How many spaces after a period?

[Manchester]

Originally Posted by ComicBent

Two points:

1. You will never bring anyone around to your point of view about spacing after periods. [...]

2. Whether punctuation goes inside or outside the quote is more complex. [...] Nonetheless it is over a hundred years old in American typesetting tradition. [...]

Well said as to both of the above. My beef (and yeh, it's a rant about a pet peeve) is that it did all start with the typesetters. And then the style-book guys got involved and... The fact that that's the genesis of all this - It's as if the Dentists' Guild published a guide as to when it is appropriate/inappropriate to smile. Sure, let 'em do that, but the idiocy would be if people came to see their guidelines as authoritative.

As to those who've posted in this thread that they typed 2 spaces after a period and yet only one space showed up in their posts: It's my understanding that that's a function of html and how it's dealt with by web browsers. Spaces are reduced to a single space unless special html code is used. For example, if a website's code has a series of so-called "non-breaking spaces" in the code -   - then each of those spaces will appear as spaces (usually, but not always).   isn't really a space; it's a character that happens to be blank. For more info.

[ComicBent]

Well stated, Manchester.

Interestingly, when I was teaching English a long time ago, all of my students who did not know the official rule would always, always write something like:

I told him his joke was in "doubtful taste".

When I explained the American rule to them, they always looked at me with puzzlement. "But the quote doesn't refer to the whole sentence, just those two words," they said.

With all the problems that they had with grammar and style and punctuation, they had an intuitively correct understanding of this situation, and they were still wrong just because someone had set up an illogical rule.

But that is just the way it is until we have some kind of international convention that attempts to normalize some of this stuff, or at least a national convention to normalize and simplify some things.

[MJ Scribe]

Originally Posted by Manchester

As to those who've posted in this thread that they typed 2 spaces after a period and yet only one space showed up in their posts: It's my understanding that that's a function of html and how it's dealt with by web browsers. Spaces are reduced to a single space unless special html code is used. For example, if a website's code has a series of so-called "non-breaking spaces" in the code -   - then each of those spaces will appear as spaces (usually, but not always).   isn't really a space; it's a character that happens to be blank. For more info.

... I feel like a character that happens to be blank.

Seriously, thanks Manchester for explaining that. I do appreciate it... all I have to do now is figure out what html means ...

[ATB]

Originally Posted by MJ Scribe

... all I have to do now is figure out what html means ...

How To Make Lemonade

[MJ Scribe]

+ 1

[TwoBrad Bradley]

I follow the advice I received from a well known actor/screenwriter _ who I call TwoSpace Spacey.

[scripttoolbox]

Most of the writing world is going to 1 space after a period. But this is screenwriting... which is not part of the normal writing world. 2 spaces after a period is STILL the norm.

As far as quotations and punctuation: period and commas inside, everything else outside, unless the question mark is part of the quote.

[Joe Unidos]

Two-spacers rule.

One-spacers drool.

[Dr. Vergerus]

Personally, I prefer one space after period, I find it more readable.

[Laura Reyna]

Originally Posted by Aspirant

But here's the thing, Jeff -- all the pros do not share your views. They do not all speak with one voice on this or most of the other subjects on which you proclaim the "truth" (always with your trademark touch of exasperation). I'm not a pro, but my managers -- guys who I'm sure you do respect -- definitely are. They believe and have told me directly that it's especially incumbent on a new writer to make sure that his script conforms as closely as possible to traditional standards, because new writers are unproven commodities who need to show that they can write professionally when first being introduced to the marketplace. ...

I don't know what thread this post belongs to but I always want to scream the stuff quoted in bold every time I disagree with a pro (esp Mazin!).

Not all pros, whether writers or other industry folk, have the same exact opinions on subjects pertaining to SWing. Reasonable ppl can disagree.

Also...

I use one space after a period, usually two hyphens when writing in a regular paragraph (not a slug), & use the British quotation method even tho I know it's wrong.