The most comments I ever got on Facebook ever.

I meant to post about this a few weeks ago when I did it, but something fascinating happened when I posted a simple question to my Facebook profile in the form of a "note."

A bizarre chain of discussions surrounding the "double space" has prompted me to inquire further. Here's the question: do you put two spaces after a sentence ends when you are typing? What is the standard?

Some say yes, some say no. I want proof. Give me citations. Chicago, MLA, AP style, tell me what you know.

I "tagged" about twenty people in the note who work across a variety of fields: journalists, copy-editors, professors, poets, administrative assistants, college students, the list goes on. It was like opening a floodgate. A remarkable twenty-one responses came in within a little more than twenty-four hours. People were unbelievably passionate about the debate. And I will tell you that there is absolutely no agreement on the subject. I myself am sticking with the double-space.

But I did have fun tagging one of my bosses at work who vehemently disagrees with me. To the point that he recently removed every double space in a piece that I sent his way. (Which is actually what prompted me to post the question in the first place). I told him that I was now "crowdsourcing" grammar and style. It's the wave of the future...

Here are some of the best replies...

Aaron:

One thing I find interesting though is that often my extra spaces are removed automatically. Such is the case in the comments I'm posting right here. Facebook apparently disagrees with my assessment.

I find this highly annoying. I believe that formatting greatly affects the power of written communication. Therefore, every effort should be made to preserve the formatting choices of the author, regardless of medium and venue. Furthermore, I think any website offering space for written publication (like this one) should necessarily include functionality for standard formatting options such as bold and italic, which is quite simple in the age of html.

As it stands now, we never know which sites are going to recognize our html formatting and which ones won't. So often times we look like idiots for writing something like this....

Ashley:

if you're writing a paper for school, two spaces. if you're writing anything else in the whole world, one space. i'm a goddamn copy editor. xo

Jennifer:

I was always told that in publishing and journalism it is one space to not take up much needed characters and space with excess space. I know in texting everyone seems to be moving to the single space to avoid using up characters. But for proper letters and clarity I find the two space much needed.

Craig:

One space. One space. One space. It's the 21st century. And yet I still capitalize Web. ... (Don't get me started on the proper spacing around ellipses.)

Fred:

Pick up any contemporary book -- I just glanced at The Omnivore's Dilemma -- and you'll find a single space after the period. To my eye, the additional bit of space looks funny. (And I was taught to type in the 80s on an actual typewriter when the two-space rule was still very much in effect. It was only years later that I actually looked at how it... Read More was done in well-designed books and magazines that I decided to forgo the additional space. In short, I trust the designers of contemporary books and magazines more than my crusty old typing teacher.)

If nothing else, I like to believe that all those saved spaces are forestalling the onset of carpal tunnel.