Perhaps I should have mentioned that my role model is the fictional Dr. Niles Crane from the television programme “Frazier”.
As a trained typesetter, I can confirm that the double space after a period is only a holdover from typewriting.
To use double spaces when typesetting in a variable-width font leaves what we call “rivers” of white space in a block of type.
And we won’t even speak of that other cursed holdover: using the lowercase “L” in place of the numeral “1”; grrrrrr! Try typesetting an electronically submitted document full of numeric tables with that going on!
The problem is that grammar is based on both rules and customs. Rules are those grammatical practices which are derived from some definable explanation. An example would be the use of its versus it’s. While many people misuse them, it’s easy to explain that it’s is a contraction of it is and shouldn’t be used when the possessive is intended.
Customs, on the other hand, have no logical explanation. They are simply the way things are done by habit. There is no logical rule why two spaces after a sentence is better than one. While the customary practices of grammar are useful in that they define a common language, people have to accept the fact that customs can change and the new practices are as valid as the old.
[hijack]Out of curiosity, which systems have you worked with?
I’m a veteran of various Compugraphic systems (MCS-10, Integrator 12, etc., usually driving a CG8400 typesetter, as well as various PostScript-based systems.[/hijack]
[hijack]
Rack, I took my training in the midst of the turnover from photo based systems to desktop publishing systems. As well as the Comp Edit machine, I have put in a little time on the old Compuwriter II. (I was in high school when the Compuwriter first came out. What a marvel. By the time I got to college ten years later…what a piece of junk.)
In PostScript, I used Aldus (now Adobe) Pagemaker, Ventura Publisher and Quark Express.
Anyway, it all beats the hell outta hot lead.
[/hijack]
I think I win today’s dinosaur prize, having been taught to type 2 spaces after a colon or semi-colon, but 3 at the end of a sentence. Perhaps I had a twisted evil teacher?
As regards U.K./U.S. differences, it seems to me that in Britain the position of the quotation marks depends on the function within the complete sentence, but I’m pretty sure I have seen that described as U.S. practice too. Confusion reigns, but what can be done? The onward march of illiteracy is big scary monster.
Also, re. U.S./U.K. spelling, a friend told me that Noah Webster’s enthusiasm for spelynge reformme influenced the growth of such differences. If that is true, why wasn’t he Noa?
from http://www.bway.net/~kfitz/interview.htm :
Sorry, couldn’t resist! 
Couldn’t resist jumping into the fray on this one. I’m a technical writer and editor, so I’ve got some experience with these issues.
Previous posts about U.S. vs U.K. usage of quotation marks with periods are correct: The practice is different for these countries.
U.S. usage is to put the period inside the quotation marks. U.K. usage is to put it outside the quotation marks.
My personal preference is to put the period where it logically goes. This makes for interesting documents when I’m writing documents in the approved U.S. way but writing the document’s notes my way.
For space after periods, see the previous reply from the typesetter. It’s dead-on: Double spaces after periods are definitely unnecessary and redundant with proportional fonts. (Proportional fonts, like Times, have letters of different widths. For example, the i is narrower than the w. Fixed-width fonts, like Courier, have letters all the same width. For example, the i is the same width as the w.) When you’re using fixed-width fonts, like on a typewriter, you need to include two spaces after a period so that the eye can determine that it’s seeing a sentence break and not a word break. That’s why all of use who learned to type on a typewriter, rather than a computer, were taught to use two spaces. When you’re using proportional fonts, by comparison, the eye can more easily read the period and a single space after it, so you don’t need to include the extra space.
It takes a while to break the double-space habit. But just think how many keystrokes you save when you’ve done it!
A key thing to remember is that both of these issues are style issues, not grammar issues. (This is often true about “grammar” debates.) What I mean by that is that doing it differently will not probably not cause problems for your readers. For example, if you put the period outside the quotation marks, your editor might be annoyed, but your readers won’t care at all. And if you put in the double spaces after periods, designers might frown, but your readers likely won’t notice. Now, if you left out all of the periods altogether, there’s a good chance that your readers wouldn’t be able to comprehend your writing at all. So the period must be there to address grammar concerns.
With style being variable, not fixed like grammar, there are myriad style guides that provide recommendations on stuff like this. And lots of folks use them for reference or to back up their style choices. Here are some you can refer to to answer questions like this:
- Chicago Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press (widely used in publishing)
- Microsoft Manual of Style, Microsoft Press (widely used in technology industries)
- Associated Press Stylebook, Perseus Books (widely used in journalism)
You can also access the Cisco Systems style guide at http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/wrtrres/stylegd/.
You can see the NASA style guide at http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Groups/TechPubs/style.html.
So, the final recommendation: Pick the way you want to go, and be prepared to defend it at all costs.
Enjoy!
Jeyen
Technical writer and editor
Because some grad student got a hold of their CAD/CAM system and screwed up the new design.
There’s also the Federal Manual on Style, which we all know by now to do just the opposite.
This manual says to put a “’” (apostrophe) before the “s” in plural numbers and figures, i.e., “9’s,” “p’s,” etc. A few years ago James J. Kilpatrick wrote a column re this and cited the Chicago Manual, which states that the apostrophe should not be used, except when confusion may occur, just the opposite of the Federal Manual. I resarched that issue then and found several books advocating the apostrophe and wrote to Kilpatrick about my findings. He replies that he had previously overruled all those books. So I got a judge who I know to sign a summary judgment in favor of the apostrophe and sent it to Kilpatrick. The main basis for the judgment was discrimination, against numbers in favor of letters. (Kilpatrick said to write “p’s” and “q’s” but not “6’s.”) He never replied.