Where did the common act of double-spacing after a period come from?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 23:19:44 -0500

Response by COL Charles Williams made Feb 12 at 2017 11:34 PM

COL Charles Williams — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 23:34:12 -0500

CAS3

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Feb 13 at 2017 12:02 AM

LTC Stephen C. — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:02:42 -0500

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, when I took typing in high school, double spacing was required after a period and a colon. Single spacing was required after a comma and a semicolon. Those were the typing rules from way back when.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2017 12:07 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:07:45 -0500

I was taught to double space after a period in school. During my civilian career, I mentored third and fourth graders in subjects they were weak in. One of my third graders taught me that the new English rules called for one space after a period.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 13 at 2017 12:24 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:24:39 -0500

The practice of double-spacing following a period began with typing which used no proportional fonts. That is, every letter and punctuation mark floats in the middle of the same space. "W" and "I" are extreme examples of letters that are vastly different in width but you can still recognize words because you don't read letter by letter. You read words by their shapes. The period is not a word. It is just a tiny speck easily lost on the page. The double-space helped readers distinguish the end of sentence. Proportional spacing does not have this problem. Every letter fits in an appropriate sized space. Indeed, inserting a double space at the end of a sentence while typing in a word processor using a proportional font will screw up the algorithm that controls spacing

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2017 2:13 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:13:44 -0500

When people used typewriters it prevented overlap of characters though it's said typist were mimicking earlier print settings.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Feb 13 at 2017 8:08 AM

MCPO Roger Collins — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 08:08:06 -0500

For those of us with seniority in telecommunications, when using teletype, you ended each sentence with CR CR LF. Took me a long time to stop doing that.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2017 8:24 AM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 08:24:02 -0500

I don't know that it is strictly a Gen X vs. millennial situation. APA formatting suggests using two spaces after periods. I got used to it while writing papers for my schoolwork.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Feb 13 at 2017 1:25 PM

SGT Matthew S. — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:25:22 -0500

In school I was also taught to put two spaces after a period (I don't remember the rules on other punctuation, though). I have also heard that it came from the days of typewriters.

Response by Sgt Bob Leonard made Feb 13 at 2017 10:26 PM

Sgt Bob Leonard — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:26:26 -0500

I don't have any idea. Capt. Jack Durish's explanation seems reasonable, so I'll accept it. For now.

On a side note...
About 10 - 15 years ago, I was talking to some youngsters (high school age), when the random question came up, "Why are the keys on the keyboard arranged in the "QWERTY..." pattern. Another of the group said it was a deliberate scam to force people to type slower. If they were in alphabetical order, people could type a lot faster and, for some vague, nonsensical (to me) reason, that wouldn't be good. (He actually alluded to some kind of Gov't. conspiracy.)

I stopped him right there and told him/them "The rest of the story". By my understanding, learned decades before (where and when is forever lost somewhere in the mists of .... uh, what was I saying?).

Oh yes. Because early typewriters were mechanical, with elaborate levers, links, and springs linking key to letter, they had a propensity to jam. Especially when adjacent keys were struck in rapid succession. One aid to prevent that was to position the keys so that the most frequently used keys and associated linkages were physically separated from each other. And that, with a lot of trial and error, led to the QWERTY pattern. With most, if not all, modern computers and word processors, it's possible to redifine the keys to whatever pattern or location of letters you want.

After I finished with the explanation, they were all rather impressed. Not by my knowledge of typewriters and the history of their development... They were impressed to find out that typewriters used to be mechanical, and that there was anybody still alive who actually used such ancient technology.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Feb 14 at 2017 5:38 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 05:38:23 -0500

I was taught NOT to double space after a period in school. It wasn't until I started writing reports during a TRADOC assignment that I was told to double space... It just looks weird to me...

Response by Cpl Benjamin Long made Mar 19 at 2017 4:14 AM

Cpl Benjamin Long — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 04:14:24 -0400

Depends on the writing discipline you use. Most modern academic use APA formatting designations... Which still call for two spaces after the period... Same with Chicago 6 and MLA. Most systems that use single space are rogue disciplines that are unrelated to established. However, when you write a dissertation, the board will instruct you in what format you must use.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2017 11:46 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 11:46:49 -0400

Not an easy question to answer. It is one with a storied history. http://www.businessinsider.com/never-put-two-spaces-after-a-period-2014-1

Why You Should Never, Ever Put Two Spaces After A Period

Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Apr 4 at 2017 12:31 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:31:02 -0400

I was taught to double-space after periods and colons. I like CPT Jack Durish explanation. I would add the use of double-space after the period may be related to setting "hot type" or "cold type" for printing documents before computerized printing came onto the scene. In the case of either hot or cold type setting, the period is on a small, narrow slug of metal placed after the last letter of the last word of the sentence. In the printing process, the raised type letters and punctuation are inked with a roller and the paper is pressed against the inked characters, hence the name "printing press," run by people called "pressmen." Placing a slug for two blank spaces (no ink) after the period helped keep it clear in the printing process. (Hot type machines (linotype machines) used hot metal (lead or aluminum) to make rows of reversed face letters that were set into blocks of type for printing. Cold type is usually set by hand from wood boxes with different size letters and punctuation on little metal pieces. Watching an experienced type setter do his or her job is seeing an artist at work as their hands fly over the boxes, selecting the needed type pieces, and placing them to create words, sentences, and documents.)

Response by SSG Richard Reilly made Apr 4 at 2017 3:59 PM

SSG Richard Reilly — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 15:59:12 -0400

Type writers. But however today's modern view is not to double space because computers can auto adjust spacing.