Ragged Right

["Virginia L. Krenn" <asdxvlk -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>]

 Copied below is an exchange from a newsgroup in which I participate. I
 would like to receive comments from the people on this list about the
 last paragraph concerning ragged right. Of course, I would also welcome
 comments on the other ideas expressed in this exchange.

 >>>> BTW, no one uses double spacings anymore. One of the little things
 >>>> I learned in writer's school.
 >>> Just because you learned it doesn't make it true.  I use double
 >>> spacing at the end of a sentence.
 >> When using proportionally-spaced fonts, you don't double space
 >> between sentences.  This is a typography rule that has existed for
 >> a few centuries.  When using mono-spaced fonts, as with a
 >> typewriter, or for most telecommunications applications, then you
 >> double-space between sentences. This has been a rule almost since
 >> the typewriter was invented.
 > Research has shown that the use of more than one space after
 > punctuation marks causes what is known to writers as 'rivers'. They
 > drag the reader's eyes down the page vertically and make it more
 > difficult to read horizontal text. Additionally, the use of right
 > justification causes extra spaces to be inserted between words. For
 > the same reason as stated above, ragged right is preferred.
 That is true of mono-spaced type.  Modern word processers on GUI
 systems such as the Macintosh and MS Windows avoid that problem by
 spacing between letters.  Pick up virtually any novel, short-story
 collection, or magazine and you'll find that the pages are right and
 left justified.