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Subject:Re: re Spaces after periods? From:Bryan Sherman <bsherm -at- gmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:14:02 -0500
Unfortunately without any research, all we have is a lot of opinion,
Personally I think the majority of the readability is based on what
someone is useful. I find two-spaces harder to read because I am
accustomed to one space.
When this issue comes up, since I have yet found a way to get a study
done, I use the following points in my argument.
1. People find it easier to read a style they are accustomed to (this
includes type faces).
2. If you look at printed materials in books, magazines... the vast
majority do not use two spaces after a period.
3. Since more and more work ends up in at least one form in HTML, I
point out that HTML will render two spaces after a sentence as one
space (in the ab sense of any HTML tweaking).
Incidentally, this argument does not always end up with one space
after a period, my wife works for a law firm, 2-spaces is very
entrenched. If I did work for them, it would be two spaces.
Since I am an itinerant Tech Writer, I have to state my case on this,
discuss with client, and eventually (sooner rather than later) conform
to my client's expectations. Actually in 15 years this has been a
discussion with a client once.
Bryan
On 11/20/05, nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il <nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il> wrote:
> In my opinion, the elimination of the extra
> space between sentences harms readability, but the proportional
> type itself increases readability to a degree that more than
> offsets the inter-sentence problem. Thus proportional type
> without extra space between sentences is more readable than
> fixed-width type with the extra space, but proportional type
> with the extra space is most readable of all. The rivers are
> just a bugaboo: if hyphenation and justification are handled
> reasonably, your text will be dry of rivers.
>
> On the other hand, the confederacy of single-spacers is
> certainly not a gang that you want to take on lightly.
>
> Mark L. Levinson
> Herzliya, Israel
> nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il
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