Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period

BTW, if anyone is convinced by Mr. Manjoo’s (lame) argument, check out this comment below his article:

I will now say the same thing I said two years ago: Mr. Manjoo is incorrect.

In printing, the kind with presses and paper, there are two types of blank spaces, the n-space and the m-space, just as there are two kinds of dashes, the n-dash and the m-dash. The n-space goes between words, and the m-space goes after periods. It’s a single space, but it’s twice as wide as an n-space.

Most of the ways that words are published today—including most word processing programs, many less expensive desktop publishing programs, and Web publishing—cannot automatically put an m-space after a period. It is incorrect to separate sentences with a mere n-space, and it makes it less clear where one sentence ends and another begins.

When discussing n-dashes—most frequently used as hyphens—and the m-dashes used to set off parenthetical phrases, as I did just then, many people simulate the m-dash by pressing the hyphen key twice. This is so common, in fact, that Word and many other word processing programs automatically substitute an m-dash for the double-hyphen, in a weird sort of punctuation spell check. If it is common to type two n-dashes when an m-dash is desired, what is so wrong with typing two n-spaces when an m-space is desired?

You’ll get the same answer from anyone in the typesetting industry.

In other words: Mr. Manjoo doesn’t know what the f*ck he’s talking about. Surprised?

Splashman on January 14, 2013 at 11:03 PM

It depends. If you’re doing professional typesetting or desktop publishing, then you use a single space between sentences. That doesn’t take away from your statement about m-spaces and n-spaces. It simply allows your typesetting program to adjust the exact spacing between the sentences to best visual effect.

Really, if you’re using a powerful computer and a professional typesetting program, why not let the computer do the work of getting the spacing right between sentences, and move on? In this scenario, you need a single space between sentences so the program knows that punctuation actually does end a sentence, and then the computer can do the rest of the spacing.

But don’t confuse a typesetting program like that with a word-processor like MS Word. While Word does a certain amount of kerning, justification, and adjustment of spaces, it’s much cruder than a professional typesetter would be. If you’re using Word, there’s little point to worrying about m-spaces and n-spaces. The same applies to most word processors.

There is a free professional typesetting program available on Unix and Linux — or on Windows, if you’re willing to work at it a little bit. That program is called TeX. If you take the time to learn TeX, you can basically write a simple text file, include a few codes, and typeset everything from letters to articles to complete books. Most people using it use a set of macros combined with TeX known as LaTeX. The idea is that you don’t worry about adjusting your fonts or trying to make all your headings look identical. You just identify the parts of the letter, article, chapter, or book, and let LaTeX do the rest of the work. People who use LaTeX always put a single space between sentences, because LaTeX will do the detail work of making them the right kind of spaces and making the finished product look as good as possible.

But if you’re not using a system like that, then you’re not typesetting, so it seems a bit ridiculous to worry about whether you’re putting one space or two between sentences.

Oh, and there are lots of times when monospace fonts make sense. Try making a columnar database report line up decently with proportional fonts. You can do it, with enough tab stops, but it’s a whole lot of work.

There Goes The Neighborhood on January 15, 2013 at 12:28 AM