# Behaviours still done though they're no longer needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2020, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257 "2020-04-21T08:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/101 "2020-04-24T20:48:02Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > From a security viewpoint that is an excellent practice. > > The www is rife with typo squatters. [Funny story about that](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/feb/11/facebook-readwriteweb): > [@](#): > > Yesterday RWW wrote a post about how Facebook was partnering with AOL, in a way that would make the site’s login procedure more powerful than ever before - headlining the story “Facebook wants to be your one true login”. > > Suddenly, thanks to the magic of Google, that post became the most heavily-featured result for searches like “Facebook login” - which caused all kinds of confusion. > > It looks like a number of users clicked on the top result, expecting to be taken to Facebook’s login page (also known as, erm, [facebook.com](http://facebook.com)) and instead being presented with this ENTIRELY DIFFERENT site. > > The post now has a comment thread of around 300 posts, many from disgruntled Facebook users who have clicked and can’t work out what’s happened to the site they know and love. Note, of course, that this “Yesterday” was back in February 2010. Nothing about search engines has really changed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/102 "2020-04-24T21:03:52Z")
> [@Little\_Brother\_1](#): > > OTOH, I continue to do things like dialing “1” to make long-distance calls, or typing in “www” when composing URLS because nobody told me it wasn’t necessary. Perhaps this an effect of being single and relatively solitary-- I don’t have kids to incredulously or scornfully correct me, and and keep me updated on this kind of techno-minutiae. To me, this is the profound message in this thread. Who determines when a behavior transitions into “no longer needed”, and how is it communicated to the greater world? If you are not in-the-loop, so to speak, you would have no way of knowing you may/can/should/must change. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/103 "2020-04-24T21:13:38Z")
> [@Little\_Brother\_1](#): > > OTOH, I continue to do things like dialing “1” to make long-distance calls, or typing in “www” when composing URLS because nobody told me it wasn’t necessary. Perhaps this an effect of being single and relatively solitary-- I don’t have kids to incredulously or scornfully correct me, and and keep me updated on this kind of techno-minutiae. To me, this is the profound message in this thread. Who determines when a behavior transitions into “no longer needed”, and how is it communicated to the greater world? If you are not in-the-loop, so to speak, you would have no way of knowing you may/can/should/must change. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/104 "2020-04-24T22:09:22Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I do that with bacon. When I fry bacon I cut the slices in half because my mom always did. She did it because she fried my dad’s bacon and eggs every morning in a small cast iron frying pan. The bacon didn’t fit in there full length. It just seems right to me to do it that way, even though my pan is bigger.😃 I continue to do it because the bacon half-slices are easier to control and cause less twisting/curling and a more even doneness. Although I always use thick cut, which also helps with that. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/105 "2020-04-24T23:33:08Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > To me, this is the profound message in this thread. Who determines when a behavior transitions into “no longer needed”, and how is it communicated to the greater world? If you are not in-the-loop, so to speak, you would have no way of knowing you may/can/should/must change. This is what we have the Dope and these threads for :). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/106 "2020-04-25T02:03:32Z")
I’m a double spacer after a period. It was how I learned in what must have been one of the last typing-on-typewriters classes ever taught in about 1995. I’m also inconsistent on the Oxford comma, usually without. First, second and third. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/107 "2020-04-25T02:06:48Z")
I’ve got to tell my kids all their derision is paying off! Now that they’re grown and gone, this place helps, too… the trick is changing habits when you learn they’re unneeded. The Dope: Improving Your Life by Mocking Your Behaviors! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/108 "2020-04-25T02:38:51Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > My MIL still dials “1” before an area code on her cell phone. In some systems you still have to. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/109 "2020-04-25T02:42:21Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > … > > **Re: Post period double spaces** > Interesting discussion - We made our kids to take formal typing in high school and their +60 y/o teacher was an absolute fanatic about doing double spaces. She said it was to make the sentences easier to read, which sounds like BS after reading all your comments. However, 10 years later my kids still do it, she ingrained it into them so much, it’s habitual. And you know what? It’s still Ok, and totally harmless. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/110 "2020-04-25T02:43:26Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > I’ve been told that running the AC puts extra strain on the engine. So consider shutting it off temporarily when, say, climbing a very steep hill. Is that a bunch of hooey? On I5, The Grapevine, Caltrans has signs suggesting this. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/111 "2020-04-25T05:17:26Z")
Spelling the word “behavior” with a ‘u’. 😛 I managed to improve a lot processes at where I started worked a few years ago simply because I was new and questioned absolutely everything they did that I thought didn’t make sense; they simply had been doing certain things some ways for so long they didn’t think about why they were still doing it. Obviously nothing that would make sense to anyone outside the office, so it’s hard to describe specifics other than a lot of files were being shuffled around many more times than necessary, and I came up with a plan to stop most of the shuffling that led to things taking longer. Double spacing after sentences is just instinctive if that’s how you’ve always done things, and because it doesn’t matter one bit, there’s nothing pushing anyone to change. I would have to concentrate really hard not to do it. I recall there was someone I was acquainted with that also said “Gesundheit” when people sneezed, since it made much more sense to generically wish someone good health than say “Bless you”, and I don’t think they knew much more German. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/112 "2020-04-25T06:23:31Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Spelling the word “behavior” with a ‘u’. 😛 If you are American, you may spell “behavior” without the ‘u’ If you are ANYWHERE ELSE in the universe, “behaviour” should be spelt with the ‘u’. And note that is “spelt”, not “spelled”. Again, unless you are American in which case you are allowed to cast spells on words as you like. ---
