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Subject:Re: Two spaces after a full stop From:Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Jul 1996 08:02:59 PDT
Peter Ring writes:
>I have followed the discussion on two spaces after a full stop with
>great interest. If handled in the right spirit, it seems that there
>are few disadvantages, the major ones being lack of acceptance, old
>habits and lazy (!) writers.
>What for me is the most important point is:
> It is evident, that at least _some_ people find it easier to
> read a text with two spaces after a full stop. That's enough for
> me to use it! I have not seen any argument, that it is less
> _user friendly_ in any way! And who are we writing for? Our
> selves, our colleagues, or ... ?
Mark Twain said that "Man is the rationalizing animal." Why exactly
two spaces, and not one and a half, or three? Because
the two-space proponents are rationalizing a habit they already have.
Any answer other than "two spaces" doesn't fit the a priori conclusion
that "spaces=2."
Sure, the two-spacers are dragging a few newbies along with them, but
all the impetus is coming from a reluctance to shed an old habit.
While it may be convenient to write off professional book designers
and typesetters as a bunch of ignorant bozos who can't even handle blank
space (let alone letters), I think that if you investigate the field
you'll find that their techniques are well-developed, sensible, and
backed by surprising amounts of research.
You can't go far wrong by following professional publishing practices.
By the standards of a university press, technical writing presents nothing
out of the ordinary with regards to design, layout, or typesetting.
-- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, President/Managing Editor, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139
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