http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html?wpisrc=obinsite

this annoys me because i definitely remember being taught that you should always use 2.

MLA says two.

Quote from: thought on December 01, 2011, 07:51:20 AM
this annoys me because i definitely remember being taught that you should always use 2.

I bet you were also taught to use capitalization, too. 

1. So sayeth the MLA.

I've always used one....

Quote from: Buckethead on December 01, 2011, 08:00:57 AM
I bet you were also taught to use capitalization, too. 

1. So sayeth the MLA.

but that shift button is so far awaaaayyyyy.... haha

I.  don't.  know.  what.  you.  are.  complaining.  about.

is. it. really. that. big. of. a. deal. ?. ?. ?.

Always 2, didn't even think 1 was an option.

I believe one space is technically correct, but two is now common and acceptable.  Obviously I use two

I was always taught 2 was correct.  Even do it when I'm texting

Always two.  There are a lot of debates about this on the interwebs, many point back to fixed-width fonts used on typewriters as the source of the rule - it was a way of making the end of one sentence and the beginning of another more obvious, visually.  Language and grammar is a fluid thing, but two spaces will always be right to me.

Something I wonder - has SMS, IM, Tweeting, and the proliferation of other forms of text communication improved grammar?  I ask this knowing that we collectively shit on our written language 160 characters at a time, but also knowing full well there is a grammar nazi on every forum, blog, etc.

Quote from: zach on December 01, 2011, 07:55:46 AM
MLA says two.

http://www.mla.org/style_faq3


How many spaces should I leave after a period or other concluding mark of punctuation?

Publications in the United States today usually have the same spacing after a punctuation mark as between words on the same line. Since word processors make available the same fonts used by typesetters for printed works, many writers, influenced by the look of typeset publications, now leave only one space after a concluding punctuation mark. In addition, most publishers' guidelines for preparing electronic manuscripts ask authors to type only the spaces that are to appear in print.

Because it is increasingly common for papers and manuscripts to be prepared with a single space after all punctuation marks, this spacing is shown in the examples in the MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual. As a practical matter, however, there is nothing wrong with using two spaces after concluding punctuation marks unless an instructor or editor requests that you do otherwise.

Wasted time debating this a few years ago when I was contracting with an ad agency. In copy, one is definitely the most commonly used.  Two just doesn't "look" right.  Font has a lot to do with that as well.

Having been taught to type by a 9-fingered typing teacher decades ago, I still hit the space bar 2x at the end of a sentence. But today, when I send an email or letter to a colleague, client, etc., I always use one. It just looks better - IMO.

One or two.  Neither is illegal.      Hell, because of the mood I'm in today, I'm going to use 4 spaces.

if a plane occupies two spaces on a treadmill..... will it take off?

 



Btw...2 spaces!!!   This was writing "law" when i was in undergrad and grad school.

No, it just means the guy that parked it is the same jackass that uses two spaces to park his car at the mall so nobody will scratch it.