**Author:** ![Windchaser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/windchaser/32/294_2.png) [@Windchaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windchaser)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/113 "2020-04-25T08:30:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m kinda fascinated by how every other word in your post is correct but “Island” managed to gain \*four \* typos. (Wrong case, a deletion, two reversals.) It’s just typed with a Lawn Gisland accent, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/114 "2020-04-25T11:07:14Z")
I decided to check whether Canadians spell words like “behavior/behavior” and “spelled/spelt” in the American way or the British way. Actually, Canadians spell the first one in the British way and the second one in the American way. So it is not true that anywhere outside of the U.S. the British spelling of words is used. Here’s a guide to Canadian, British, and American spelling: > **[Canadian, British and American Spelling](http://www.lukemastin.com/testing/spelling/cgi-bin/database.cgi?action=home)** > > Canadian, British and American Spelling ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/115 "2020-04-25T15:35:44Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Double spacing after sentences is just instinctive if that’s how you’ve always done things, and because it doesn’t matter one bit, there’s nothing pushing anyone to change. I would have to concentrate really hard not to do it. But it does matter. As I pointed out before, it’s the only way we have to distinguish between the end of a sentence and an abbreviation. The biggest effect it has for me is without the second space it becomes impossible to get an accurate sentence count. For publishing adherence to the two space convention would make it easier for the software to determine how much space between two words. There are numerous Wikipedia articles, like Dwight D. Eisenhower, where readability could be much improved by making that distinction. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/116 "2020-04-25T19:42:16Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > If you are American, you may spell “behavior” without the ‘u’ > If you are ANYWHERE ELSE in the universe, “behaviour” should be spelt with the ‘u’. > And note that is “spelt”, not “spelled”… Not on Thongat Prime, where it is spelled with a ~. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/117 "2020-04-25T19:44:21Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > And note that is “spelt”, not “spelled”. Since when are we talking about wheat? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/118 "2020-04-26T14:39:16Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > I’ve been told that running the AC puts extra strain on the engine. So consider shutting it off temporarily when, say, climbing a very steep hill. Is that a bunch of hooey? > [@DrDeth](#): > > On I5, The Grapevine, Caltrans has signs suggesting this. Same here in Arizona. I-17 just out of town has a grade gentler and shorter than The Grapevine but thanks to the hotter climate there are big, yellow signs at the foot of the grade, AIR CONDITIONING **OFF** At the top of the grade is a rest stop with water available and you _always_ see people patiently putting water in so they can continue their journey. I don’t know how many of them paid no attention to the sign and paid the price. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/119 "2020-04-26T15:52:50Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Same here in Arizona. I-17 just out of town has a grade gentler and shorter than The Grapevine but thanks to the hotter climate there are big, yellow signs at the foot of the grade, > AIR CONDITIONING > **OFF** > > At the top of the grade is a rest stop with water available and you _always_ see people patiently putting water in so they can continue their journey. I don’t know how many of them paid no attention to the sign and paid the price. We almost paid the price. Last summer we were touring by car leaving Death Valley and I ignored the signs … hopelessly, old fashioned … signs must be left over from the 70s. Well, part way out, the car flashed warnings on my dash indicating that it was cutting power to avoid over heating etc. We rolled the windows down, turned off the AC, took the first turn off we could find. I was terrified I’d wrecked the car 1500 miles from home. There were other signs after that which I scrupulously obeyed … and I will in the future. Two things: 1. I think it is probable the car’s computer saved us. 2. I’m guess cars with a higher power-to-weight ratio can get on fine. I saw several sports cars cruising by with their windows up. I’m guessing a mustang with, say, 500 HP can easily pull this off over a Ford Escape with 200 HP. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257/120 "2020-04-26T16:11:18Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I use this as a litmus test for whether a place should continue to get my business. If you change the oil according to the manufacturer recommendations (right viscosity, right synthetic or synthetic blend) and place a sticker that is in accordance with the recommendations in the owner’s manual, it shows that you know cars and care about them. > > If you just slap a sticker on there and write \ I know you don’t give a shit about cars. Around here, 3K is still written on the sticker very often. Our newest vehicle has a 17,000\* mile oil change cycle. The dealer’s service department strongly disagrees and insists on 7,000. I split the difference and change it at 10,000. We’ll see what happens I guess. \*This is when the oil change light comes on. As far as old behaviors, I went waaay out on a limb and made scrambled eggs without adding milk to the mixing bowl. They tasted exactly the same to me, yet my parents would be horrified at this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behaviours-still-done-though-theyre-no-longer-needed/852257.md?page=7)