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Subject:Space between sentences (I'm on digest) From:"Mark L. Levinson" <mark -at- MEMCO -dot- CO -dot- IL> Date:Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:45:34 +0200
Elizabeth Ross writes:
If you look closely and measure, the space following a period will be
just a tad wider than the space between words.
** I've measured, using a couple of different word processors,
and it isn't. I've heard the same thing, but I believe that
anywhere this side of professional typesetting software, it's
a myth.
But particularly in technical writing, where periods abound that
don't end sentences and capitals abound that don't start them,
the extra space between sentences is a very helpful clue for
the reader, and all the more important in proportional spacing
because the period and space are smaller there than in
monospacing.
The argument in favor of a single space seems to be supported
only by--
- comparisons that are really comparing proportional spacing
to monospacing, not one space to two in a given font
- comparisons where text is being tortured by narrow columns or
insufficient hyphenation
- comparisons of how easy it is to automate the given spacing
between sentences
- comparisons of how nice the page would look in a frame on
a wall, rather than of how easy it is to read
- sound and fury signifying nothing
I'm on digest, so if a cease-and-desist order has gone out on
this topic, I plead ignorance.
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Mark L. Levinson - Memco Ltd. - Wallenberg 24 - 69719 Tel Aviv - Israel
tel. 03-6450049 (home 09-9552411 or 09-9555720, shoe phone 051-377181)
fax 03-6450001, e-mail mark -at- memco -dot- co -dot- il (home nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il)
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