Poll: Is two better than one?

Last night, Ryan and I got into a discussion about spaces in-between sentences.  (What better thing is there to do on a Saturday night anyway?)

POLL: Do you put one or two space(s) between sentences when you type?

If anyone’s counting, I put two spaces.  I actually remember the person who told me to do that (a babysitter of mine) back in the day.  I don’t remember what they told us at school, but I always thought 2 spaces was the correct way.

Ryan informed me that it is NOT.  He pointed out how the web doesn’t format for two spaces and in result, most of my paragraphs are mis-aligned on the left side.  With one space, it will align correctly.  He also said it throws him off and well, he’s kind of OCD like that.

Of course, I had to Google it.  I did see what he meant, but I wanted to see what Google had to say.

Source: http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/FineTypography/DoubleSpacesNot.htm

It appears that I am stuck in the typewriter days (um, was I even around then?) Two spaces IS correct on typewriters because the type is monospaced or non-proportional. In other words, each letter, whether wide or narrow, takes up the same amount of space and two spaces made it easier to distinguish between sentences.

However, most fonts/typefaces now are proportional (wide letters take up more space than narrow letters) and thus, only one space is needed because it is easier to see the separation between the end and beginning of a sentence.

Hmmm… you learn something new every day.

A habit like this one is HARD to break, especially after 10+ years of typing at fast speeds.  My dreams of becoming a professional writer are now shattered.  I think I’ll let Ryan take over my blog now….

See ya guys around.