> This isn't a matter of grammar or standards, it's a matter of correct > use of punctuation. With the thought process that's being put forth
> here, would you also put double spaces before and after an em dash?
> What about commas, quote marks, and all other forms of punctuation?
> Why not just put spaces between each and every letter as well? I'm
> sorry, it is incorrect and no amount of
> accessibility will ever make me change my mind.
My thought process referred to more easily identifying a sentence as a discrete unit. Therefore, no, I wouldn't agree with any of your other (presumably sarcastic) suggestions. As Russ said, I'm not interested in the grammar - indeed, I agree that double-spacing is to be considered grammatically incorrect - I am interested in whether there is potential for increasing the accessibility of large bodies of text
Patrick H. Lauke wrote: > However, it could also have the opposite effect > of reducing accessibility for users with dyslexia (and the problem of > "rivers of white" caused by too much - irregular - spacing)
As I indicated, my only example of distinct benefit from this process is from an extreme dyslexic. He finds that the assistance of additional spacing after a full stop (period) is invaluable to increasing his reading speed and comprehension. Whether that holds true for other dyslexics is something I'd like to discover, so if anyone can find any stats...
Of course, as usual with accessibility - particularly web accessibility, statistics are extremely hard to find. I have none. Neither of my local accessibility experts know of any (although they both agree with me in theory)
As for possible implementations, what we need is someway of defining sentences (possibly a crazy Inman/Adams-style regex?) and then word-spacing would probably fix it. Richard's JS would work fine with an excellent regex
Cheers, Lachlan
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