# Disappearing Spaces

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [February 15, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294 "2004-02-15T03:33:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JamesCarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294/1 "2004-02-15T03:33:32Z")

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I tried to post a “picture” of a puzzle in a message. Its just a line drawing that I was approximating using plain text (dashes, spaces, and bars). But when I preview it the spaces are removed and vertical lines to the right are pushed to the left. The diagram is:

* * *

| | |  
| | |  
| | |  
| **|** |  
| | | |  
| | | |  
| | | |  
| **|**** |**\_\_\_ |  
All of the vertical bars should be spaced out to the right.

Is this a big or a “feature”?

Thanks!!!

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**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294/2 "2004-02-15T04:33:40Z")

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It’s neither a big, nor a bug. I think it’s a feature. Stops people ‘abusing’ the post.

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**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294/3 "2004-02-15T04:51:21Z")

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Hey, it’s [post=2240682]in the FAQ[/post]. If you want to preserve spaces and keep your text monospace, put it in a code tag.

```auto

****** *** * * *
* * * * * * *
**** *** *** *
* **** * *   
***** **** *** *

```

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**Author:** ![extendidwarranty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@extendidwarranty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/extendidwarranty)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-spaces/229294/4 "2004-02-16T14:37:15Z")

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> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> It’s neither a big, nor a bug. I think it’s a feature. Stops people ‘abusing’ the post.

No, it’s just part of the Web’s standard protocols to strip extra blanks.  
It’s from two old problems on ancient systems.  
Many old editors (like MSDOS Edit) would often pad out blanks to fixed the end of lines.  
On the other hand, input scanners would always add blanks in front and back of lines.  
At the original baud rates, text was a major overhead and this was one way to improve the entire net. Now of course, with gifs and streaming videos, no one would try to fuss with text to improve things.