Announcing New Edit Feature in the Caregiver Forum

I don't know how we got onto this subject, but double spaces were to overcome the limits of the typewriter, as Glad points out. If you are using a typewriter, use double spaces. In handwriting you just space over however much looks good.

In the early days of desktop computers, not all fonts were proportional. Some were spaced exactly as they looked on a typewriter, with i taking up the same space as w. If you didn't use double spaces it was often hard to recognize the end of a sentence. I'm not sure there even are any nonproportional fonts out there any more. In a font where each letter takes up only the space it needs, a single space after a period is the preferred usage. It looks better and is easier to read.

I taught college English at a time when students were just beginning to turn in papers produced on a computer. That was a huge benefit to the poor instructors who often had a hard time deciphering handwriting, but it brought up new issues, too. Sometimes the computers in the lab would only produce all caps. Fine if you are writing a program, terrible for people to read.
If I remember correctly these were the rules I developed for my classes:
1) Yes you can turn in papers printed from a computer.
2) Yes it is fine (great!) to use spell-check if the software offers that.
3) I do not accept papers in all capital letters, either handwritten or from a computer.
4) I know that it is sometimes difficult to get time on a computer. I will accept handwritten corrections. It is important to proofread and I welcome your corrected paper.

Back then I was happy if these rules were followed, and nobody thought much about how many spaces came after a period.

As home computers became popular and several companies published awesome word processing software, the rules did become more sophisticated. That was when the change to a single space came into practice.

Here is another example of change from the typewriter to the computer: On a typewriter you put the name of a book in quotes -- "Loving Someone Who Has Dementia." With a software package that offers a choice of styles you are to do what book publishers have always done, that is, put the title in Italics (without quotes.) That is not possible on this forum since we don't have an option for different styles.

As I read on this forum and others, I read for meaning, not subtle grammar and punctuation usage. In that regard, this is what I consider important:
1) Don't type in all caps. Just don't.
2) Do type in complete words. "U R GR8" is not appropriate in this context.
3) If you possibly can, end sentences with periods and begin them with capitals. I don't care how many spaces you use, I just have trouble finding the meaning in what looks like long run-on sentences. I do try, though. People who write nice clear sentences are not the only ones who have good insights or tough problems. But please, do the best you can.
4) Long passages should be broken into paragraphs. It makes them easier to read and understand.

I just wandered down memory lane a bit. None of this has anything to do with the changes to the AC site!! The edit feature does make it easier to clean up our text, a very nice benefit.

JeanneGibbs,
Loving your college English lesson!
You get an "A" from this dinosaur.

Hi all,

The AgingCare team has taken your valuable feedback into consideration, and another update to the Caregiver Forum has just been released.

This release includes a number of minor tweaks to improve user experience in the community. We have also added the answer boxes back to the tops of question and discussion pages so you can easily refer to the original posts while typing responses. Simply click on “Answer this Question” or “Comment” below the original post to expand the box and type your answer or comment.

Once again, thank you for your suggestions and your patience!

-AgingCareEditor

Ok! I can now answer or comment here, on the last page,
OR,
I can answer at the top of the first page by clicking "comment".

That is so nice! Thanks AC!

The period at the end of a sentence is the smallest punctuation mark there is! Therefore, give it all the space it needs, imo., to properly end the sentence. 

 More space after the period gives it more power, more pause, more, just more. See?

But now that the format has reverted to posts in order from first to last the ability to comment at the top of the page below the question is redundant. IMO it will only encourage comments added to outdated threads or that don't take into consideration any updates posted in the thread.

I agree with you Cwillie. But I like having a redundant choice, it's ok.
I still love your balanced rocks, ZEN!

Wait....was my answer in 10 minutes or less, as advertised???? Whew!
Sometimes, it takes me at least ten minutes to type my answer, but then, I am just a dinosour.

Aging Care, thank you for putting the comment box near the top... makes it much easier to refer to the original post.

I have found with the box at the end of the page, by the time I had scrolled down I was forgetting what I had read... oh dear, is this early memory lost or lack of concentration :P

Has anyone clicked the blue box to the right?
FIND CARE AND HOUSING
It disappears!

I really like the new way they are now showing Expert Answers on the threads!

Bravo, those of us who puts links to government sites and other medical sites, one can now click on the link, no more cut and paste :)

Something that concerns me, we only get 10 questions on the main forum page, then ten more per page if we choose to look farther back. New posts can be pushed off the main page pretty rapidly and I just found a bunch of unanswered questions from two days ago on page 10 or so. I don't think many of us are willing to search that many pages back, personally I would much rather scroll through 50 or 100 questions on a single page.

I noticed that, too, cwille.   Or have the software give us an option of scrolling through 10 posts per page or 20 posts per page, etc.

I have notice a lot of duplicate postings, looked like the original poster couldn't find the post they wrote a couple of hours ago, and posted it again.

Also, just a couple words in the title, and nothing the body of the original post.   New readers thinking the Question area was SEARCH.

I think there should be a way to report questions. Tonight we are seeing multiple posts advertising a cream. Then to quarantine them. These posts are very irritating. Another question includes a link to an ophthalmologist.

A change to the "Caring For" section of the "Profile" page should include an option for "Deceased". If the loved one passes, that does not negate the experiences over the years of care that have been provided. In fact, it would help some to know and understand that there is life after caregiving.

I lost my stepdad three months ago and just removed caring for him from my profile. If it was only that easy to remove those experiences from my brain.

Hmm, seems we still can't edit comments in articles.

There must be a way to block these face cream people based on the name of the product! They have been here the last three or four nights that I know about! There should be a way to tag posts to quarantine them until AC staff can get rid of them completely.