@zemichi @lambadalambda Word processing.
Some say the two spaces after a full stop was a typewriter hack to make up for lack of proper justification (look up the linotype process sometime). Others point out that it was Irish monks who gave us spaces between letters (and the ability to silently read) in the first place. Beforethemwordswerejustallruntogetherandyouhadtosoundthemout. No, really.
I point out that doublespacing is useful context in latex or vim.
@dredmorbius @zemichi @lambadalambda
And then there is html, which by default conflates all blanks into one, hence the invention of .
And as that is annoying as hell to use in daily communication, everything is right again, with just one blank after the full stop :)
@JollyOrc @zemichi @lambadalambda Sure, but HTML would be an excellent example of a case where the /entered/ text has absolutely no effect on the rendered /output/. So long as tokens are separated by one /or more/ whitespace elements, they're individuated. You can insert a thousand linefeeds, if you want, or a single space and no linefeeds at all. If you want /rendered/ whitespace, you specify that through formatting, structured input, or <pre>.
@lambadalambda @zemichi And any given shite piece of software should be able to simply allow or ignore the spaces as it sees fit.
Mostly, it really doesn't matter, though that makes the arguments that one /should/ or /should not/ follow the practice ... silly.
It's really a highlight of the author's pettyness and ignorance in the piece above. Much as in a soured relationship, all the once-charming quirks become annoyances.