Wednesday, January 29, 2014

How Many Spaces After A Period?

I sat down to finally write a blog post and made the mistake of opening face book instead.   A link to this three-year-old article was at the top of my feed:  Two spaces after a period: Why you should never, ever do it. 

And I had to go and read it. 

You might as well, too.

My 9th grade typing teacher, Miss Sweet, taught me to always put two spaces after a period.  This is the very first time I have ever even heard of using only one.  And I have to admit, although it makes a smidge of sense when you consider today’s fonts, it still feels like I am betraying Miss Sweet.

And my thumbs.

The truth is, after reading that article, I tried to type using only one space after a period.  And I just can’t do it.  My thumbs won’t have it any other way. 

I type a sentence and there it is.  Tap, tap. 

Even when I think about it and try to stop it, my thumbs are too quick. 

And it’s entirely counterproductive to backspace once you’ve double-tapped. 

So, instead of writing a personal update, I’m sitting here trying to defend the way I’ve typed for decades. 

So, I’ve come to a conclusion. 

I’m going to keep right on using two spaces after a period.  No matter who says what.  Because I’m old-school. 

And a little bit of a rebel. 

And my thumbs can’t learn new tricks.

Are you a two-spacer or a one?

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. 

Just don’t try to convert me, lol!

4 comments:

Christina said...

Two spaces. I can't help myself...

Mari said...

I read something about this about a year ago, and it does make sense, but like you, all those years of doing two spaces is hard to overcome. It comes naturally, unless I really focus on it!

Christine said...

You have just blown my mind! Blown it to pieces!!!! I never heard such a thing!! Let's see if I can do it. Nope. My thumbs just do two. Ack! Did it again. I can't stoooooop!

It Feels Like Chaos said...

Two spaces, for sure! (Notice the 2 spaces there?) I'm right there with you in the old-school!