You guys better go and register all of those domain names, before give a competitor a free idea and launch pad…
Also, it’s not proper design-wise to put two spaces after a period. I believe that is some kind of a holdover from the days of typewriters when the thingie would get stuck if you didn’t do that. With modern computers and printers, it’s unecessary and looks awkward!
Those two spaces, as far as I know, were not so much functional as they were kinder on the eye–setting sentences apart. I much prefer the way it looks with two spaces. Just the other day in my writing group we were having that very conversation and it was unanimous; we all prefer the look of two spaces. Otherwise it just looks wrong.
That sounds so old fashioned, and maybe it is, but I’m sticking to it.
Warning, the following comment is very dry.
As a former professional in the field (typesetter for Dan’s Papers in Bridgehampton), I think I can shed some light on the discussion as to whether it’s appropriate to insert two spaces at the end of a sentence in a document created with a word processing program. I have to side with SuperWeiss on this one…the answer is no.
The custom of using two spaces at the end of a sentence originated back in the days of typewriters, which used mono-spaced type styles, also known as fonts. In mono-spaced fonts, all letters and spaces are the same width, each one taking up exactly the same amount of space on the page. Typists began putting two spaces at the end of sentences to highlight them, making the document easier to read.
Modern word processors, on the other hand, use proportionately-spaced fonts, in which each letter’s width is different, and the width of spaces is calculated on the fly and continually adjusted as you type, to make sure each line fits properly on the page. Word processors use a mathematical algorithm to calculate the size of the spaces between words, and at the end of sentences. These algorithms are designed to ensure that appropriate amounts of space are used to create an optimally readable document, making it unecessary, and actually counter-productive for the typist to manually insert two spaces at the end of a sentence.
FYI, Mono-spaced fonts, can be used in a word-processor, but rarely are, since proportionately-spaced fonts are generally considered more attractive and easier to read. Most of this comment is written in a proportionately spaced font, but this part of the sentence is in Courier, a mono-spaced font.
I told you it was going to be dry
You may be right, but I still like the appearance with even more space. After Super Weiss’s comment I experimented with one of my documents. I copied several paragraphs on the page, removed the extra space after each of the sentences, and then printed it so I would have something visual to compare. I admit that the one-space version looks better than I imagined it would, but I’m not completely sold yet.
I’m going to try doing it the right way, though.
Oh, and Super Weiss, I forgot to include in my previous reply to you: I’d be delighted if any of those names got used by someone–it would only serve as proof that Sag Hampton is becoming a household name! =)
Now you have me thinking of how many other ____Hampton names I can come up with, and I can’t think of one, but I must think of at least one. Let’s see….nothing. This is going to bug me now all weekend, I know it. Fun post.
You guys better go and register all of those domain names, before give a competitor a free idea and launch pad…
Also, it’s not proper design-wise to put two spaces after a period. I believe that is some kind of a holdover from the days of typewriters when the thingie would get stuck if you didn’t do that. With modern computers and printers, it’s unecessary and looks awkward!
Those two spaces, as far as I know, were not so much functional as they were kinder on the eye–setting sentences apart. I much prefer the way it looks with two spaces. Just the other day in my writing group we were having that very conversation and it was unanimous; we all prefer the look of two spaces. Otherwise it just looks wrong.
That sounds so old fashioned, and maybe it is, but I’m sticking to it.
Warning, the following comment is very dry.
As a former professional in the field (typesetter for Dan’s Papers in Bridgehampton), I think I can shed some light on the discussion as to whether it’s appropriate to insert two spaces at the end of a sentence in a document created with a word processing program. I have to side with SuperWeiss on this one…the answer is no.
The custom of using two spaces at the end of a sentence originated back in the days of typewriters, which used mono-spaced type styles, also known as fonts. In mono-spaced fonts, all letters and spaces are the same width, each one taking up exactly the same amount of space on the page. Typists began putting two spaces at the end of sentences to highlight them, making the document easier to read.
Modern word processors, on the other hand, use proportionately-spaced fonts, in which each letter’s width is different, and the width of spaces is calculated on the fly and continually adjusted as you type, to make sure each line fits properly on the page. Word processors use a mathematical algorithm to calculate the size of the spaces between words, and at the end of sentences. These algorithms are designed to ensure that appropriate amounts of space are used to create an optimally readable document, making it unecessary, and actually counter-productive for the typist to manually insert two spaces at the end of a sentence.
FYI, Mono-spaced fonts, can be used in a word-processor, but rarely are, since proportionately-spaced fonts are generally considered more attractive and easier to read. Most of this comment is written in a proportionately spaced font, but this part of the sentence is in Courier, a mono-spaced font.
I told you it was going to be dry
You may be right, but I still like the appearance with even more space. After Super Weiss’s comment I experimented with one of my documents. I copied several paragraphs on the page, removed the extra space after each of the sentences, and then printed it so I would have something visual to compare. I admit that the one-space version looks better than I imagined it would, but I’m not completely sold yet.
I’m going to try doing it the right way, though.
Oh, and Super Weiss, I forgot to include in my previous reply to you: I’d be delighted if any of those names got used by someone–it would only serve as proof that Sag Hampton is becoming a household name! =)
Now you have me thinking of how many other ____Hampton names I can come up with, and I can’t think of one, but I must think of at least one. Let’s see….nothing. This is going to bug me now all weekend, I know it. Fun post.