in a list usage.

 

When it comes to social media, I am a lot more casual about grammatical rules when I read others.

 

At a certain point, it doesn't matter as much as whether I can clearly understand what the other is saying.

[G+_Chris Harpner (CSharpne]

The oxford comma is important because "and" isn't a proper separator when items in the list have "and" in them.  See here:

 

https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/what-is-the-oxford-comma

 

And if items in a list have "and" in them, you're going to need to use an Oxford comma, and to be consistent, you're going to have to use it everywhere. ;)

 

For the record, I car care about 3% for this stuff.  It's just fun to talk about. :)  The programmer in me compels me!?

[G+_Thom Thomas]

Chris Harpner I car more than I'd like - but don't care much at all :P except that it is curious how we organize and parse our sentences.

[G+_L I]

I'm all about the Oxford comma, not so much the double space after period. WYSIWIG word processors and early HTML editing killed that for me.

[G+_Dave Waddling]

Bet he also does a tab at the start of a paragraph

[G+_Michael Keepper]

I am a Baby Boomer and I never heard of Double spacing after periods nor the Oxford Comma! I was taught Typing in Business Class in HS. An Electric IBM Selectric Correctible Typewriter was State of Art at the time. LOL!

[G+_Mic Cullen]

Yep, double-spacing was indeed for typewriters. Being taught it on computers - by someone who learned on a typewriter - doesn't make it right. Unless, you know, you use courier and somehow ensure the reader also uses courier, then yeah, double-space to your heart's content.