# Extra Carriage Returns in Posts

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [September 26, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916 "2001-09-26T14:27:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/1 "2001-09-26T14:27:25Z")

</div>

More of a curious question than anything else.

I’ve noticed many times on preview that two blank lines show up where I’ve put one. And sometimes it is like that in the actual post as well e.g. [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1650534#post1650534) post. I’m curious as to what causes it. Also whether if it happens in preview does that mean that it will definitely happen in the final post. If so it would be helpful, as I could take out the one carriage return, but I’m unsure if it is so, as the lines wrap differently.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/2 "2001-09-26T14:32:03Z")

</div>

I don’t have an answer, but I wanted to thank Izzy for using the phrase “carriage return.” I thought I was the only person left who still used it. People look at me funny, like I just referred to a stereopticon or an Edison cylinder or something.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/3 "2001-09-26T15:14:44Z")

</div>

I’m not quite sure I follow you, but I have noticed that if you quote from a post, the **[/quote]** does automatically insert a blank line after it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/4 "2001-09-26T15:27:20Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> I wanted to thank Izzy for using the phrase “carriage return.” I thought I was the only person left who still used it.

What I want to know is whether or not the board is inserting line feeds along with those extra carriage returns.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/5 "2001-09-26T15:51:51Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by pldennison \*  
> I wanted to thank Izzy for using the phrase “carriage return.” I thought I was the only person left who still used it. People look at me funny, like I just referred to a stereopticon or an Edison cylinder or something.

Does that mean that we’re not hip? Uh oh…

> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by pcubed \*  
> I’m not quite sure I follow you, but I have noticed that if you quote from a post, the \*\*[__ **/quote** _\*]\*\* does automatically insert a blank line after it.

If you look at the post that I linked to you will see the final paragraph separated by two blank lines. (It only happens if you look at it in full screen mode). If you quote the post you will see that there is only one carriage return.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/6 "2001-09-26T15:58:10Z")

</div>

You can View Source a page & see what the html code is & then see how it formatted it.

Is it a hard return?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![AM\_PM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AM\_PM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AM_PM)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/7 "2001-09-26T17:59:03Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by AHunter3 \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > I wanted to thank Izzy for using the phrase “carriage return.” I thought I was the only person left who still used it.
> 
> What I want to know is whether or not the board is inserting line feeds along with those extra carriage returns. \*\*

I guess you didn’t notice that “line feeds” also went out of style with the Epson tractor printer.

New line still works, tho.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-carriage-returns-in-posts/83916/8 "2001-09-26T20:44:23Z")

</div>

IzzyR, when I look at the post you cite, I see one word wrapped to a new line, then one blank line before the new paragraph. It only looks like two because most of the first line is blank, but the first word starts it.

Also, there is extra space above and below the text that makes the actual blank space for 1 line bigger than the visual line for text.

Hope that helps.
