Peter Bissmire

19-08-15

The dreaded double space

It is still taught in many colleges and now endorsed by Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for the 18^th century, that a full stop should be followed by a double space ("English" spacing). Some might consider this an insult to typeface designers. The rule (with variations) is old but became entrenched in the days when most working documents were prepared on a Remington-type, lever-action typewriter with fixed character spacing. On such machines, the stop character had to be large enough to ensure that the ink ribbon and paper were unlikely to be punctured. It also had to be sufficiently centred to avoid excessive twisting force in the type arm. With printer's type, the full stop can have spacing "built in".

With the exception of museum demonstrations and the inmates of US prisons, documents are nowadays prepared using word processing software and modern font designs, most of which have variable ("proportional") character spacing. Modern fonts are designed with characters sized and positioned within their allocated space for best effect. This applies even for fixed-spaced fonts such as Courrier New. A single space after a stop ("French" spacing) is normally adequate.  Double space looks exagerated. If you wish to add extra space, an extended space (e.g. m or n space [did you spot that?]) may well be preferable to double spacing. Anything is possible these days; HTML now makes 9 varieties of space available — more than many browsers can display.

Ideally, when you make a rule you should record why the rule is made and its scope of application. Failure to do so can result in arbitrary misapplication of the rule. This does not, of course, avoid misapplication on the basis of "I was once told by someone in authority...". No-one has a legitimate claim to absolute authority, least of all the Effete Fog. If you really do like the double spacing, by all means do it. There is, however, no longer any reason to regard it as best practice, let alone compulsory.

Imperial measures

While we are on the subject of the Hon. Member for the 18^th Century, he also demands that imperial measures be used. The Weights and Measures Act of 1963 still applies and defines the yard and the pound mass in terms of the metre and the kilogram. Mr. Mogg was born in 1969. He thus hankers for something that was "metricated" before he was born and almost ten years before the UK joined the Common Market. I trust his car is powered by a Morris Motors side-valve engine. Perhaps it is no accident that we affectionately refer to Issigonis' iconic car design as the "Moggy Minor"!