Punctuation Spacing

I've known people to double space after a sentence, but I just thought they were weird. I didn't know typing classes ever taught that habit. In fact, I just found this thread after reading the 'standard manuscript format,' which says to use two spaces. Now I'm glad to know that I'm fine with my current habit of using a single space. Yay!

Yeah, typewriting days past had us use two spaces after a period. It took me about a week on the net to break that habit. I guess I was lucky.

Two spaces after a period was still the standard in academia in 2001. I'm not sure about now, but I think it is still used at the university level.

Up until about 3 years ago, some of my magazine clients still had the two spaces after a period rule going, while some preferred one. Gradually they have all switched over to one space.

My sister just graduated from the University of Chicago and they were still using two spaces after a period...

That may be where some of this comes from? Anyone else have that experience in college?

I always used to type with double spaces after sentences too, but it didn't originate from typing classes. I was actually taught that way in handwriting class in elementary school (and then it was reinforced in typing class in junior high). I broke the habit about five years ago when I started writing for the web. But I still have print clients that want the two spaces for whatever reason.

-Kori

Writing papers for school always called for double spaces at the end of a sentence...well, it did 20 years ago at least. I had to take typing on a manual -- our "computer lab" was a corner of the math room with a 8 or 9 Apple IIes.

When I started writing professionally about 5 years ago, I had to break the double space habit. But I had to run a search & replace in Word for double spaces for months. I don't do it anymore, not even in my emails.