Editing 1285: Third Way

{{comic
| number    = 1285
| date      = November 1, 2013
| title     = Third Way
| image     = third way.png
| titletext = 'The monospaced-typewriter-font story is a COMPLETE FABRICATION! WAKE UP, SHEEPLE' 'It doesn't matter! Studies support single spaces!' 'Those results weren't statistically significant!' 'Fine, you win. I'm using double spaces right now!' 'Are not! We can all hear your stupid whitespace.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic refers to the debate occurring in the United States about the correct number of spaces after the end of a {{w|Sentence spacing| sentence}}.

While text written on typewriters in the United States traditionally had two spaces between sentences, this is becoming less common and many sources now recommend having only one space, although this topic is still {{w|Sentence spacing#Controversy|controversial}}.

[[Cueball]] is advocating a line break after every sentence, the eponymous "third way", and sometimes called "semantic linefeeds".

This is particularly useful when plain text files (such as HTML, TeX, or {{w|Wiki markup}}) are edited by multiple people using a {{w|Revision_control|Version control system}} where it helps to avoid merge conflicts.

So far, however, his approach has not yet widely caught on.

The title text uses single spaces between the back-and-forth quotations; but within each quotation, the quoted speaker's preferred spacing is used.

In particular, when the single-spacing advocate claims to be using double spacing, this is indeed often not correct.

Look at the page HTML source to see this, a single space and a double space are rendered identically. But a code like "<nowiki>&nbsp;&nbsp;</nowiki>" would be rendered as two spaces.

This is not the first time Randall has proposed a controversial third way, see: [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]] and [[1167: Star Trek into Darkness]].

==Transcript==
:[Two angry mobs, each holding signs, with Cueball standing off to the side with another sign.]
:[The first mob's sign says "'''Two''' spaces after a period," The second mob's sign says "'''One''' space after a period," and Cueball's sign says "Line break after every sentence."]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sheeple]]
@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | title     = Third Way
 | image     = third way.png
-| titletext = 'The monospaced-typewriter-font story is a COMPLETE FABRICATION!&nbsp; WAKE UP, SHEEPLE' 'It doesn't matter! Studies support single spaces!' 'Those results weren't statistically significant!' 'Fine, you win. I'm using double spaces right now!' 'Are not!&nbsp; We can all hear your stupid whitespace.'
+| titletext = 'The monospaced-typewriter-font story is a COMPLETE FABRICATION! WAKE UP, SHEEPLE' 'It doesn't matter! Studies support single spaces!' 'Those results weren't statistically significant!' 'Fine, you win. I'm using double spaces right now!' 'Are not! We can all hear your stupid whitespace.'
 }}
 ==Explanation==
-This comic refers to the debate occurring in the United States about the correct {{w|Sentence spacing|number of space characters after a period at the end of a sentence}}.
+{{incomplete}}
+This comic refers to the debate occurring in the United States about the correct number of spaces after the end of a {{w|Sentence spacing| sentence}}.
-While typewriter typists in the United States were traditionally taught to use two spaces between sentences, this is becoming less common and many sources now recommend having only one space, although this topic is still {{w|Sentence spacing#Controversy|controversial}}.
+While text written on typewriters in the United States traditionally had two spaces between sentences, this is becoming less common and many sources now recommend having only one space, although this topic is still {{w|Sentence spacing#Controversy|controversial}}.
-[[Cueball]] is advocating a line break after every sentence, the mysterious "third way".
+[[Cueball]] is advocating a line break after every sentence, the eponymous "third way", and sometimes called "semantic linefeeds".
-This obviates the problem, as a period will always appear at the end of a line and the spacing after it becomes moot.
+This is particularly useful when plain text files (such as HTML, TeX, or {{w|Wiki markup}}) are edited by multiple people using a {{w|Revision_control|Version control system}} where it helps to avoid merge conflicts.
-A line break after every sentence is sometimes called "[http://rhodesmill.org/brandon/2012/one-sentence-per-line/ semantic linefeeds]".
+So far, however, his approach has not yet widely caught on.
-This is particularly useful when plain text files based on a markup language (such as {{w|HTML}}, {{w|TeX}}, or {{w|Wiki markup}}) are edited by multiple people using a {{w|Revision control|version control system}} where it helps to facilitate comparison of changes and avoid merge conflicts.
+The title text uses single spaces between the back-and-forth quotations; but within each quotation, the quoted speaker's preferred spacing is used.
-In most markup languages, a single line feed in the source is rendered as a simple space, while two linefeeds generate a paragraph break.
+In particular, when the single-spacing advocate claims to be using double spacing, this is indeed often not correct.
-This approach allows the source to be easily manipulated and versioned, while the rendered output still keeps the regular flow and justification abilities of running text.
+Look at the page HTML source to see this, a single space and a double space are rendered identically. But a code like "<nowiki>&nbsp;&nbsp;</nowiki>" would be rendered as two spaces.
-(Incidentally, HTML and languages derived from it such as {{w|BBCode}} and {{w|Wiki markup}} will generally render multiple consecutive whitespace characters as a single space, so pretty much every page on the Internet uses single spacing whether the author wants to or not.)
+This is not the first time Randall has proposed a controversial third way, see: [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]] and [[1167: Star Trek into Darkness]].
-The title text uses single spaces between the back-and-forth quotations; but within each quotation, the quoted speaker's preferred spacing is used; when the single-spacing advocate claims to be using double spacing, this is indeed a lie.
-However, realistically, it is implausible that one can hear whitespace.{{Citation needed}}
-Randall's mocking characterization in the title text of overzealous advocates using the phrase "WAKE UP, SHEEPLE" has appeared in previous comics: [[496: Secretary: Part 3]] and [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple]].
-Note that this is not the first time Randall has [[:Category:Compromise|proposed a controversial third way]], and this debate is later referenced in [[1989: IMHO]].
-Sentence spacing was previously mentioned in the title text of [[1070: Words for Small Sets]].
 ==Transcript==
-:[To the left a group with three Cueballs, a Ponytail and Megan at the front which face another group with two Cueballs, a Ponytail and a black haired ponytail at the front. Each group has a placard. A Cueball in the left group has a cutlass and a Cueball in the right group has a spear as they are angrily facing off against each other. Off to the far right side stands a lone Cueball also with a placard.]
+:[Two angry mobs, each holding signs, with Cueball standing off to the side with another sign.]
-:Left placard: '''Two''' spaces after a period
+:[The first mob's sign says "'''Two''' spaces after a period," The second mob's sign says "'''One''' space after a period," and Cueball's sign says "Line break after every sentence."]
-:Middle placard: '''One''' space after a period
-:Right placard: Line break after every sentence
 {{comic discussion}}
@@ Line 46: / Line 35: @@
 [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
 [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 [[Category:Sheeple]]
-[[Category:Compromise]]
-[[Category:Language]]