Two spaces after a period! My mom drilled that into me on the computer, but I reckon she learned it on the typewriter. I used it religiously until grad school when a journal to which I was submitting a paper specified one in no uncertain terms. That was a tough paper to write, but by the end I was retrained. *space space* "Gahh!!" *backspace* I still prefer two, though.

(Dear and fluffy Lord do I love when y'all go all grammar / punctuation geek. Maybe that means there's something wrong with me, but I'm a biochemist, so I think that ship has sailed.)

I still use two spaces, but I don't have editors to drive crazy with that habit, so I don't think I'll change it. I learned to type on a typewriter, but I think when I was in college we were still expected to use two spaces. Or not. I don't really know, but no one ever complained about it.

This space or two space thing is my plate-o-shrimp lately.

The APA has weighed in confusingly: [link]

And Wikipedia has some background for those of us going "huh?": [link]

Excellent, Trudy! Thanks! I knew it had something to do with typesetting.

I’m Maysa – which is a fake name I picked up from an old Brazilian telenovela (dubbed into Spanish) that I used to watch. I’ve lurked here off and on ever since the Firefly cancellation, and I’ve even posted occasionally, but I always think I sound really awkward and/or obnoxious whenever I post anything, so I don’t do it very often. Plus, they monitor my internet use at work and I try to avoid the computer when I’m home – so even my lurkage is sporadic.

I grew up in the Midwest and also lived in DC for a while. I moved to LA a few years ago and I like it, but it still doesn’t feel like “home.” I have a nice job at a governmental arts organization, even though my position seems to be forever in jeopardy because of the economy.

The first episode of Buffy that I watched was actually Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest because I happened to read that day in the newspaper that Sarah Michelle Gellar (a.k.a. Kendall Hart from All My Children) was going to be in a new tv show and I had loved Kendall an awful lot. I was a senior in high school when Buffy premiered and no other show has had such an impact on me before or since. It’s the only show that’s ever helped me deal with my “stuff”. I fondly associate it with my college years when every Tuesday night my best friend and I had to claim the dorm tv early at 6 PM and then fight people off with sticks because no else watched Buffy.

I just wanted to say that I’ve enjoyed reading this board for years because you guys are so intelligent and thoughtful. I mostly lurk in the movies, sci-fi, and literary threads. Also, I love the serial comma. My workplace has a semi-formal “no serial comma” style rule and I silently rebel and use the extra comma any time I can. And the other day my boss told me to use one space instead of two and I smiled at her and said okay, but I still use two. It just looks better!

There are 10 spaces after this sentence. And after this one, 10 lines.

OK, your web browser should not display the extra spaces and lines.

eta: Yay!

I had no idea there was a debate about one space or two after a period. I've always done double. Typing class in HS drilled that into me. I never got the memo about the change.

And even the editors/writers here don't have flawless grammar when posting.

THIS. Not to mention my concept of grammar has been, um, colored by being a tech editor for That Large Software Company.

Look at all these lurker-types! This is so cool.

I am pro- serial commas, one space after a period, Fernet, absinthe, olives, and cilantro. I've never had a muffaletta, but it sounds like something I would like.

I hate, hate, hate the new feature in the newest version of Word that puts an extra space between paragraphs. You can turn it off but you have to do it in every document, and it's so, so wrong.

I am fairly certain that's fixable on a global scale, as I am pretty certain it is one of the things I turn off whenever I install Office.

I learned two spaces in high school typing class too, and still use the convention. That's how you can tell it's a full stop, and not a mere period or decimal point.