I remove double spaces from every manuscript automatically, before I even start editing it.

Yeah, we actually did get the occasional manuscript (and by "manuscript," I mean Word doc) with a line break at the end of every line (not sentence). As if it were typed on a typewriter. And when we asked the author to reformat it and remove the extra line breaks, they replied "I do not understand what you mean by 'extra line breaks'."

Yep. That's happened to me more than once. These are Ph.D.'s, people. We have a program that removes extra line breaks. I don't know how it works. It may just be a small tired person in a dimly-lit room.

When I see CMOS, I think complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. If that doesn't make sense in context, then I remember it's Chicago Manual of Style.

Please, PhDs are the worst.

Please, PhDs are the worst.

What is up with that? They're supposed to be smart.

So smart that they can't think about things like deadlines, writing, consistency, or any kind of common courtesy to people who aren't their direct colleagues.

(Yes, there are people who don't meet this description. There are plenty more who do.)

I remove double spaces from every manuscript automatically, before I even start editing it.

I had a magical macro I ran that changed all manner of things that authors automatically did. I was so damn proud of that macro.

Yep. That's happened to me more than once. These are Ph.D.'s, people. We have a program that removes extra line breaks. I don't know how it works. It may just be a small tired person in a dimly-lit room.

Yeah, we never figured out that one. The best we could hope for was that they put 2 line breaks between paragraphs, which would let us remove single instances of line breaks and still retain the breaks between paragraphs.

I *really* need to start my job, man. I'm talking about my old job all wistfully! (I get the contract to sign this week.) And I'm realizing that working from home means I need a new pair of slippers and more yoga pants, much to Tim's chagrin.

Please, PhDs are the worst.

What is up with that? They're supposed to be smart.

Jesus, we hated getting manuscripts from PhDs. I know people with PhDs who are excellent writers and respect deadlines. But they weren't the ones who submitted papers to us. SO BAD. SO SO BAD.

I love my double spaces.

waves Hi! I haven't felt very social lately, but I have been reading along. Hugs, ~ma, and yays! for all who needs them.

I can't explain the behavior of PhDs except to say some of us get in our own rut and don't change our habits at all ever.

My sister is a PhD and a teacher of a specialty that requires a lot of writing (I think she also teaches a writing course), so she's pretty clear on which side of any given formatting divide she falls.

I need to provide the best and simplest input to any given piece of software--that's where I fall. So I outline and style manically, I *don't* do two returns between paragraphs, instead styling that extra space in, etc.

Some science-type entertainment: how micro organisms move.

I can't explain the behavior of PhDs except to say some of us get in our own rut and don't change our habits at all ever.

That's fine, as long as your rut is grammatically correct and technically current.

Jesus, we hated getting manuscripts from PhDs.

That's about all I work with - PhDs and PhD candidates. But there's the occasional person who decided to leave academia, get a job and forgo the PhD; they're generally task-focused.

Some people, not necessarily all PhDs, are incapable of reading instructions. They do whatever is familiar and easy, and figure we'll work it out. And of course we do. We send a packet of instructions when the paper is accepted, and another when the proof is ready, and I send a letter myself by email, that I wrote to address all the common questions my authors have. My favorite was the guy to responded to that email with, "I don't have time to read instructions, just tell me what to do!"