About two years ago, a communications specialist at NAHQ asked me to stop putting two spaces after a period. I sent a reply saying I was following a rule that I was taught in college just a few years ago and I insisted on continuing to put two spaces after a period. I was then sent an email with quotes from the Chicago Manual Style and Associated Press Stylebook that the rule had changed!!! I apologized for putting two spaces after a period because the specialist at NAHQ had been taking the time to take all the extra spaces out of every announcement and story I wrote.
When I finally got the hang of only putting one space after periods, I shared this information with others in my department. Again, it wasn’t well-received because everyone was so used to the two space rule that was originally established for typewriting (for those who don’t remember, a typewriter is a mechanical devices with keys, and when pressed, cause characters to be printed on paper). After providing proof that this was an actual rule change and not just some crazy antic I was trying, it was agreed to change to the one space rule.
Though I don’t like change, and at times, try to fight it, change is inevitable. It helps us evolve into better, more experienced people. Change also helps our organization grow and helps us provide the best service to all of our clients, externally and internally.
Does this "two space" rule change apply to colons, too? I always put two spaces after a colon, but if electronic fonts are proportional (versus typewriter keys which print all letters and punctuation exactly the same distance apart) maybe computers know to space accordingly after a colon?
Posted by: Michelle Parks | 05/06/2011 at 08:22 AM